OLLI0123 - China’s Modernization

Course Description

China, officially the People's Republic of China, has achieved what no other nation or civilization has accomplished in the annals of recorded history. Within an approximate 30 year period, China has gone from a society mired in abject poverty as a result of Chairman Mao’s attempt to create a total egalitarian society coupled with an attack on intellectuals and anyone with a bourgeoisie background, to a modern society with the second largest economy in the world. In the process, they have taken hundreds of millions of people from abject poverty to a middle and upper-class status. This class will attempt to provide an explanation on how this was accomplished based on numerous factors unique to China’s cultural and political history. I will draw upon my research as an associate professor of Chinese history and philosophy and having spent over thirty years traveling in China as a consultant on trade with China. At the conclusion of the class, we hope you will have an understanding of both what China has accomplished and how it was accomplished. It is unique to China and cannot be compared to the U.S. model nor serve as a model for Russia. This course will be recorded. Watch video