"HIST 100A Historical Encounters: Life & Death in Early Modern China He" by Joshua Herr
 

Document Type

Syllabus

Publication Date

Fall 2024

Course Description

This course is an exploration of seventeenth-century Jiangnan, the heart of the Chinese Ming empire, one of the largest empires of the early modern world and the center of the emerging global economy. Today, the region of Jiangnan is best-known for modern cities like Shanghai and the traditional gardens of Suzhou. The early modern period (ca. 1500-1800) was a transformative and turbulent time in world history and, by focusing on Jiangnan during this time, this course opens a window on the challenges, dramas, and fascination of people’s lives and social change during this period. Through the best-selling fiction and historical sources of the seventeenth century, discover seeds of the modern world in the environmental issues, family relationships, economic growth, political conflict, and cross-cultural interactions of this time and place. This course provides an introduction and foundation for further work in Asian studies, history, and the humanities and social sciences.

Student Outcomes

Outcome: Analytical Skills. Students will be able to evaluate historical arguments, historiographical debates and develop and frame historical arguments in their own work. Outcome: Writing and Oral Communication Skills. Students will be able to communicate complex historical analysis in written form with appropriate scholarly attribution and communicate effectively in class discussions and presentations. Outcome: Breadth of historical knowledge. Students will be able to understand the past with respect to diversities of culture, geography and chronology.

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