Tübingen, Germany
15th July 2019
The Department of Chinese Studies at the University of Tübingen invites applications for a new M.A. programme in Chinese Studies to be taught through the medium of English. This two-year programme focuses on the late imperial period with an emphasis on the ways in which China shaped and was shaped by the dynamics of globalisation from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. The programme will equip students with the competencies and skills to understand the important role of China in the historical process of globalisation both in the past and in the present.
With the “Age of Discovery” (15th to 18th centuries) and the development of new trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific sailing routes, the world entered a new historical phase characterized by a sustained and irreversible process of globalisation. Already influential as the historically dominant political, economic and cultural power in East Asia, China became an even more important part of this global development as European maritime expansion brought about an intensification of cultural exchange, especially via the Jesuit China Mission. Those new international contacts contributed to fundamental transformations of both state and society during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
The organizing framework of the curriculum is the Four Ways of Worldmaking which comprises the dimensions of power, wealth, knowledge, and meaning. Originating in historical sociology, this concept aims to provide theoretical and analytical tools for a comprehensive understanding and explanation of what constitutes “civilizations” and “societies,” thereby enabling productive comparisons between them and enhancing our understanding of intercivilisational encounters. This comparative historical perspective is a crucial aspect of the programme in which special courses are dedicated to theories and approaches in the history of globalisation with a focus on China. Moreover, the M.A. aims at enhancing the students’ mastery of modern and pre-modern Chinese, thus enabling them to undertake meaningful and targeted research in Chinese primary sources and secondary literature.
Tuition fees in Germany are relatively low as EU students pay only ca. 150 € per semester, while in the case of non-EU students these are 1500 € per semester.
For more details on programme and staff, please consult the PDF attachment: MA Chinese Studies_China and the Dynamics of Globalisation (Tuebingen)
or the following website: https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/150945
Students interested in this programme should consult first with Dr. Ulrich Theobald (ulrich.theobald@uni-tuebingen.de).
Tübingen, 20 March 2019
Prof. Dr. Hans Ulrich Vogel