Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China

Ezra Vogel - Henry Ford II Research Professor of the Social Sciences, Harvard University

Monday, February 6, 2012 - 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Room 203, Luce Hall See map
34 Hillhouse Avenue
New Haven, CT 6511

Deng in 1978 inherited a country bitterly divided by the devastating Cultural Revolution, the average annual per capita income was less than $100, there was not enough food to feed the population, and China was isolated from the world. When he left the political stage in 1992, China had been growing almost 10% a year, food supply was adequate, contacts with the world had exploded, over three hundred million people had been lifted above the poverty line, and China was on the way to becoming a major power. What forces shaped Deng? What was his strategy for bringing about these changes? How did he accomplish it? Ezra F. Vogel is the Henry Ford II Professor of the Social Sciences Emeritus at Harvard. After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan in 1950 and serving two years in the U.S. Army, he studied sociology in the Department of Social Relations at Harvard, receiving his Ph.D. in 1958. He then went to Japan for two years to study the Japanese language and conduct research interviews with middle-class families. In 1960-1961 he was assistant professor at Yale University and from 1961-1964 a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard, studying Chinese language and history. He remained at Harvard, becoming lecturer in 1964 and, in 1967, professor. He retired from teaching on June 30, 2000. For a more complete bio, please click here

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