3716 - From Mao to Now - New Topics (Mike Revzin)
Course Description
Instructor: Mike Revzin
A look at the dramatic changes in China since Chairman Mao’s death 50 years ago. Includes many new topics not covered in the previous class.
Topics include:
A Communist country that allows free enterprise, a major polluter that is a leader in clean energy, a nation that plans to send astronauts to the moon, but where much labor is still done by hand.
Other topics: U.S.-China relations, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the military, women’s rights, the auto industry and the rapid development of high-speed railways.
We’ll also explore how China has evolved from a mostly rural society to a largely urban one. Other topics include education, higher living standards and greater freedom (with major restrictions).
We’ll look at what travel was like for foreign tourists when China first opened up, and get some travel tips.
And there will be a few “pop quizzes” to test your knowledge of some surprising facts.
Bio: Mike Revzin worked as a journalist in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Shanghai. He edits a magazine about China, has published many articles and book reviews on that subject and has edited books about that country.
Some information in the class will be based on his often humorous personal anecdotes. He has presented overviews of China at an orientation program for foreigners in Shanghai, to business people preparing to live in China, and to various other groups. He also has an academic background in Asian Studies.