ASIAN 4405 - Market and Material Life in Early Modern China

(GHB) (HA-AS, HST-AS)

Fall. 4 credits. Student option grading.

Co-meets with ASIAN 6605.

S. Son.

The development of market economy in early modern China (roughly from the late sixteenth to the nineteenth century) not only challenged the ideals of traditional Confucian economic order but also gave rise to heated debates about redefining the meanings of mercantile activity, morality, social identity, and gender norms. In this course, we focus on material life flourished in early modern society and explore the meaning attached to it. By situating the shifting meaning of things in the historical context, this course will first examine the theoretical foundation to understand the early modern market economy and its impact on moral, social, and political order, and moves into the exploration of the specific issues regarding anthropological life of things, things as distinction, fake and authenticity, artisanal labor and ownership, cultures of collecting, and cross-cultural connections through things. (SC)