LASS251 Chinatown and Beyond:A World Historical Perspective 3cr

This course examines historical and contemporary Chinese diasporas in the global context. The
Chinese diaspora has been a significant part of Chinese history, and Chinese migrants have
assumed important roles such as the “Mother of the Republican Revolution” or have been
portrayed in controversial images such as “neocolonialists” as large numbers of Chinese
migrants made their presence in Africa along with the rising China in recent decades. The Chinese
diaspora is also one of the major world diasporas and helps us understand important
global issues such as race, empire, colonialism, imperialism, nationalism, and globalization. This
course focuses on the following topics: connections Chinese diasporas created between
China and other societies and cultures; migrants’ cultural and ethnic identities and the
transformation of the meanings of “Chineseness,” different types of Chinese diasporas and the
evolvement of Chinatowns worldwide; migrants’ transnational networks past and present; and
commonalities and differences between the Chinese diaspora and other diasporas such as Jewish,
Italian and Indian diasporas. We will use a wide variety of primary sources such as laws, poems,
epigraphic materials, novels, and films, and we encourage interdisciplinary approaches to explore
global political and economic structures as well as migrants’ daily lives and identities.[Formerly titled: Chinese Diasporas: Past and Present]

Prerequisites: FRSM-100 and LALW-100

Fall