This course examines the origins and evolution of the Cold War from 1945 to 1991 with an emphasis on the pivotal role of China in this global ideological and geopolitical contest between the United States and the Soviet Union. In our weekly meetings, we will explore major topics in the history and historiography of the Cold War: its origins and the Yalta Conference; George Kennan, his “long telegram,” and the containment strategy; the USSR and its satellite states and the Berlin Blockade; the Chinese Civil War; the Korean War; the Taiwan Strait Crises; Third World proxy wars in the Middle-East and Indochina; the Sino-Soviet split; the Sino-American rapprochement; the American-Soviet détente; the end of the Cold War and its legacies. While it is impossible to cover every facet of the Cold War in chronological order, we focus on topics and themes that will help us define the Cold War’s place in history and its impact on our world today.The class format will consist of a short lecture, student presentations of primary sources, scholarly sources, and research projects, and discussion. Course assignments include weekly reading summaries, notes, and responses, two book reviews, and a final research paper utilizing both primary and secondary sources.