Prof. Groth received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford University. He has taught at major universities in the United States (Stanford University, University of California, and University of Hawaii), the Netherlands (Leiden University), and China (Peking University, Beijing Foreign Studies University, and China Foreign Affairs College). In addition to his academic experience, Prof. Groth has worked for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games, and served as a senior advisor to Shenzhen government in Guangdong Province as the city prepared to host the 26th Summer Universiade [World University Games]. He has also worked for a think tank of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology and for Bain & Company, a major management consulting company. Prof. Groth has an American passport, but considers himself to be a citizen of the world. He has lived about half his life in the United States, and about half his life in other countries, mainly Japan, China, and the Netherlands, with frequent visits to Thailand and the Philippines. His interests are: The rise of China’s “middle class”, and its impact on China and the world.
Since its “Reform and Opening Up” from 1978, China has achieved an “economic miracle” and has become the world’s second largest economy. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people have been pulled out of poverty, and China’s “middle income group” of voracious consumers is now larger than the middle classes of North America, Europe, and Japan combined.
This course explores how China has been organized, managed and reformed. We will examine the political, economic and social forces that have promoted China’s modernization.
We will explore important questions:
We will use a multi-disciplinary approach and macro and micro perspectives to examine various topics:
The course will include lectures and discussions, which will focus on assigned readings. We will also discuss short videos, including materials from the state-owned China Global Television Network.
Students will read the work of both Chinese and non-Chinese authors. Readings will include articles and book chapters by political scientists, economists, sociologists, and anthropologists, as well as journalists, government officials, and business leaders.
