This course explores the history of the world since the time of the Mongol Empire. It is not intended to "cover" all of world history since that time (for that is neither possible nor useful) but is designed instead to emphasize several key themes. This course challenges students to think critically about the interconnectedness—the exchange of ideas, peoples, goods, diseases, etc.—of past worlds and the forces that shaped such connections. Its goals are to help students develop the language and tools to understand the structures and transformations of past societies and to initiate them into the art and techniques of historical analysis.
Offered: 02W | 05W
ASIA/HIST 270: China in World History
An introduction to the history of China in a global context. Our journey will begin with the Mongol empire in the thirteenth century and conclude with preliminary reflections on the most recent past. Through close reading of both primary sources and secondary scholarship, students will gain a better understanding of what it means to “do” history as well as how China’s transformations could be contextualized in world-historical terms.
ASIA 320/HIST 378: History of Early China
This course explores the history of China from the earliest periods to the disintegration of the Tang empire (618–907). It introduces students to the origins and foundations of Chinese society and initiates them into the language and techniques of historical analysis. Challenging the stereotype of a monolithic and static China, it emphasizes the internal and external forces shaping patterns of integration and division, continuity and change, across this broad geocultural unit. Throughout, students attend to the possibilities and limits of historical evidence.
ASIA 340/HIST 379: History of Later Imperial China
This course explores the history of China from the disintegration of the Tang empire at the turn of the tenth century to the eve of the country's modern transformation. Its goals are to help students develop the language and tools to understand the political, socio-economic, and cultural changes in later imperial China and to initiate them to the art and techniques of historical analysis. This course challenges the stereotype of a monolithic and static China and encourages students to develop a critical understanding of the internal and external forces integrating and dividing this geo-cultural unit.
ASIA/HIST 373: History of Hong Kong
This course explores the history, culture, and identities of Hong Kong from the port's pre-colonial settings in the early nineteenth century to its post-colonial contexts. Its goals are to help students develop the language and tools to understand the metamorphoses of this most unusual metropolis as well as to further their skills in historical analysis. This course encourages students to critically consider Hong Kong's multifaceted identities as well as to take into account the local, national, and transnational (not to mention international) contexts of its spectacular transformations.
HIST 321/421: Honours Tutorial—Culture and Society in Imperial China
The goal of this course is to help students understand and explore the dynamics of later imperial China through a close examination of how beliefs and practices -- the stuff of culture—were created and transmitted. This seminar is designed for students who may be unfamiliar with Chinese history but who are committed to an in-depth exploration. Our focus is on the later imperial period (ca. 1000–1800), but the questions we pose clearly have broader implications. Reading assignments will include both primary texts (in translation) and secondary studies. This course encourages students to think critically about "China" and "Chinese culture" and invites them to locate the Chinese historical experiences in a wider context.
Offered: 01W | 03W | 04W
HIST 433: Fourth-Year Honours Seminar
In this required seminar for fourth-year Honours students, we will come together as a community to practice the craft of history. We will break down into concrete steps the process of historical research, and we will learn to tackle challenges ranging from identifying the underlying problems that motivate the research, understanding the potentials as well as limitations of the available sources, to developing a feasible plan for completing a thesis. Along the way, students will explore some common resources, and they will learn to serve as each other’s most trenchant yet gentle sounding boards.
ASIA 440: Cultural History of Imperial China
The goal of this course is to help student understand and explore the dynamics of Chinese society in the late imperial period (esp. the Ming and Qing dynasties) through a close examination of how beliefs and practices—the stuff of culture—were created and transmitted. Among the topics to be discussed are the civil service examination system, foot-binding, garden culture, vernacular literature, popular religion, village life, etc. Students are expected to participate actively in class discussion and to carry out a major research assignment using (translated) primary sources. This course encourages students to think critically about the nature of "Chinese culture" and invites them to locate the Chinese historical experiences in a wider context.
Offered: 05W | 06W | 07W | 08W | 09W | 11W | 12W | 13W | 14W | 17W | 19W
HIST 490: History, Memory, and Cultural Identity
In this seminar, we will explore the relationship between history, memory, and cultural identity. Why have certain stories about the past been told in certain ways? How have monuments and museums, for example, shaped our understanding of the past? And how has our imagination of the past shaped our cultural identities? Readings for this seminar will include both theoretical works as well as specific case studies that are drawn from a variety of geographical and temporal settings. For their research papers, students are encouraged to make use of a wide range of sources, including both traditional textual materials as well as other non-traditional sources.
Offered: 11W
ASIA 501: Research Methods and Source Materials in Classical Chinese Studies
An introduction to the research tools for the study of China. Topics to be covered will in part depend on the students' particular research interests.
