I teach a variety of courses which deal with international aspects of modern Chinese history: China and the West, the History of East Asia, and China’s Foreign Policy since 1949. My goal is to expose students to different historical approaches to China as the center and source of this region’s civilization and culture. At the same time, my students learn that Chinese culture was constantly shaped and challenged by their Eurasian neighbors, goods and ideas. I try to engage students in comparative histories of late imperial frontiers, minorities, common people, revolutions, wars, social and cultural change, in order to challenge traditional “Western”-oriented macro-narratives, which dominate national histories and focus on the role of governments.
I encourage my students to think globally, and beyond one discipline. For example, I emphasize the importance of geography, archaeology, ethnography in the study of historical processes. While encouraging students to use primary historical sources as learning tools, I demonstrate that Chinese and East Asian history is relevant to the modern world and to international politics. For example, I discuss how most recent conflicts and territorial disputes in East Asia are rooted in the history of colonialism and imperialism in these countries.
In my classes, I use such methods of instruction as lectures, presentations by students, discussions, role-playing, audio-visual and media materials, in order to enrich students’ learning experience. I use different methods of assessment, such as book reviews, papers, exams and participation, allowing students to learn gradually, and through different activities. I encourage them to conduct independent research for their final project (usually a short paper), which allows them to complement general knowledge, obtained from lectures and textbooks, with case studies, for which they have to find relevant historical sources. I believe that the diversity in my teaching methods and in learning activities helps students to develop their own critical research and analytical skills. Chinese modern history, its regions, borders and people;
East Asian history;
China and the world;
Imperial, Soviet and post-Soviet Russia