HISTORY 344: MODERN CHINESE HISTORY

Whitman College Fall 2006

T Th 1:00 - 2:20 Maxey 202

Dr. Brian Dott

OFFICE: 225 Maxey

Office Hours: T Th 2:30 - 4:00

 

PHONE: 527-5776

also available by appointment

 

E-MAIL: dottbr@whitman.edu

Web: http://marcus.whitman.edu/~dottbr

 

 

Pinyin to Wade-Giles Romanization Conversion Chart

Wade-Giles to Pinyin Romanization Conversion Chart


SCHEDULE

 T 8/29             Geography

                        Romanization Systems

                        Ming Government & Social Structures

 

Th 8/30            Decline of the Ming Dynasty

                        Rise of the Manchus

                        Reading:          Schoppa Ch. 1

                                                Cheng & Lestz 1.1-1.3; 1.5, 1.6, 1.9 (incl. intro. pg. 8), 2.1-2.8

                                                selection: Struve, Voices from the Ming-Qing Cataclysm

 

T 9/5                Source Analysis due on document 3.5, “Kangxi’s Edict”

                        Banner System

                        Manchu Expansion

                        Reading:          Schoppa Ch. 2

                                                Cheng & Lestz  3.1-3.3, 3.5

                                                selections:        Elliot “Manchu Cities” from The Manchu Way                                             

                                                                        Perdue Intro. & Concl. from China Marches West

 

Th 9/7              High Qing

                        Historiographical Debate

                        Reading:          Cheng & Lestz  5.1-5.5

                                                Ho Ping-ti. "The Significance of the Ch'ing Period in Chinese History." Journal of Asian Studies 26.2 (Feb. 1967)

                                                Rawski, Evelyn S."Presidential Address: Reenvisioning the Qing..." Journal of Asian Studies 55.4 (Nov. 1996)

                                                Ho Ping-Ti. "In Defense of Sinicization..." Journal of Asian Studies 57.1 (Feb. 1998)

 

T 9/12              Geography Quiz

                        Women During the Qing

                        Reading:          On-line: Theiss, Janet. “Managing Martyrdom” Nan Nu 3.1 (2001) available via Ingenta

                                                E-Reserve: Wu Zao

 

Th 9/14            Western Contact & Opium War

                        Reading:          Schoppa Ch. 3

                                                Cheng & Lestz  6.1-6.5; 7.1-7.5

                                                On-line: Commissioner Lin's letter to Queen Victoria           

 

T 9/19              Chinese-Western Conflict Short Paper Due

                        Popular Religion

 

Th 9/21            Taipings

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 4

                                                Cheng & Lestz  8.4-8.6, 9.1-9.2

                                                E-Reserve: Kuhn Ch. 6 from Rebellion & Its Enemies

 

T 9/26              Self-Strengthening (Self-Weakening?)

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 5-6

                                                Cheng & Lestz  9.4-9.8; 10.1-10.4

 

Th 9/28            Source Analysis due on Qiu Jin

                        Boxer Uprising & Manchu Reforms

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 7

                                                Cheng & Lestz  10.5-10.6

                                                E-Reserve:       Qiu Jin

                                                                        Sun Yat-sen

 

T 10/2              1911 Revolution

                        Reading:          Cheng & Lestz  11.1-11.6

                                                E-Reserve:  Godley “The End of the Queue”

 

Th 10/5            Failed Republic & May Fourth Movement

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 8-9

                                                Cheng & Lestz 12.1-12.7

 

T 10/10            NO CLASS

 

Th 10/12          CCP & KMT

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 10

                                                Cheng & Lestz  13.1-13.3

                                                On-line:  Rankin “State & Society in Early Republican Politics, 1912-18”

                                                E-Reserve:          Borthwick “Changing Concepts of the Role of Women”

 

T 10/17            Nanjing Decade

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 11-12

                                                Cheng & Lestz  14.3-14.9; 15.1-15.2

                                                Wakeman “A Revisionist View of the Nanjing Decade”      

 

Th 10/19          Japanese Incursions & WWII

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 13-14

                                                Cheng & Lestz  15.7, 16.1, 16.6, 17.4-17.6

                                                Mao “Talks at the Yenan Forum”

 

T 10/24            Mid-Term Exam

 

Th 10/26          Civil War & Founding of the PRC

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 15

                                                Cheng & Lestz  17.7, 18.1-18.6, 19.2-19.3

                                                Huang  Intro. & Ch. 1

 

T 10/31            Source Analysis due on documents #20.3-20.5

                        100 Flowers Turn to Weeds(?)

                        Reading:          Schoppa Ch. 16 (to middle pg. 319)

                                                Cheng & Lestz 20.3-20.5

                                                Huang Ch. 2-3

 

Th 11/2            Great Leap Forward, Sino-Soviet Split, Economic Liberalization

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 17

                                                Cheng & Lestz  21.1-21.2

                                                Huang Ch. 4-5

 

T 11/7              Cultural Revolution

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 18

                                                Cheng & Lestz  22.1-22.7

 

Th 11/9            Self-Criticism Due

                        Cultural Revolution cont.

                        Reading:          Huang Ch. 6

                                                E-Reserve:       Heng & Shapiro selections from Son of the Revolution

                                                                        Perry & Dillon “‘Little Brothers’ in the Cultural Revolution”

 

T 11/14            Research Topic Due

                        Cultural Revolution cont.

                        Reading:          E-Reserve:       Honig “Maoists Mappings of Gender”

                                                                        Perry & Li “Revolutionary Rudeness”

                                                                        Jung & Halliday selections from Mao: The Unknown Story

 

Th 11/16          Death of Mao & Rise of Deng

                        Reading:          Schoppa  Ch. 19

                                                Cheng & Lestz  23.1-23.3,  24.1

                                                Huang Ch. 7-8

 

Thanksgiving Break              

 

M 11/27           before Thursday’s class (11/30) watch the documentary Gate of Heavenly Peace.

                        There will be an evening showing, and the video will be on reserve in the library.

 

T 11/28            Taiwan

                        Reading:          Schoppa  pgs. 319-325 and Ch. 21

                                                Huang Ch. 9

 

Th 11/30          Tian’anmen Square:  The Political Use of Public Space

                        Reading:          Schoppa Ch. 20

                                                Cheng & Lestz  26.1-26.5

 

T 12/5              Tibet, Hong Kong & Macao

                        Reading:          Cheng & Lestz  25.6

 

Th 12/7            China’s Changing World Role

                        Reading:          Huang Ch. 10-12

 

Fri. 12/ 15       RESEARCH PAPER DUE BY 4:00 PM

 

Course Description China is rapidly becoming one of the most important and most powerful countries in the world.  In order for us to get along with the most populous nation in the world we must understand its recent history.  The goal of this course is to give you an understanding of the major social, political, and economic issues that have shaped China and Chinese culture from 1600 to the present.  Class meetings will combine lectures, student discussions, and audio-visuals.  Course readings and assignments will give you experience in analyzing a variety of primary and secondary materials. 


Books Available for purchase in the bookstore (all also on reserve in the library)
Schoppa. Revolution & Its Past: Identities & Change in Modern Chinese History
Cheng & Lestz. The Search for Modern China: A Documentary Collection
Huang.  The Spiral Road

 

Grading
Geography Quiz                                                                        5%       (50 points)

Source Analyses                                                                      15%     (150 points)

Short Writing Assignments                                                     20%     (200 points)

Mid-Term Exam                                                                      15%     (150 points)

Research Paper                                                                        25%     (250 points)

Participation & Small Group Discussion                                20%     (200 points)

 

 

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION
Geography Quiz = 5%

      There will be a handout listing the concepts, terms and places you will need to know. 

 

 

Source Analyses        3 @ 5% each = 15%

            For each of these assignments you will write a short analysis of a primary source (details for each assignment will be posted on the class web-page).  In your analysis you should discuss what an historian could glean about the time period when the source was written.  Things to think about include who the author was, what was the author’s purpose in writing the source, and what bias the author had.  Each assignment must be typed, double-spaced, minimum 12-point font, minimum 1-inch margins, MAXIMUM ONE PAGE.  Assignments are due at the beginning of class as we will be discussing the source during that class.

 

Short Writing Assignments  =  20%

            1st assignment:  drawing on course materials you will take a position about early Chinese-Western conflicts. 3-5 pages, worth 10%.

            2nd assignment:  you will write a mock “self-criticism” in the vein of ones written during the Cultural Revolution using an assigned persona.  You will also include an analysis of the purpose and effectiveness of the genre of self-criticisms.  2-4 pages worth 10%

 

Mid-term Exam = 15%

This exam will consist of short-answer and essay questions.  There may be a take-home portion to the exam.

 

Research Paper = 25%

            Drawing on course materials, the documentary Morning Sun, and a few additional research materials you will write on a topic of your choosing related to the Cultural Revolution.  10-12 pages, due on Dec. 15.  While the selection of your topic and thesis are open, you must include some positive analysis in your paper.  There will be an evening showing of Morning Sun during the week of November 13.  The film will also be on reserve in the library.

 

Participation & Small Group Discussion = 20%

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.  Considerate and interested listening is also a component of participation. 

Each student will be assigned to one of three small groups for occasional discussion and role-playing.  Each group will represent a particular class or segment of Chinese society:  peasants, intellectuals, and the military.  At various points throughout the semester you will meet in your groups during class to discuss how a particular event or trend impacted your group, what your group’s aspirations or hopes were regarding a particular event, or what role your group played in that event.


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 2006-07 Whitman College Student Handbook pages 61-63).  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 will 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 taking any exams or turning in 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).