HIST 420 - Big Government: A Legal and Cultural History of Bureaucracy in China

Semester Offered: Second Semester
Full Course
Credits: 4 credits
Attribute: 4SS, CD, WADV

When does government become too big? Imperial China saw the largest corps of officials in the world for the first nineteen centuries CE. Did Chinese administration represent a marvel of rationality, as 18th century European observers suggested? Or did it resemble popular depictions of hell, where rulers of the underworld were depicted behind desks overflowing with files. In this legal history course, we read broadly from exemplary scholarship, theories of law and society, and sources legal, literary and visual. Topics include: the birth of the file, moral legislation and illicit sex, the law of the underworld, and examination meritocracy and nightmare

Enrollment Limit: 12
Instructor: J. Watson

Consent of the Instructor Required: Yes
Cross List Information: EAST 390