The third and final course of this year’s Beijing: East Asia, Then and Now program (Beijing CIV program), Revolutions and Rebellions in Modern Chinese History, was taught by Professor Emeritus Dingxin Zhao. Taking a sociological approach to China’s modern past, the course traced how social structures, collective action, and popular mobilization shaped major revolutions and episodes of resistance from the late Qing period through the twentieth century. Through this perspective, students were encouraged to move beyond event-based narratives and engage more critically with the social dynamics that underpinned China’s modern transformations.
The CIV program concluded with a formal ceremony at Renmin University of China, where students received Chinese language course completion certificates issued by the university. The event marked the culmination of the quarter abroad experience and reflected the strong academic partnership between UChicago and RUC. Students’ experiences in the program were also featured in recent UChicago News story, Exploring China Through a Quarter Abroad, casting the CIV program as a meaningful experience for the students involved and an important chapter for the UChicago Center in Beijing.
