In spring 1989, millions of Chinese took to the streets calling for political reforms. The nationwide movement, highlighted by hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, ended on June 4 with the People's Liberation Army firing on unarmed civilians. Over INTNLREL 200,INTNLREL 000 soldiers, equipped with tanks and machine guns, participated in the lethal action. Student leaders, intellectuals, and citizens were subsequently purged, imprisoned, or exiled. Tiananmen remains a political taboo in China today. The Tiananmen Mothers are still now allowed to openly mourn their loved ones. The course instructor herself was banned from returning to her position as an Associate Professor in Hong Kong because of her research and teaching on this forbidden memory. This interdisciplinary course will explore the Tiananmen Movement in history and memory, and its long-term impact and implications on Chinese society and politics, and China's relationship with the world. The teaching of this course has been featured by the Associated Press, BBC, CNN, NPR, CBC, The New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters, Inside Higher Education, Times Higher Education, and Wall Street Journal, and campus publications including Harvard Political Review, Harvard Magazine, Harvard Crimson, and Wellesley News.
3-5 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit · GER: WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
In spring 1989, millions of Chinese took to the streets calling for political reforms. The nationwide movement, highlighted by hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, ended on June 4 with the People's Liberation Army firing on unarmed civilians. Over 200,000 soldiers, equipped with tanks and machine guns, participated in the lethal action. Student leaders, intellectuals, and citizens were subsequently purged, imprisoned, or exiled. Tiananmen remains a political taboo in China today. The Tiananmen Mothers are still now allowed to openly mourn their loved ones. The course instructor herself was banned from returning to her position as an Associate Professor in Hong Kong because of her research and teaching on this forbidden memory. This interdisciplinary course will explore the Tiananmen Movement in history and memory, and its long-term impact and implications on Chinese society and politics, and China's relationship with the world. The teaching of this course has been featured by the Associated Press, BBC, CNN, NPR, CBC, The New York Times, Washington Post, Reuters, Inside Higher Education, Times Higher Education, and Wall Street Journal, and campus publications including Harvard Political Review, Harvard Magazine, Harvard Crimson, and Wellesley News.
Offered in Autumn 2026 at Stanford University.