Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
SECTION #
25834R
25835R
25819R
25836R
25837R
25823R
25838R
25839R
INSTRUCTOR
Yi Shao
Yi Shao
Caitlyn Stone
Cassandra Dierolf
Cassandra Dierolf
Stefan Tsai
Stefan Tsai
Caitlyn Stone
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is an introduction to Chinese politics, history, society and culture focused
specifically on Chinas interactions with the world beyond its borders. It is designed to
prepare the student to take a wide variety of upper-division courses across the humanities
and the social sciences and to introduce students to some basic research methods in
history and international relations. The overarching goal of the class is to prepare students
to understand issues related to contemporary China and more broadly across East Asia.
This course will provide an overview of the historical and contemporary issues that bring
China into ever increasing prominence in global politics, trade and culture. The course
will begin with an overview of Chinas diplomatic and political history as it provides a
repository of themes that still reverberate strongly today. We then move on to focus on
how Chinas integration into the global economy and its rise as a major power in
international trade and the East Asian region raises challenges and opportunities, both
new and old, for Chinas neighbors, the US, and in countries throughout the world, from
Africa to the Caribbean.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
After completing the course students will be able to:
Apply methods of social analysis from political science, economics, and
sociology to the study of China.
Demonstrate an understanding of the interplay between human action and
institutions and organizations in the contemporary global economy. We will do
this in several arenas. For example, a central unit of this course involves
analyzing Chinas role as the workshop of the world from the perspectives of
various Chinese individuals and groups participating in manufacturing, trade and
economic development.
Have a basic understanding of the importance of careful description and
explanation in the social sciences
Know how to identify the main argument in a reading and to interpret it critically
based on the logic and evidence presented
Use academic resources and research tools (for example, databases like LexisNexis) in order to compile, organize, and assess the usefulness of empirical
evidence, skills to be demonstrated through group work and formal presentations
Have a basic knowledge of Chinese history and contemporary Chinese society
and politics
LECTURES: You are STRONGLY encouraged to attend all lectures and take careful
notes. The content from lectures will be on the exams and will also be useful for your
writing assignments. Throughout the semester there will be several guest lectures by
eminent scholars and a few documentary films shown. These documentaries will be
available at Leavey Library, but please realize there is only one copy of each, and you
will be expected to know their content for your papers, midterms and final. In short, the
best way to ensure you have complete access to all the pertinent materials is to attend
class.
But note: I will not be taking attendance in lecture; whether you come is up to you.
Whenever possible Thursdays lecture will begin with a discussion of the news regarding
China that week. Please come to class ready to talk about what youve read or heard or
seen in the news media about China.
Also note: Only bring your laptop or other electronics to class if you plan to use them to
take notes and view documents related to the class. If you use electronics for other
purposes you might be asked to leave the room.
SECTION: Participation in discussion sections is a crucial component of the course.
Attendance at section IS MANDATORY. The teaching assistants will be doing the
grading and I will intervene only to ensure that the grades given out by each of the
teaching assistants are consistent and fair. Attendance and participation in the discussion
sections will be noted and will be reflected in your final grade.
GRADING: Your TAs will be responsible for evaluating your work and participation and
for assigning grades to your performance. If you have any questions about how your
work is being evaluated, please begin by discussing it with your TA; if you still want to
follow up you can bring your question or issue to me. If you are taking issue with a grade
on a paper or midterm be aware that if you want me to re-evaluate your grade I will regrade your work completely, with as much possibility that the grade will fall as rise.
READINGS:
All readings for the class will be available either in the bookstore or on Blackboard.
The two books in the bookstore are:
Barry Naughton: The Chinese Economy, Transitions and Growth
Leslie Chang, Factory Girls
ASSIGNMENTS
PARTICIPATION: 15%
Participation starts with coming to section. The quality of your participation will be
evaluated and graded by your TA. At the bare minimum you should be prepared to talk
intelligently about the readings and lectures for the week. Your TA, at her or his
discretion, will decide whether quizzes, discussion questions, reading notes, response
papers, or other methods will be used to spur productive conversation.
MIDTERM: 15%: An early midterm will be given in class at the beginning of
Week 5. Two weeks prior to the midterm you will get a review sheet explaining what
will be on the test.
SHORT PAPER: 10% 3-4 pages
I will post 4 folders on Blackboard, each containing 8 news articles on a specific topic
related to China. Four of the articles will be from Chinese news media, four from US
media. You will be asked to choose any one of these topics and analyze how the story is
covered differently across this range of sources and provide convincing hypotheses for
the differences you find. You are encouraged to also use readings from the course to
strengthen your argument.
TERM PAPER: 15% 6-7 pages
This paper should be approximately 2000 words in length and will explore the hotly
contested issues of the relative benefits and problems that have come with Chinas rise as
the workshop of the world. All sources for the paper will derive from the required
readings and documentary films for the class.
SECTION PROJECT: 15%
The idea behind the section project is to work with you classmates on gathering,
organizing and studying information about Chinas foreign relations and interactions
while learning how to evaluate information in the news media. During the last 4 weeks
of the semester, each section will be assigned a geographical region. Students will be
randomly assigned to one of several countries within that region and asked as a group to
research that nations relationship with China. Sections will present their findings in 15minute presentations during the last week of classes. Your work will be evaluated by
reports you hand of your individual research, and your participation in group-work. Your
TA will provide you with more detailed guidelines for these assignments in section as the
date approaches.
FINAL: 30%
As with the midterm, a review sheet will be provided well ahead of the exam date. The
final will cover the general material for the class, but will also be designed to give
students the chance to elaborate on topics they have worked on during the semester.
Getting Started
Lecture: Go over syllabus; screen portions of Misunderstanding China
Class: Geographyyes it actually matters
Read: Naughton: Intro and Chapter 1
WEEK 2
SEPT 2
SEPT 4
WEEK 3
SEPT 9
SEPT 11
WEEK 4
SEPT 16
SEPT 18
Week 5
SEPT 23
SEPT 25
WEEK 6
The Deng Era
SEPT 30
Class: Dengs Rise and Early Reforms
NOTE: Beginning with this lecture and through the two lectures over the following week
we will be screening the entire documentary Gate of Heavenly Peace and the prof will
be interrupting it w/ comments and discussion.
Read: Naughton, Chapter 4; on
OCT 3
Class: Gate of Heavenly Peace continued
Read: On Blackboard: Yu Huas Introduction, The People, and Disparity.
WEEK 7
OCT 7
OCT 9
WEEK 8
OCT 14
OCT 16
WEEK 9
OCT 21
OCT 23
WEEK 10
OCT 28
OCT 30
WEEK 11
NOV 4
NOV 6
WEEK 12
NOV 11
NOV 13
WEEK 13
NOV 18
NOV 20
WEEK 14
NOV 24
NOV 26
WEEK 15
DEC 2
DEC 4