JSIS 484A: Women, Nationalism & Cosmopolitanism in Taiwan

Instructor

Melissa J. Brown

Course Description

This course explores why Taiwanese society’s treatment of women makes it significantly different from—more cosmopolitan and more resilient than—China, where ultranationalism today promotes imperialism. We consider how gender shapes society—more specifically, how the treatment of women (and feminized genders) creates the basis for effective cosmopolitan counterpoints to imperialism, colonialism, and nationalism. The course covers Taiwan’s history from approximately 1600 to the present. Lecture, in-class discussion, and reading examine gender, nationalism, and cosmopolitanism in such key areas as marriage and kinship; household, regional, and global economies; political resistance and war; collective identities and community.

FALL 2021

TTH 4:30-6:20 p.m.

5 Credits