HIST 476U: The Chinese City: Comparative Perspectives

This course asks how the city was understood and urban space was experienced in China from the late imperial period to the twentieth century, from the walled cities of Ming and Qing to the neoliberal remaking of Beijing and Shanghai, passing through the modernist experiments of the Communist and Republican periods. Examining some of the key social, cultural and political factors that shaped urban life, we will address such questions as: how did changes in media shape conceptions of urban space and one's place within it, what did the Chinese urban landscape look like, what were some of its key features, and how did political changes at the national level affect life and governance in the city? Our investigations will also lead us into the realm of cultural and intellectual history. We will look at how such notions as cosmopolitanism, nation-mindedness, and scientific rationality developed in and around the city. In more general term, we will use the case of China to investigate how a history of "modern urban life" and urban space can be written, and what its significance might be. This course maintains a focus on the distinctive character of various Chinese cities while attempting to elucidate deeper commonalities and similarities that shape urban experience in China and elsewhere. Comparisons with other national experiences as well as theoretical reflections on issues of urbanism and urban life will then be integral part of the course.