Volume horaire : 52
Description du contenu de l'enseignement :
Today, the world is an urban place—more than half of the world’s population lives in towns and cities. It is especially important to understand urban development in developing countries, where the great bulk of urban growth is now taking place. This course examines China’s urbanization in the past 6 decades, including its processes, forces and problems. Since the second half of 20th century, China has undergone unprecedented urban transformation that in turn is changing the landscape of this most populous country. The urbanization rate in China grew from roughly 10% in 1949, to 17.9% in 1978, to 26.2% in 1990, to 36.1% in 2000, and to 49.7% in 2010. China just crossed the 50% mark in 2011 and transformed from a rural to a predominantly urban society, which poses enormous opportunities as well as challenges for China.
This course introduces students to the recent literature on the immense urban transformation and offers a critical understanding of China’s urbanization, social-spatial restructuring and urban issues. The course focuses on the post-1978 period, which fundamentally differs from the preceding 30 years of state socialism.
The topics are mainly divided into four parts :
Part I sets the context, describing the global context of urban development, China’s geographical setting, and historical urban system.
Part II focuses on the processes and the uniqueness of urbanization in China. Issues such as the socialist ideology, the household registration (hukou) system, rural-urban migration and globalization will be discussed. We will also pay special attention to the urban development in Shanghai.
Part III outlines the social-spatial restructuring of Chinese cities in post-reform era. We will study the urban expansion on the edge as well as the urban renewal in the old city core.
Part IV examines various urban issues emerging with the rapid urbanization, such as the massive migration, citizenship and assimilation, urban land and housing problems, urban inequality and social discontent, and environmental issues.
This course will combine lectures, class discussions, documentary and book discussions, and fieldtrips to help students better grasp the course materials. Students will be engaged in active learning activities, such as synthesizing reading materials, identifying questions for discussion, leading discussion, writing book reviews, and research paper.
Compétence à acquérir :
At the end of this course, students will:
Mode de contrôle des connaissances :
Assessment and Grading
Your final grade in this course will be assessed as follows:
Class attendance & participation: 15%
Book discussions & reviews: 20%
Mid-term exam: 25%
Final research paper: 40%
Presentation: 10%
Paper: 30%
Bibliographie, lectures recommandées :
Textbooks
Weiping Wu and Piper Gaubatz, 2013. The Chinese city, New York:Routledge.
Thomas J. Campanella, 2008. The concrete dragon: China’s urban revolution and what it means for the world. Princeton Architectural Press.
Required Readings
Nien Cheng, 1987. Life and death in Shanghai, Penguin Books
Peter Hessler, 2010. Country driving: journey through China from farm to factory. New York: Harper.
Leslie T. Chang, 2008. Factory girls: from village to city in a changing China.Spiegel & Grau.
Richard McGregor,2010. The party: the secret world of China’s communist rulers, Harper Collins.
Evan Osnos, 2014. Age of ambition: chasing fortune, truth, and faith in the new China,Macmillan Publishers.