GEN1000 Perspectives on General Education
ASI3007 Contemporary China: Continuity and Change;
GEN2010 Chinese Society: Changes and Transformation
This module adopts a social scientific approach to survey the general features of Chinese society through an analysis of the political, social, and economic changes undergone in China since 1949. We shall examine the general institutional make-up of the Chinese society in the socialist era, the changes and transformations that have taken place since the reform era, as well as the problems and challenges it is now facing in the post-socialist era. Particular focus will be placed on how these societal changes impact on the lived experience of the Chinese people.
Upon completion of this module, students should be able to:
a. assess how socio-economic and cultural changes in China since 1949 impact on the lives of the Chinese people
b. analyse critical issues in present-day China from a social science perspective
c. critically evaluate the major social challenges and problems facing the Chinese society today
1. Studying Chinese society
1.1 A social scientific approach
1.2 Understanding (post)socialist transformation in China
2. Institutional make-up
2.1 Danwei (work unit) and the changing workplace
2.2 Hukou (household registration) and migration control
2.3 The culture of guanxi
2.4 The changing Chinese family
3. Changes and transformation
3.1 Differentiated childhoods
3.2 The rising middle class
3.3 Changing status of women
3.4 Unmaking the working class
4. Problems and challenges
4.1 The changing class structure
4.2 Consumer revolution and the rise of consumerism
4.3 The changing moral landscape
4.4 The challenge of social management
1. Assignments (30%)
2. Test (20%)
3. Final Exam (50%)
