This course examines China’s dramatic recent history through multiple lenses: historical survey, biography, memoir, film and journalism. We begin by identifying key themes and questions to guide our study. Then we move back in time to the 19th century, when contact with Westerners provoked war and internal rebellions. We examine the decline and eventual collapse of the imperial dynastic system, the rise of warlordism, an experiment in weak republican government, the prolonged civil war, China’s role in World War II, the founding of the People’s Republic, the thought and governance of Mao Zedong, the economic and social reforms of Deng Xiaoping, and China’s entry into the global marketplace. The last part of the course utilizes a variety of current sources to address the major issues facing China in the 21st century.