Connections and Encounters: China and the World in the Early Modern Period

(4 Credits)

From the Silk Road to the Belt and Road Initiative, China has always been connected and intensively interacted with the world. From the 15th to the 18th centuries, China witnessed a series of developments that connected to the making of the modern world in the West. This seminar aims to discuss the dynamics of Chinese history in the early modern period from a global perspective. The class is organized thematically, focusing on connections and encounters in trade, commerce, science, technology, environment, diseases, food, migration, and capitalism. By situating early modern China in world historical time, this seminar encourages students to examine the formation of modernity in Chinese terms and in a global context. History Major Requirements Fulfilled by this course: Advanced Non-West