China in the Mao era is often dismissed as a period of unchecked ecological ruin, but the reality is far more complex. Professor Micah Muscolino of UC San Diego reveals how rapid industrialization collided with grassroots resistance and the “unruly agency” of nature itself. From forests to wetlands, he explores how early sustainability experiments coexisted with pollution and loss. 

Hear from Muscolino to discover how these tangled legacies of struggle and adaptation continue to shape China’s environmental dilemmas today.

Speaker:

• Micah Muscolino, Professor and Paul G. Pickowicz Endowed Chair in Modern Chinese History, UC San Diego

Moderator:

• Michael Davidson, Associate Professor, Jacobs School of Engineering and School of Global Policy and Stratedy, UC San Diego

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This public lecture is organized by the 21st Century China Center (21CCC) at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy. For more information about this and other 21CCC events, please visit china.ucsd.edu.