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public programs

LECTURE: UNDERSTANDING CHINA: PAST & PRESENT

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Wednesday, July 18, 2012, 11 AM - 12 NOON

Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of History, UCI, author of China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2010), available in the Gallery Store.  

Even though China is often thought of in the West as a land characterized by strong political control, it has also been transformed periodically by upheavals that could change a bandit into an emperor or, more recently, lead to the country taking on a whole new name.  The interplay between struggles for change (many of which failed but some of which succeed) and efforts to maintain stability (many of which succeed but some of which backfire).  This year is a good one in which to focus on this theme, since we have already seen the once rebellious and now stability-loving Chinese Communist Party celebrate the 90th anniversary of its birth and October 10, 2011 marked the 100th anniversary of the Revolution that first changed China from a monarchy into a Republic.  This illustrated talk will focus on the varied ways that stories and symbols associated with Chinese history have been reworked by the current government to help buttress the contemporary political system.

Free to members; Free with paid admission; $8 general.

For more information, please e-mail: education@bowers.org or call 714.567.3677.

Sponsored by The Medellas Foundation.