China in the
Contemporary World
Lei Han, Katherine Min, Alex Huang, and
Agya Boakye-Boaten
A Public Liberal Art University in North Carolina
Ten Subjects in 15 weeks
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History
Politics
Foreign Affairs
Economics
Environment
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Culture
Art
Media
Diversity
New China
History
A brief overview of contemporary
Chinese history
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The May 4th movement
The rise of communist China
China at War
The war between China and Japan
How Chinese society changed after the war
The Cultural Revolution
Deng Xioping and economic reforms
Politics
The formation and structure of the
Chinese Government, political Ideology
and institutions
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Political structure
Party v. state
How are decisions made? Who makes them?
Human Rights/dissidents
Tianamen Square student demonstrations
Foreign Affairs
The evolving role of China in international
affairs with emphasis on international
political and economic systems.
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China and Europe
China and the United States
China and Africa
China and Latin America
WTO, GATT, Security Council etc.
AFST 466
Politics of War in Africa
Agya Boakye-Boaten
Economics
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Rise of China in Global Economy
Open Door Policy
Private/State Enterprises
Communist Capitalism
Domestic Economy: Stability and sustainability
International Trade: Fair and Open
Future Perspective
Environment
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Climates of China
Regional Climate Change in China
Impacts of Climate Change
Government Strategy
International Cooperation
Air Pollution
Water Pollution
ATMS/LSIC 179
Global Climate Change and China
Alex Huang
Visual Art & Literature
Effects of Deng Xiaoping’s Reform
Policies on Contemporary Art
 Gave Chinese artists greater access to
information about major international art
movements and styles, and a bit more
freedom to experiment
 Led to a proliferation of art galleries,
museums, and auction houses in China, and
more opportunities for Chinese artists and
writers to travel and study abroad
 Opened up secondary international markets
for Chinese contemporary visual art
 Led to more individuated and varied work,
in terms of media, style, and subject matter
Literature
 Limit to freedom of expression
 Women writers – Zhang Kangkang,
Can Xue, Fan Fan, Rhu Zhijuan
 Writers of the Chinese diaspora – Dai
Sijie, Gao Xianjian, Shouhua Qi, Annie
Wang, Shan Sa
 Chinese American writers, writing
about China in English – Maxine Hong
Kingston, Ha Jin, Anchee Min, Yiyun Li
Protest Art v. State-Sanctioned Art?
Ai WeiWei
 Darling of the international
art world
 Artistic consultant for
Beijing’s Olympic Stadium
(“The Bird’s Nest”)
 Dissident thorn in the side
of Chinese government
Liu Xiaobo
 Poet, writer, activist,
won 2010 Nobel
Peace Prize
 Currently imprisoned
“Remembering”
Ai Weiwei’s mural constructed from 9,000 children’s
backpacks, in memory of children killed in Sichuan
school building collapse, during the 2008 earthquake.
Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2009
Mo Yan
Wins 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature
Sparks international controversy
 Salman Rushdie accuses Yan of being a “patsy of the
[Chinese Communist] regime
 Ai WeiWei says Yan’s win is “an insult to humanity”
 Yan’s work has been critical of the government, and
banned in China
Media
 State-run vs. Independent media
 Regulators
 Media reform
 Diversified content
 Ideological Shift
 Market competition
Media
 Entering the realm of global
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popular culture
Chinese Soft Power at Home and
Abroad
Internet and social media
Digital Media
Film
Animation
INTS 376/NM 376
Exploring China
Lei Han
Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course, students
should demonstrate the following:
• An understanding of China’s
modern history, especially from
Deng Xiaoping’s economic reforms
of the 1980s to the present;
Student Learning Outcomes
• An appreciation for China’s
increasing global significance;
• An awareness of China’s rapid
economic, social, and political
changes, and some of its most
significant challenges (i.e.,
pollution, water shortages, civic
unrest);
Student Learning Outcomes
• An appreciation for the
contradictions, nuances, and
“competing narratives” that
comprise contemporary China
Media
 A Brief History of Chinese Animation
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s
V3CrMCeSQ4
 Characteristics and styles
 Conventional animation market
Student Learning Outcomes
• Students should have better
understanding about China
• Students should develop an
appreciation of China and its global
significance
• Students should be prepared to
continue their study on China