United States and China: Past, Present and Future

explore ~ experience ~ expand

Monday, September 13 - Friday, September 17, 2010
No fee

Organizing Faculty:
     Gordon Chang, Professor of History

This workshop will consider, in broad and even speculative terms, the history and possible future of relations between the United States and China. That the relationship between the two countries will shape world events in the coming years has become a truism and this class will bring graduate students and faculty from a variety of disciplines together to discuss the inter-action in terms of history, culture, economics, politics, security, and society. Are the two possible enemies, rivals, or friends? How might the relationship affect economies, societies, and cultures? In what ways might historical trends and cultural patterns affect the relationship? In what ways might the relationship shape regional or even global conditions?

Historian Gordon H. Chang will lead the discussion and call on Stanford colleagues from other disciplines to provide contrasting but complimentary scholarly perspectives. Students will meet collectively and in small groups to focus on particular questions of interest, such as issues of human rights, the environment, Taiwan, trade and investment, immigration, or security, and will make presentations in class on the last day. There will be no assigned readings. The course seeks to bring a wide diversity of graduate students together; some may have intellectual and research interests related to China, others may have personal or ancestral curiosities, and others may join simply to be better informed about our rapidly changing world.