Jeff Wasserstrom, Professor
University of California, Irvine
This presentation will focus on the various ways that Shanghai has served as window onto the wider world for Chinese people who have lived in or near the metropolis, and also as a window onto China for foreigners who have made the city their home, gone there as tourists, or simply experienced it vicariously via films and other visual media. Special attention will be paid to two periods: the treaty-port era (1843-1943), during which the city was divided into foreign-run and Chinese-run districts, and the current Reform era (1979- ), during which the city has undergone a process of re-internationalization after turning inward during the Mao years (1949-1976). The talk will begin by debunking a few misleading and enduring urban legends regarding Shanghai, such as that it was only a "fishing village" before the Opium War (1839-1842). It will end in the present, with some comments on and photographs from the presenter’s recent visit to the 2010 Shanghai Expo, China's first World's Fair.
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