The Making of Modern China in Four Acts: Empire, Republic, Party-State, Superpower

A Distinguished Scholar Seminar featuring Michelle King, Associate Professor of History.

The twenty-first century may be China’s century. With the world’s largest population and the second largest, most rapidly growing economy of the major nations, China is positioned to play a dominant role in world affairs for decades to come. China’s current ascendancy seems natural to many today, but a century ago few could have predicted its rise. Join one of UNC-Chapel Hill’s distinguished historians of Modern China, Dr. Michelle King, as she recounts China’s turbulent twentieth-century history through the stories of familiar figures like Mao Zedong and through voices of people left out of most narratives—especially those of female witnesses to the tragedies and triumphs of the nation.

This seminar has both in person and virtual registration options and runs from 9:15 am to 4:15 pm on Saturday, May 21.

Topics include:

• From Empire to Republic, 1911-1937 
• China at War, 1939-49 
• Mao’s Revolutions, 1949-78 
• Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, 1978-Present 

MichelleKing is Associate Professor of History at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is the author of Between Birth and Death: Female Infanticide in Nineteenth-Century China (Stanford University Press, 2014) and editor of Culinary Nationalism in Asia(Bloomsbury Academic, 2019).

TIME AND TUITION

9:15 am-4:15 pm, Saturday, May 21. The tuition is $125 to attend in person or $75 for virtual viewing. The optional lunch on Saturday is $20.

UNC Students can attend for free, but pre-registration is required. Discounts are available for UNC faculty, & staff. To register as a UNC Student, Staff, or Faculty, see our Registration Policy here.

Co-Sponsored by the General Alumni Association. For information about GAA discounts and other scholarships available to Humanities Program participants, click here.

In-person tuition for teachers is $62.50. Teachers can also receive a $75 stipend after attending (click here for more information) and 10 contact hours for 1 unit of renewal credit. Current K-12 teachers interested in receiving a complimentary virtual viewing registration for this seminar can apply here. *Registration for this event closes on May 20 at 3pm*

Register here or call us at 919.962.1544.

In-person registrants will receive a packet containing suggested readings, a map to the seminar location, and more about 2-3 weeks before the program date. Virtual participants will receive an email with background materials about 1 week before the program and a Zoom link the day before the program.

**Please note that due to UNC regulations, masks are recommended, but not required for all in-person events regardless of vaccination status. In-person and hybrid events may switch to virtual-only based upon recommendations from local, state, and national public health officials. If an in-person or hybrid event is designated “virtual-only,” the CPH staff will contact registrants and provide them with information on how to attend virtually or with options for receiving credits or refunds. If you have any questions, please email human@unc.edu or call 919.962.1544. We appreciate your flexibility during these trying times.**