HIST 466 U.S.-China Relations Since 1800 [CRN 74069]

Overview of Course

This course will investigate the evolution of US-China/Sino-American relations from early points of encounter and exchange to the present. It will examine patterns and critical junctures in the relationship as reflected in a variety of primary and secondary sources including travel narratives, memoirs, journalistic and diplomatic writing, biography and autobiography and expert analysis. Our investigations will invite students to develop understanding of patterns of continuity, change, agency, and perspectives that have influenced public opinion and policy level decisions in this complex relationship over time as we focus on four “eras”: 1) Merchants, Missionaries, and Markets - Western contact with East Asia 1500-1900th. 2) Friends and Foes: 20th century World Wars, Korean and Cold Wars, breakdown in diplomacy, Great Leaps and Revolutions, China’s first nuclear test. 3} Warming and disrupting relations: ping-pong diplomacy, Nixon’s visit to China, normalization of relations, most-favored nations, and Tiananmen Square 1989. 4) Into the 21st Century: shifts in the international order, strategic security, South China Sea, Taiwan, and topics including environmental policy, human rights, the press, pandemic, and cyber warfare.
This is an upper division history course designed to deepen historical thinking, writing, and analytical skills of upper-level students through examination of a wide selection of sources addressing the historical evolution of US-China relations.