
Dynasty: The Shape of Chinese History
Mon 21 Jul 2025, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Chinese history for over 2,000 years has been all about the rise and fall of successive dynasties. The empire was founded around the same time as the Roman Empire and it collapsed not long before the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Then, unlike Rome, it rose again – and again. This lecture examines the distinctive cyclical pattern of Chinese history and what it can tell us about the prospects for China and the world under the latest, Communist, dynasty currently ruled by Xi Jinping.
Event Information
Price: £15.00
Room: Brunt Room
Customer Information: Pen / notepad / device are optional
Your Tutor
Name: Michael Williams
Bio: Michael Williams has an undergraduate degree in History and an MSc in Politics. For 21 years he worked as a ministerial adviser in Whitehall before leaving for academic life in 1995. He spent another 26 years teaching a great variety of courses in different universities until retiring in 2021.
He’s been teaching courses on politics and history at the Settlement for several years. He published a book on Britain since 1867 in 2000 and a family memoir in 2022. Michael is currently working on a sequel.
Department: Humanities