| Unit name | Scramble for China, 1830-1900 (Level C Special Topic) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST10032 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | C/4 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Bickers |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
HIST13003 Special Topic Project |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
In 1830 foreigners in China were limited to trading at the port of Canton. By 1900 many Chinese feared their nation faced total extinction at the hands of aggressive foreign empires. How had his come about, and how can we understand it as a phase in China's history and the histories of imperialism and globalisation? What did the foreign powers want, and how they act to get it? The period saw two 'opium' wars, amongst other conflicts, a massive Christian-inspired rebellion that led to the bloodiest civil war in recorded history, while the century finished with a tumultuous anti-Christian uprising. Throughout there was also a steady growth in Sino-foreign trade that positioned itself as separate from the violence of 'semi-colonial' China. This unit will explore how the foreign presence in China changed so dramatically in the period, and asks how 'colonial' it was. How did foreign officials, traders and missionaries view their respective roles in China? And to what extent was connecting China to global empires intentional? Taking China as a case study and using a wide range of sources including the treaty port press, memoirs and photography this unit engages with wider historical debates about global imperial rivalry in the nineteenth-century.
By the end of the unit students should have:
1. identified, analysed, and deepened their understanding of the development of China during the nineteenth century and, in particular, the increasing influence of Western powers there;
2. understood the historiographical debates that surround the topic;
3. learned how to work with primary sources;
4. developed their skills in contributing to and learning from discussion in a small-group environment.
Weekly 2-hour seminar
Access to tutorial consultation with unit tutor in office hours
2-hour unseen written examination (summative, 100%)
The examination will assess ILOS 1-4 by assessing the students' understanding of the unit's key themes, the related historiography as developed during their reading and participation in / learning from small group seminars, and relevant primary sources. Further assessment of their handling of the relevant primary sources will be provided by the co-requisite Special Topic Project (HIST 13003).
Robert Bickers, The Scramble for China: Foreign devils in the Qing Empire, 1832-1914 (2012)
Jacques Gernet, China and the Christian Impact: A Conflict of Cultures (1985)
James L. Hevia, English Lessons: The Pedagogy of Imperialism in Nineteenth century China (2003)
Stephen R. Platt, Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War (2012)
William T. Rowe, China’s Last Empire: The Great Qing (2012)
