Whether on the economic, political, or military front, the rivalry between Washington and Beijing is an issue that dominates the world’s headlines today.
This semester, students in Christopher Heurlin’s class US-China Relations (GOV 2540, ASNS 2061) are taking a deep dive into this globally important geopolitical story and the history behind it.
“The broad goal of the course,” explained the associate professor of government and Asian studies, “is to prepare students to be informed observers or even participants in US-China relations in their post-Bowdoin lives.”
Students begin with a historical overview, including a focus on the Opium Wars of the nineteenth century, in which Western powers used military force to gain access to Chinese markets. “This period is particularly important,” said Heurlin, “because it marks the beginning of a contemporary Chinese nationalist narrative of the ‘hundred years of national humiliation’ that ended only when the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949.”
This class then moves through the major events that shaped US-China relations in the second half of the twentieth century: the Korean War, the Sino-Soviet split, the Vietnam war, rapprochement between the US and China, and the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.
Another major task for the class, Heurlin added, is to understand how US-China relations are situated within a broader regional context. “We decenter the US and China and look at regional issues with an eye toward nationalism and territorial disputes, examining the South China Sea, the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands, and Taiwan.”
As the course progresses, students will try to understand how foreign policy is made in both Washington and Beijing and look at how bureaucratic perspectives shape the policy preferences of various actors. “The highlight of this is when students take on the roles of various principals (secretary of state, secretary of commerce, CIA director, etc.) in a simulation of US National Security Council responses to a fictional cyber hacking scenario.” The aim of this exercise, explained Heurlin, is to teach students that “how you stand depends on where you sit” and make them approach issues from a perspective that they might not otherwise encounter.
The class concludes with an in-depth look at some current news stories. “I typically send students one or two news articles before each class that highlight important topics that, ideally, we can link to course readings.”
Heurlin, who specializes in Chinese politics, recalled one particularly memorable current events session back in 2012, when students had just returned from spring break.
“Before the break, we’d been discussing the colorful Politburo member and party secretary of Chongqing, Bo Xilai.” A political highflyer, Bo Xilai seemed to be a top contender for a place on the hugely important Politburo Standing Committee. “Over spring break, however, he was purged for being involved in the cover-up of a murder of a British businessman by his wife.” The event sparked the biggest shake-up of the Chinese political system in decades and exposed some high-level political divisions—as well providing Heurlin’s students with plenty of material for class discussion!
Government major Cami Lindsey ’25 said part of the reason she took Professor Heurlin’s course was to be able to have “intelligent conversations with my peers (as well as be informed as a US citizen) about both China and the United States.” Lindsey is applying for a Fulbright teaching position in Spain after graduation and later plans to go to law school. “I can see myself one day working in an area of corporate law that deals with cross-border transactions, so knowledge on China and current events would definitely help me on that career path.”
Junior Sophia Poeschla is also interested in law school and is considering a career in journalism or government work. She enjoys the mix of lecture and active discussion that Heurlin’s class offers, as well as its relevance to current affairs. “The central questions of the class are actively shaped by current events, which is exciting and eye-opening, and also encourages me to learn beyond the course material.”
Also being taught by Heurlin this semester is The Politics of Dictatorship: Authoritarian Resilience and Democratization (GOV 2486).
