This course explores the history of China from the disintegration of the Tang empire at the turn of the tenth century to the eve of the country’s modern transformations. Its goals are to help students develop the sensibility, language, and analytical tools to interpret the momentous changes that have shaped not only what we recognize as China but also the greater East Asian region and beyond. This course challenges the stereotype of a monolithic, static, and insular geo-cultural unit and encourages students to examine not only how “China” had evolved but also how past transformations have continued to resonate.
Course Structure
This course will be conducted in person.
Students are expected to have reviewed and reflected on the assigned materials prior to each week’s session. Readings will include both primary and secondary sources.
The weekly session will comprise a lecture and a tutorial: we will review the key themes of the week, and we will discuss the assigned materials, both as a class and in break-out groups.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the term, students should be able to:
- offer historically-informed analyses on the unity and diversity, changes and continuities, of Chinese society prior to its modern transformations;
- articulate some of the characteristics of the nature and impacts of the interactions between China and the wider world;
- work with confidence with a range of primary historical sources;
- elevate their abilities to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of historical claims.
Assessment of Learning
For more details on the individual components, see the Assessment section.
| Quizzes | 10% |
| Discussion Posts | 15% |
| Attendance/Participation | 10% |
| Short Reflection Essays | 15% |
| Midterm Checkup | 10% |
| Book Review | 20% |
| Final Take-home Exercise | 20% |
| Research Project (optional) | 40% |
Important Dates
| Jan. 9 | First session |
| Jan. 19 | Last date to withdraw without the “W” standing |
| Feb. 12–16 | Midterm checkup |
| Feb. 19–23 | Midterm break |
| Mar. 1 | Bibliography due/Last date to withdraw |
| Mar. 31 | Book review due |
| Apr. 9 | Last session |
| Apr. 22 | Take-home exercise/Research project due |
Learning Materials
- Hansen, Valerie. The Open Empire: A History of China to 1800. New York and London: W. W. Norton, 2015 (available on reserve and through the UBC Bookstore).
- Other required readings are available online or through Canvas.
Office Hours/Learning Lounge
No doubt you will have questions. Feel free to contact the instructor (preferred to be addressed as Dr. Shin or Prof. Shin) through email or via Canvas. The usual response time is within 24 hours (except for weekends and holidays). Please use your UBC email address if possible.
Office hours are by appointment (sign-ups; be sure to check the time zone). The default mode is by Zoom (link), but students who would like to meet in my office are welcome to send a request through email. Students are strongly encouraged to check in with me, particularly early on during the term, to make sure all is on track.
A Learning Lounge has also been set up under Discussions in Canvas for students to post—and answer each other’s—questions. The instructor will “drop in” at least once a week to see if there are outstanding questions. Respectful netiquette is expected and appreciated.
Acknowledgment
UBC’s Point Grey Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The land it is situated on has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam people, who for millennia have passed on their culture, history, and traditions from one generation to the next on this site.