China and Communism
The Maoist period of China
Join Harvard University faculty in this online course to explore the Maoist period of China, from the Communist Party to the death of Mao and the reopening of China.
1-3 hours per week
What You'll Learn
How did the Communists conquer China? What role does culture play? What are the successes and failures of the Chinese Communist Party after seizing power in 1949? What constitutes liberation?
This course will help you answer these important questions as you explore the profound cultural, intellectual, political and economic changes of this period. You’ll learn how Communist China fits in with a larger socialist world order and how historical interpretations of this period reinforce or challenge the official narrative in China today.
Join us to develop your own approach and gain a critical understanding of the rise of the Communist Party, Sino-Soviet relations, the Cultural Revolution, and, ultimately, the reopening of China.
The course will be delivered via edX and connect learners around the world. By the end of the course, participants will learn:
- How the rise of the Chinese Communist Party came about.
- What changed under the People’s Republic under Mao Zedong.
- What China’s reopening and reform in the 1970s meant for the country.
- About the cultural, intellectual, political, economic changes in this period.
Your Instructors
Peter K. Bol
Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations
at Harvard University
Read full bio.
Ways to take this course
When you enroll in this course, you will have the option of pursuing a Verified Certificate or Auditing the Course.
A Verified Certificate costs $149 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate.
Alternatively, learners can Audit the course for free and have access to select course material, activities, tests, and forums. Please note that this track does not offer a certificate for learners who earn a passing grade.