As China’s influence grows on the world stage, the specter of China looms ever larger in the political machinations of the US and its allies, while the promise of China as an humane alternative continues to bloom in the political imaginaries of leftists around the world. Understanding China is crucial if we are to respond effectively to global crises in ways that foster equity and justice, rather than deepening divisions, exacerbating suffering, and bolstering oppressive regimes—including those in the US and in the PRC. Equally urgent is our need to understand the significance of China as specter and as promise—the ways in which distorted representations of China as specter are being used to bolster US nationalism on the one hand, while, on the other hand, equally distorted representations of China as benevolent socialist regime are being used to gloss over myriad injustices in the country and beyond.

This syllabus follows the principles embraced by the Critical China Scholars to foster an understanding of China that resists Sinophobia and the nationalist agendas it feeds, while fostering solidarity with the many people in China and among the Chinese diaspora who are working for a more just and equitable world.

A critical perspective requires that we keep a sharp eye on the influence history and historical narratives are exerting on our current moment. Of course, present-day social inequities and ecological crises have been profoundly shaped by past events. At the same time, old political narratives are being resuscitated to frame new realities—and so we see a “new McCarthyism” and other phenomena reminiscent of the Cold War. Recognizing such historical parallels can be enlightening. However, some of the parallels being drawn are facile or downright misleading: Xi Jinping is not Mao Zedong; nor is Trump a “cultural revolutionary” in the style of the “Great Helmsman.”

In the West, China is often treated as a monolithic entity—hence the ease with which it is reduced to either a pariah state or a champion of equity and sustainability. In fact, as this syllabus demonstrates, China is complex, dynamic, and full of tensions. Rural China is experiencing capitalist transformation; PRC leaders have adopted varying approaches to global trade, often shaped by formative experiences during the Mao or Reform era; Chinese workers are embracing both active and passive means to resist capitalism, with profound implications for the global economy; innovations in China’s tech sector, along with the state’s ambitious environmental platform, continue to garner a paradoxical array of admiration, fear, and contempt internationally, distorting the nuanced reality; and political dissent has continued to emerge within China, while diasporic communities—most notably, international Chinese students—have increasingly become hotbeds of organized political discussion and action.

We welcome your critical engagement with the resources provided here, and we warmly encourage you to share the syllabus freely with all who may benefit from it.

Full syllabus available here.