Chinese Society Outline and Schedule

Week 1

Jan 14-16

1. Land and History: Pre-Liberation

a. Trace significant social, cultural, and geographical influences on Chinese history

texts:

Benson, Chapter 1

Atlas, #32

web sites:

Peoples Daily: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/china/home.html

on Wittfogel: http://www.washington.edu/research/showcase/1949b.html

Week 2

Jan 19-23

b. Outline the historical developments and social conditions leading up to Liberation

texts:

Benson, Chapter 2; Document 4

Li, Chapter 2

web sites:

Mao on May 4:

http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-2/mswv2_13.htm

From Fanshen:

http://hdl.handle.net/2027/heb.02390.0001.001 (read pp. 128-137)

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Week 3

Jan 26-30

2. Establishing New China

a. Analyze the process by which the CCP began to transform Chinese society in the first decade following liberation

b. Outline the structure of the Chinese Communist Party and the State

texts:

Benson, Chapter 3 (19-29)

Li, Chapter 3 (53-64)

Atlas, #s 19 & 21

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Week 4

Feb 2-6

c. Describe the major campaigns of the early period of socialist development

texts:

Benson, Chapter 3 (29-31); Document 6

Li, Chapter 3 (71-74)

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Week 5

Feb 9-13

(Reaction paper #1 assigned)

3. The struggle between revolution and institutionalization

a. Discuss the causes and consequences of The Great Leap Forward campaign

texts:

Benson, Chapter 4 (32-36); Documents 7 & 8

web sites:

Great Leap:

http://www.chaos.umd.edu/history/prc2.html

Inequality:

http://www.mtholyoke.edu/courses/sgabriel/economics/china-essays/6.html#pagetop

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Week 6

Feb 16-20

b. Discuss the causes of The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

texts:

Benson, Chapter 4 (36-38); Document 10

Li, Chapter 4 (77-82; 89-92)

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Week 7

Feb 23-27

c. Discuss the events and consequences of the Cultural Revolution

d. Explain the phrase, “Cultural Revolution in retreat”

texts:

Benson, Chapter 4 (38-45); Documents 9, 7

Li, Chapter 4 (92-98)

web sites:

Propaganda posters:

http://www.iisg.nl/~landsberger/crc.html

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Week 8

Mar 2-6

(term paper topic due)

4. Discuss the tensions of Socialist Modernization in post-Mao China

a. Analyze the legacy of Mao Zedong and the transition to a post-Mao era

texts:

Benson, Chapter 5 (46-51)

Li, Chapter 5 (101-109)

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Week 9

Mar 9-13

b. Discuss the significance of the slogan, “To Get Rich is Glorious”

texts:

Benson (51-53)

Li, Chapter 5 (115-126)

Hart, Chapter 2 (34-46)

Atlas, #9

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May 15-21

**************Spring Break****************

Week 10

Mar 23-27

(Reaction paper #2 assigned)

f. Compare the process of economic liberalization with the state’s resistance to democratization

texts:

Benson, (54-59); Document 13

Li, Chapter 5 (126-130)

Hart, (46-51)

Atlas, #s 18, 22, &23

web site:

Tiananmen: http://tsquare.tv/

Week 11

Mar 30-Apr 3

g. Analyze the contradictions facing China in the post-Tiananmen period

texts:

Benson, Chapter 6; Documents 14 & 16

Li, Chapter 6

Hart (51-61)

Atlas, #5, review #32

web sites:

Falun Dafa: http://www.falundafa.org/

Week 12

Apr 6-10

4. China today and the contradictions of globalization: prospects for the future

a. Analyze the effects of uneven development: rural and urban

b. Evaluate the growing disparity in wealth and income, corruption, and their impact on the daily lives of the Chinese people

texts:

Benson, Chapter 7-8; Document 15

Li, Chapter 8

Hart, Chapter 3

Atlas, #s 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 21

Week 13

Apr 13-17

c. Identify major ecological issues facing China in the 21^st century

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Week 14

Apr 20-24

d. Contrast the issue of gender in the current period with that in the past

Benson (review 67-69); Document 1

Atlas, #s 7, 17, 33, 34, 34

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Week 15

Apr 27-May 1

(Term papers due May 1)

e. Discuss the issues of minority nationalities and human rights

Benson, Documents 2, 3, 5

Atlas, # 8

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Week 16

May 4-8

(Reaction paper #3 assigned)

f. Assess the position of China in the world system today

texts:

Hart, Chapter 4-5

Atlas, #s 1, 2, 3, 4

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Finals Week May 11

Discuss student papers; submit Reaction paper #3.