Leader: Jim Levey, formerly a partner at American China Mercantile and a senior manager at IBM. Jim holds an advanced degree in China Studies and is now working to introduce those studies into the public school curriculum. In the past sixty-seven years, China has made a phenomenal transformation through a careful blend of capitalism and a centrally planned economy. China’s 2025 technology program and One Belt, One Road initiative underscores its ambitions for hegemony. Yet as China takes its place in the modern world, it faces immense difficulties: a growing inequality gap, widespread corruption, and rampant pollution, all of which provoke mounting calls for political reform. This course will examine the future of U.S.–China relations in light of ongoing conflicts on trade, military, and other issues. We will examine China’s past, from imperial times onward, and explore its history, philosophies, and traditions to try to better understand the underlying forces that explain China today. Contact: Jim Levey : (914)584-2416 : leveyjim6@gmail.com