Teaching - Lecturer

Teaching

Chao (Alec) Wang

Title:

Lecturer

Education Background:

PhD University of Chicago
MPhil University of Hong Kong
BA Nankai University

Email

alecwang@cuhk.edu.cn

Office Address

TB503

Phone

Teaching Area

Modern China, Social History of Medicine and Disability, Social Welfare Policy, Social Inclusion and Integration at the Margin

Other

Research

Modern Chinese History, Social History, Disability Studies, Gender Studies, History of Medicine and the Body, Health and Human Rights

Personal Website

https://cuhk-shenzhen.academia.edu/ChaoAlecWang

Teaching List

GEC3112 Law, Society and Family Life in Modern China

This course introduces the evolving interactions among law, society and family life in modern Chinese society. Focusing on social and state institutions governing family life, we aim to understand how did this interaction change throughout China’s Late Imperial period and into the Twentieth Century. Our readings of primary and secondary sources drawn from the Qing through the PRC periods will show the effect of structural legal change at the local level of the Chinese family. We will also explore the social meanings of exclusion from the Confucian family-lineage system along the dynamic process of identity making. Theoretically, the course engages with the ongoing debate over the exercise of civil law in modern China. How do the legal dimensions of crime and punishment change over time? What role does the law play in shaping social attitudes toward behaviors against family norms and values? The class also provides opportunities to reflect upon the overall evolution of China’s legal system and popular culture throughout this dynamic period.

GEC2108/HST2001 The Historian’s Craft: Historiography and Methodology

Getting to know about the past is a complicated process that demands careful work. This course introduces the basic problems and methods of research into history. It will unfold around two keywords. First, it will discuss what historians call ‘sources’, as well as how to access them, evaluate them, and analyze them for research. Second, it will introduce the concept of ‘historiography’, namely the ways historians organize sources—often fragmented information—into narratives about the past through analyses. Through the course, students are expected to develop a basic understanding of historical research and its elementary skills. It will also help students cultivate their critical ability to draw arguments from limited sources, to efficiently interrogate the sources, and to understand the complexity of history.

GEA2000 Modern Chinese History and Culture

“Understanding China” has become an important world-wide subject matter in the 21st century, and the most crucial part lies in the understanding of modern Chinese history, for its dramatic change not only re-determined the bilateral relationship between China and the West, but also shaped contemporary China. This course sheds light on the process of China’s modernization. Through the investigation of the long journey from the Opium Wars to Reform and Opening-up, students will construct a comparative and comprehensive framework of China’s past and present. They are expected to gain critical and multidimensional understanding of China’s historical experiences, social practice, culture, and political structure, and develop necessary skills to analyze China’s future development through reading original works, academic studies and attending field trips.