Office: #F12, Tamarack Hall
(O)980 6981
Web page:
http://www.iun.edu/~hisdcl
Email: dchenlin@iun.edu
Office hours: MW
9:15-10am, 11:15am-2:30pm or by appointment
Bibliography for outside reading
Purpose of Course
This course is a survey of modern China, from around 1840 to 1949. While its very definition is a product of colonialism, modern China developed with a distinct blend of traditional and modern Western elements. The readings primarily deal with four important themes in modern Chinese history, gender, education, commerce, and politics. Additional lectures provide perspectives on the Chinese countryside and the origins of the contemporary regime in historical perspective. This course provides a good starting point for understanding many of the changes taking place in China today.
Readings
The following four books are required readings that are available at the university bookstore.
Cheng, Pei-kai. The Search for Modern China: A Documentary History. Norton, 1999.
Schrecker, John. The Chinese Revolution in Historical Perspective. Praeger, 2004.
Wasserstrom, Jeffrey. Chinese Femininities/Chinese Masculinities. University of California Press, 2002.
Course Requirements
Requirements include:
Two take-home papers, each 8-10 pages, typed, double spaced. The papers need citations.
Those who take the course at the 200 level will use the two built-in paper topics, respectively, using the required readings plus one outside reading for each paper.
Those who take the course at the 300 level will use the first built-in paper topic but need to find a second paper topic on their own, based on themes covered in class. They are required to use both in-class readings and outside sources for their second paper. And they are required to discuss their prospective paper topic with the instructor no later than the 13th week. The paper proposal counts as part of the final grade.
Each student is also required to do a 3-4 page book review on a monograph on modern China. Book title needs to be preapproved of by instructor.
The essay questions for each week's readings need to be answered prior to class in the Oncourse Class Chatroom--either put forward your views or add to/comment on the views put forward by others who input their answers prior to you. They are graded and due at the time of class.
Method of grading: all grades are assigned in percentages, which will be tabulated at the end of the semester and converted to letter grades. The averages of your take-home papers and of your weekly writing assignments will be taken to represent the grades for your take-home paper and weekly writing assignment. The conversion is as follows: 93-100: A; 90-92.9: A-; 85-89.9: B+; 80- 84.9: B; 75-79.9: B-; 70-74.9: C+; 65-69.9: C; 60-64.9: C-; 55-59.9: D+; 50-54.9: D; 45-49.9: D-; 44 and below: F.
The grade distribution is as follows:
For those taking the course at the 200 level:
For those taking the course at the 300 level:
All grades will be shown in your Online Gradebook, accessible via Oncourse, under "Tools". You need to have an IUN ID and password to access Oncourse. If you do not have an IUN email account, you can set up one here at https://itaccounts.iu.edu/. Oncourse is also accessible through the IUN homepage: www.iun.edu.
Useful links:
A Visual Sourcebook of Chinese
Civilizations
People`s
Daily.
yahoo`s China
site
Collection
of photographs of Madame Soong Mei-ling
China and Europe, 1500-2000 and
beyond.
Website with Chinese maps: http://www.chinapage.org/map/map.html
Class schedule
Week 1 (Jan.7-13)
Jan.7 Introduction. Notes
Jan.9 China in the Qing Dynasty. Spence, pp.58-81. Notes. Optional reading: Schrecker, chap.2.
Homework essay #1: How did the three emperors in the Qing Dynasty described by Spence: Kangxi (pronounced as kang-hsi), Yongzheng, and Qianlong (pronounced as Chian-long), distinguish their administrations?
Week 2 (Jan.14-20)
Jan.14 China's relationship with the outside world in history. Shrecker, chap.3 Notes.
Homework essay #2: How does China treat the outside world? How does not compare with how we treat foreign countries today?
Jan.16 China's relationship with the West in the 18th century. Spence, chap.6. Notes.
Homework essay #3: Based on emperor Qianlong's two letters to King George, what was China’s attitude toward relations with other countries during the 18th-19th centuries?
Week 3 (Jan.21-27)
Jan.21 Martin Luther King's Birthday observed. No class.
Jan.23 The Opium War. Spence, chap.7. Link to Opium War website. Notes.
Homework essay #4: How did Britain and China go to war over opium?
Week 4 (Jan.28-Feb.3)
Jan.28 Consequences of the First Opium War. Schrecker, chap.4. Notes.
Homework essay #5: What changes in China after the First Opium War do you think would most surprise Emperor Qianlong?
Jan.30 Introduction of new ideas: religion. Spence, chap.8. Notes.
Homework essay #6: Give examples of how did Liang Fa (8.2) and the Taipings (8.4 & 8.5) approach and interpret Christianity.
Week 5 (Feb.4-10)
Feb.4 The Qing Dynasty in reform. Spence, chap.9. Discussion of "essential" and "peripheral" cultures--the beginning of cultural borrowing. Notes.
Homework essay #7: Describe some characteristics of the approaches to reform by intellectual reformers (Yan Fu and Feng Guifen, and Liang Qichao and Sun Yatsen), and reform-minded government officials (Zhang Zhidong, Zen Guofan, Prince Gong).
Feb.6 The downfall of the Qing Dynasty. Schrecker, chap.5. Spence, chap.10. Notes.
Homework essay #8: How did Schrecker and Spence complement each other in their explanations of why the republican revolution of 1911 was inevitable?
Week 6 (Feb.11-17)
Feb.11 Further interpretation of the revolution. Spence, chap.11. Notes.
Homework essay #9: How were the Manchus regarded in the eyes of people like Wu Tingfang?
Feb.13 Republican China, for better or worse. Schrecker, chap.6. Notes.
Homework essay #10: Give an outline of Chinese history from 1912 to 1949.
Week 7 (Feb.18-24)
Feb.18 Early republican China (1912-1924). Spence, chap.12. Notes.
Homework essay #11: Describe politics in the early years of the Chinese republic: how would you evaluate the republic's administrators and administrations?
Feb.20 Traditions in flux: traditional approaches to women. Brownell & Wasserstrom, chaps. 1 & 3. Notes.
Week 8 (Feb.25-Mar.2)
Feb.25 Gender and nationalism. Brownell & Wasserstrom, chap.4. Notes.
Homework essay #12: How was gender identity linked with nationalism?
Feb.27 Breakthrough against tradition through re-description of gender. Spence, 13.1. Brownell & Wasserstrom, chap.5 or online reading In Quest of the Writer Ding Ling (to p.75) Notes.
Homework essay #13: Do you think the Chinese writers' attempt to liberate women from traditional gender roles helped them to achieve the values they aimed at?
Week 9 (Mar.3-9) First take-home examination due in class on Mar.5. Paper topic: Pick your point of observation and explore one or two aspects of change in modern China. Take into consideration the following: to what extent did the change take place; how ready the Chinese society/individual were for the change, and how long lasting did the changes promise. The paper needs to be 8-10 pages, typed, double-spaced. You need to use our required readings and one external source. Citations are required in the paper, e.g. (Schecker, p.123). A bibliography is needed at the end.
Mar.3 The New Culture Movement and changes in Chinese values. Online reading: Selected Stories, Lu Hsun (1918-1926): Introduction, and True Story of Ah Q. Also Lu Xun, New Year's Sacrifice. Spence, 13,2, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5. Notes.
Homework essay #14: What kind of changes did the Chinese try to make to their cultures? How do you explain their radicalism to tradition?
Mar.5 Modern political parties: the Nationalists and Communists. Spence, chap.14. Notes.
Homework essay #15: What made possible the development of these two political parties? Why could they not get along?
Week 10 (Mar.10-16) Spring break. No class.
Week 11 (Mar.17-23)
Mar.17 The Nationalist government and Japanese invasions. Spence, chaps.15 & 16 (to 16.5) Notes.
Homework essay #16: How do you assess the effectiveness of the Nationalist administration?
Mar.19 Whole session moved to Mar.24. Original Mar.24 content cancelled. Will be showing a documentary.
Week 12 (Mar.24-30)
Mar.24 The Communists. Online reading Mao Zedong: The Early Years. Farmers and the Chinese Revolution. Spence, 16.6 &16.7. Notes
Homework essay #17: What was Mao Zedong's background and what was unique about his emphasis on alliance with the peasants?
Homework essay #18 cancelled:
Mar.26 Video: China in Revolution: Battle for Survival: 1911-1936.
Week 13 (Mar.31-Apr.6)
Mar.31 World War II in China. Spence, 17.1-17.6 Notes.
Homework essay #19: Why did the Nanjing Massacre take place?
Apr.2 Communists in Yenan: guerrilla warfare and moral education. Spence, 17.7.Mao: Mao: The Tasks of the Chinese Communist Party in the Period of Resistance to Japan. Notes.
Homework essay #20: How did the Chinese Communist Party build its rationale and status during the war against Japan?
Week 14 (Apr.7-13)
Apr.7 Video: China: A Century of Revolution: The Republic (1911-1949) .
Apr.9 reading 1 for week 15 and HW #23
The last days of the Nationalist rule. Cheng, 18.1-18.3 Notes.
Homework essay #23: Why did the Nationalist and Communist negotiations break down and the two resort to civil war again?
Homework essay #22: cancelled
Week 15 (Apr.14-20)
Apr.14
1. The last days of the Nationalist rule. Cheng, 18.1-18.3 Moved to Week 14
Homework essay #23 moved to week 14: Why did the Nationalist and Communist negotiations break down and the two resort to civil war again?
1. Video on Chinese women (April 14 10-11:15am, Hawthorn 104)
Apr.16 Mao's vision of the future. Spence, 18.4-18.5. Notes.
Homework essay #24: How do you think Mao's "democratic dictatorship" compared with democracy?
Week 16 (Apr.21-27)
Apr.21 Discussion of paper topics and class summary. Last day of class.
Apr.23 No class.
Week 17
Second paper due by email attachment through Oncourse on
Apr.30. Paper topic: Do you find a connection between the
Chinese Communist movement and the New Culture Movement? What factors
contributed to the growth of Communism and what do you think made the Chinese
young people turn to Communism? You also need one outside source. The paper
needs to be 8-10 pages, typed and double spaced. Those who are taking
the course at the 300 level need to find their own topic related to the readings
in the second half of the semester that does not overlap with their first paper
topic.
Book review due by email attachment through Oncourse on Apr.30.