Craft in Chinese History

How do artisans approach the task of making? What characterizes their knowledge? How did ways of making and their significance change alongside social and cultural transformations? In this course, we will explore these and other questions in broad Chinese history, from archeological records on ancient public works to the shanzhai industry in the twentieth century. Drawing on methods of material culture studies and the history of science and technology, we will approach craft both as a social and material making and ways of knowing.