HISTORY 300
GENDER IN CHINESE HISTORY
Whitman College Spring 2005
MW 2:30 – 3:50 Maxey 203
Dr. Brian Dott
|
OFFICE: 225 Maxey |
Office Hours: M W
4-5; F 2-4 |
|
PHONE: 527-5776 |
also available by
appointment |
Course Description: In this seminar we will explore gender roles and the Chinese family
structure, in theory and practice, over the past millennium, focusing on the
Song, late imperial, and modern periods (960-1990s). Our readings will range
widely to include scholarly monographs & essays, memoirs and biographies,
and fictional writings by men and women. Paintings and films, both documentary
and feature, will also provide important sources as we examine the visual
images of women and men throughout this period. Seminar assignments include a
variety of writing assignments and presentations designed to develop critical
reading & writing skills, and a longer paper to introduce basic research
strategies.
Course Goals: The goals of this course are to help you think
critically about the social, economic, and political factors which have shaped
gender and family roles in China. We will examine how Chinese men and women
constructed norms of behavior in different historical periods, how gender
differences were institutionalized in social structures and practices, and how
these norms and institutions changed over time. We will also analyze how
Chinese women negotiated, challenged, or even exploited these dominant gender
norms in pursuing their own goals and aspirations. This course will be run
primarily as a reading and discussion seminar, with occasional lectures for
background information.
Books for Purchase:
[all
books also available on reserve in the library]
Brownell & Wasserstrom, eds. Chinese Femininities / Chinese Masculinities.
Ebrey, Patricia.
Inner Quarters: Marriage and the Lives of Chinese Women in the Sung.
Shen Fu. Six
Records of a Floating Life.
Mann & Cheng, eds. Under Confucian Eyes:
Writings on Gender in Chinese History.
Stockard, Janice.
Daughters of the
Additional materials available either on-line or on
reserve in the library.
SCHEDULE
I. General Introduction and Chinese Classics
Wed. 1/19: Introductions
Mon. 1/24: Chinese Classics
Readings: selections from Classics
Lecture: Early Chinese History & Buddhism
Wed. 1/26: Readings: Mann & Cheng. Under Confucian Eyes. Intro, Guide,
& Ch. 2-3
Lecture: Tang-Song period
II. Song Dynasty
Mon. 1/31: Reading: Ebrey. The Inner Quarters. Intro. & Chapts. 1-2
Lecture: Ebrey (chapts. we are skipping)
Wed. 2/2: Reading: Ebrey. The Inner Quarters. Chapts. 6, 8-9
Wolf, Margery. selection from Women & the Family [lib. res.]
Lecture: Song period
Mon. 2/7: Reading: Ebrey. The Inner Quarters. Chapts. 10-12
Lecture: Yuan period
Wed. 2/9: Reading: Ebrey. The Inner Quarters. Chapts. 13-15
Lecture: Late Imperial period
III. Late Imperial Period
Mon. 2/14: Mann & Cheng. Under Confucian Eyes. Ch. 6, 8-10
Wed. 2/16: Footbinding
Readings: Ko. Selections from Teachers of
the Inner Chambers. [lib. res.] photocopy of pages 147-171 on reserve, and
the whole book is also on reserve
Images: Bound
Feet 1 (probably lower class woman) Bound
Feet 2 (probably a high-class courtesan) Bound
Feet 3 (women w/ shoes)
Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities: Foreword & Introduction Lecture: Manchus
**Fri. 2/18 1ST PAPER DUE (on Ebrey. The Inner Quarters.) by 4:00 pm
Mon. 2/21: Presidents Day -- No Class
Wed. 2/23: Readings: Mann & Cheng. Under Confucian Eyes. Ch.11-13, 16, 18
Mon. 2/28: Legal Gender Roles
Readings: Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities pgs. 43-47
Theiss “Femininity in Flux” in Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculin
Sommer “Dangerous Males” in Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculin
Lecture: background for Shen Fu
Wed. 3/2: Autobiography
Reading: Shen Fu. Six Records of a Floating Life. Intro., Parts I-II
Mon. 3/7: Autobiography
Reading: Shen Fu. Six Records of a Floating Life. Parts III-IV
Lecture: Pilgrimage
Wed. 3/9: Pilgrimage
Reading: Dott, “Pilgrimage as Popular Agency” [lib. res.]
**Fri. 3/11 2nd PAPER DUE (on Shen Fu) by 4:00 pm
Spring Break
Mon. 3/28: Readings: Sangren, “Female Gender in Chinese Religious Symbols”
[lib. res.] also in stacks: Signs 9, no. 1 (1983)
Judd, “Niangjia: Chinese Women and Their Natal Families.” [J-Stor]
Journal of Asian Studies 48, no. 3 (Aug. 1989)
Lecture: Collapse of Dynastic System & Qiu Jin
IV. Early 20th Century
Wed. 3/30: Dangerous Men & Women
Readings: Hershatter “Modernizing Sex” in Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculin
Ownby “Approximations of Chinese Bandits” in Chinese Femininities…
Lecture: Marriage resistance in Guangdong & Zhuang minority
Mon. 4/4: Readings: Stockard. Daughters of the Canton Delta, Appendix A
& Chapt. 1-2
Lecture: May Fourth Movement
Wed. 4/6: Reading: Stockard. Daughters of the Canton Delta, Chapt. 3-5
Lecture: Republican period
Mon. 4/11: Reading: Stockard. Daughters of the Canton Delta, Ch. 6-7, &
pp. 134-5, 179-83
Lecture: Civil War
V. Post-1949 Period
Wed. 4/13: Early PRC Reforms
Readings: Johnson Women, the Family & Peasant Rev. pgs. 93-153 [lib. res.]
Lecture: PRC Campaigns
Film: It’s Right to Rebel
Mon. 4/18: Cultural Revolution
Readings: Honig “Maoist Mappings of Gender” in Chinese Femininities…
Perry & Dillon “’Little Brothers’” in Chinese Femininities…
Film: Small Happiness
Wed. 4/20: Family Planning
Readings: Evans “Past, Perfect or Imperfect” in Chinese Femininities…
Film: Small Happiness cont.
Mon. 4/25: Conceptions of “Woman” & “Female”
Reading: Barlow “Politics and Protocols of Funü” in Engendering China [lib.
res]
Film: Women in China I
Wed. 4/27: Minorities
Reading: Schein, “Gender and Internal Orientalism” in Chinese Femininities…
**Fri. 4/29: 3RD PAPER DUE (on Daughters of the Canton Delta) by 4:00 pm
Mon. 5/2: Post-Mao
Readings: Chen “Embodying Qi & Masculinities” in Chinese Femininities…
Jankowiak “Proper Men & Proper Women” in Chinese Femininities…
Film: Women in China II
Wed. 5/4: Women’s Script
Readings: Silber, “From Daughter to Daughter-in-Law” in Engendering China [res]
“Afterword” in Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities
Film: Nu Shu
Mon. 5/9: RESEARCH PAPER DUE
Salon
Take-home final due Wed. 5/18 by 10:00 AM
Criteria for evaluation
Short papers: 40%
Three papers based on readings, typewritten and double-spaced. Your essays
should articulate a thesis or argument (i.e., take a position on an issue or
point, even if not conclusive), and not be merely descriptive. Papers must have
a title, a bibliography and use proper citation format (examples linked to
web-page). Late papers will be marked down. If the paper is turned in anytime
within 24 hours of when it was due it will be marked down one grade level (e.g.
from B+ to B). After that the grade will be lowered one level for each
additional day which the paper is late. The first paper should be 3-5 pages
long and is worth 10%. The other two papers should be 4-6 pages long and are
worth 15% each. I will provide more details about each paper as we are reading
the pertinent books.
Individual presentation on an article: 10%
Each student will sign up to give a short (8-10 minute) presentation on an
article not assigned to the class. On the day of your presentation you will
also turn in a 1-2 page written assessment of the article. Each student will
meet with me outside of class at least once to discuss the article they are
presenting on. I will pass around a sign-up sheet and a list of possible
readings by the 3rd week.
Longer paper: 25%
Again you need an argument or thesis, title, bibliography and proper citations.
This paper will draw on outside research, and needs to focus on a Chinese
gender issue of your choosing. You may refer to articles and longer works which
we have read during the semester. In addition you will need to refer to at
least three substantive sources (i.e. not web-pages) which were not assigned to
the whole class (one these can be the article which you give a presentation
on). This paper should be 12-15 pages in length and is due the last day of
class (5/9). I will give more details about this assignment later in the
semester.
Final Exam: 5%
This will be a take-home essay due during final’s week. It will consist of the
following question:
How has studying gender issues in Chinese history made you rethink or
reevaluate gender in your own cultural and familial background? Explain. (2-4
typed pages)
Participation: 20%
This course will be primarily conducted as a seminar. Students must complete all
assigned readings by class time and must be prepared to discuss those readings.
Energetic, frequent, and thoughtful participation in discussion is a vital
element of this course and constitutes a significant portion of your grade.
Considerate and interested listening is also a component of participation. In
emergencies (sickness, accident, family or personal crises), please notify me
promptly. If you know in advance that you will miss a class please let me know.
CLASS POLICIES
Attendance: Students are expected to regularly attend class, to arrive on time, and to respect the professor and their fellow students. Repeated absences, tardiness and disruptions will result in a drop in the participation grade. If you know you will late or absent on a particular day please inform me beforehand.
Make-ups & late work: I will consider accommodations for special circumstances if informed beforehand, but I am unlikely to do so after-the-fact unless it is a verified, legitimate emergency.
Academic dishonesty: This course operates in accordance with the College’s policies on “Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism” (see 2004-05 Whitman College Student Handbook pages 40-42). All work you turn in is expected to be your own, created specifically for this class. Material taken from other sources must be clearly acknowledged. Plagiarism or other forms of cheating are very serious offenses that can result in failure of this course and can lead to academic suspension or dismissal by the college. This also applies to a person who knowingly aids another in attempting to gain credit for work not mostly of his or her own intellectual effort. All cases will be referred to the Office of the Dean of Students.
Disabilities: Any student who has a learning or other disability should notify me as soon as possible before turning in any assignments. I will make every effort to accommodate verified disabilities so that you may do your best work in this course. Please contact the Director of Academic Resources to validate a request for accommodation (205 Memorial; 527-5213).
