State and Society in the Chinese Political Process 1

From the last years of the Empire to the present day, the Chinese state has experienced a succession of dramatic shifts in regime orientation, and the major sectors of Chinese society have undergone a series of changes no less significant. This post-graduate course focuses on state and society in Greater China (the People's Republic and Taiwan). It will specifically consider two closely interrelated themes: how China's state and society have evolved, and how they have interacted over the course of the 20th and 21st centuries. The bulk of the course will be devoted to China, and Taiwan will be included as a comparative referent for the period after 1949. This module concentrates on the institutional and social background to the present, focussing on the different regimes of the 20th and 21st century, and the ways in which legacies from the Republican and Maoist periods continue to influence politics in the Xi Jinping era today.

Objectives and learning outcomes of the module

• Demonstrate an understanding of the key political trends and changes in regime from the early 20th century to the present in China
• Assess similarities and differences in the different regimes that China has found itself under from the early 20th century to the present
• Identify the ways in which governments in China have attempted to shape relations with different key sectors of society since the early 20th century
• Demonstrate improved ability to engage with spoken and written critical engagement
• Assess critically the readings assigned throughout the course

Workload

• 2 hour seminar per week

Method of assessment

• Assignment 1: 50%
• Seminar participation: 10%.
• Examination: 40%

Suggested reading

• Huang Liu-hung, A Complete Book Concerning Happiness and
• Benevolence: a Manual for Local Magistrates in Seventeenth Century Translated by Djang Chu. (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1984 (selections)
• Julia Strauss, State Formation in China and Taiwan, Bureaucracy, Campaign and Performance (Cambridge 2020)
• Sun Yat-sen, "The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction", from
• The Fundamentals of National Reconstruction (Taipei: China Cultural Service, 1953

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules