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Academic Year 2002/2003


Nation and Revolution in 20th Century Chinese Political Culture
HIST 184 SP

Crosslistings:
EAST 184

This course is a thematic exploration of the long and integral processes of nation-building and revolution that turned China from a crumbling imperial empire into a modern socialist nation-state. It will raise many questions concerning major issues, such as: the ways in which the Chinese imagined and defined themselves as a new national community; the modern symbolic forms of political practice, revolutionary language, and revolutionary ideology in the construction of modern Chinese political culture; and the mass propaganda and the political mobilization in the revolutionary movements.

This is a reading intensive seminar. While short weekly lectures will provide topical narratives and interpretative perspectives, our reading, discussion, and writing will form the heart of the course. The course as a whole will highlight the interpretive national of historical writing and to sharpen your analytical skills. We will navigate the turbulent currents of evidence in journalistic writings, speeches, literary works, media representations of the period; and the often varied interpretations produced in the contexts of different conventions and convictions of our time. In the process, you will begin to search for your own understanding of some of the most important themes of China's recent past.

MAJOR READINGS

Benedict Anderson, IMAGINED COMMUNITIES
David Apter and Tonny Saich, REVOLUTIONARY DISCOURSE IN MAO'S REPUBLIC
Pei-kai Cheng, Michael Lestz, and Jonathan Spence, eds., THE SEARCH FOR MODERN CHINA: A DOCUMENTARY COLLECTION
John K. Fairbank, THE GREAT CHINESE REVOLUTION: 1880-1985
Fitzgerald, John, AWAKENING CHINA: POLITICS, CULTURE, AND CLASS IN THE NATIONALIST REVOLUTION
David Jonson, et al. eds., POPULAR CULTURE IN LATE IMPERIAL CHINA
Joan Judge, PRINT AND POLITICS: 'SHIBAO' AND THE CULTURE OF REFORM IN LATE QING CHINA
Lu Hsun [Lu Xun], SELECTED STORIES OF LU HSUN
Michael Schoenhals, DOING THINGS WITH WORDS IN CHINESE POLITICS
Vera Schwarcz, THE CHINESE ENLIGHTENMENT: INTELLECTUALS AND THE LEGACY OF THE MAY FOURTH MOVEMENT OF 1919
Wen-Hsin Yeh, ed., BECOMING CHINESE: PASSAGES TO MODERNITY AND BEYOND

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Presence and active participation at all meetings.
Weekly 2 page essays and a 7-10 page final paper.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Students registering for this course should have taken History 224 Modern China.

COURSE FORMAT: Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: SBS HIST    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: NONE

SECTION 01

Instructor(s): Israeli,Raphael   
Times: .M.W... 11:00AM-12:20PM;     Location: PAC422
Reserved Seats:    (Total Limit: 30)
SR. major: 5   Jr. major: 5
SR. non-major: 5   Jr. non-major: 5   SO: 5   FR: 5

Special Attributes:
Curricular Renewal:    Speaking, Writing, Focused Inquiry Course
Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-18-2003


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