14258

SoSe 13: Theoretical Foundations of Sinological Studies

Klaus Mühlhahn, Xin Fan

Comments

From a modest start in the 1970s, the field of China studies has gained a tremendous growth since the past few decades. However, as almost every aspect of China is being intensively examined by China scholars today, the relationship between theory and practice remains an issue that is open for debate within the field. In this class, we will together explore how the theoretical paradigmatic shifts in China studies have influenced the formation of the knowledge about China during the past century and how this process still affects our perception of China today. As an introduction to sinological studies, this course takes up a dual structure addressing the dynamics between theories in social sciences and humanities and their applications in the field of China studies. The major theoretical works addressed will include the ones by Max Weber, Karl Marx, G. William Skinner, Benedict Anderson, Michel Foucault, Edward Said, Joan Scott and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. We will also discuss the works by China scholars including but not limited to J.K. Fairbanks, William Hinton, Kenneth Pomeranz, Prasenjit Duara, Arif Dirlik, Gail Hershatter as well as Paul Cohen. In doing so, we will come to a better awareness of the theoretical foundations of modern sinological studies. The course is open to M.A. students who are interested in sinological studies, and class discussion will be conducted in English. close

14 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Tue, 14:00 - 16:00 14 Class schedule

Tue, 2013-04-09 14:00 - 16:00

Lecturers:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Klaus Mühlhahn
Xin Fan