SYLLABUS
History 316 China From Mao to Tiananmen 1:00-1:50 MWF Spring 1999
This course covers the history of the People's Republic of China from its founding in 1949 to the recent past, with a strong emphasis upon political thought and events. The course has an important role-playing emphasis in which the students adopt the role of Chinese political actors, as detailed below. The reasons why we utilize this approach are found in a linked essay, "Teaching Chinese Political Values." Computer use will be important in this class and all students must have e-mailed me a message by the end of the second week of class. <barlowj@pacificu.edu>
CLASS ORGANIZATION:
This class will consist of two sessions of lectures and discussions each week, and one session of role playing, usually scheduled for Friday meetings, but perhaps done on computer. The lectures and the readings will present a chronological treatment of Chinese history from 1949 to the recent past, with an emphasis upon political and economic change.
GAMING: The assumptions for the role playing or "gaming" in the Friday meetings is that all participants are members of Malo village on the outskirts of Shanghai, a "real" village about which much information has been published. Each participant will adopt the identity of a common Chinese social type, such as peasant, soldier, factory worker, etc. In the role playing and the associated papers, each student will try to develop a consistent persona for his or her chosen identity, with particular emphasis upon the points of political crisis in recent Chinese history, notably the mass campaigns and struggles.
Each role playing session will be based upon assigned readings and a specific "game," usually passed out one week in advance, with a decision or task-oriented outcome. The class will be assumed to be a Chinese "small group" which will attack each gaming session in terms of Chinese terminology and political values, faithful to each student's chosen persona. The problems will also be "real" ones chosen from the major political events of recent Chinese history. We will begin with problems from the immediate post-Revolutionary period and then work forward, roughly in step with the lectures, so that participants develop a historical perspective as we proceed. There is a list of bibliographic resources in these pages for your use, though they are somewhat outdated.
GRADING:
This is a small class and participation will be very important, so attendance is critical; three unexcused absences and your grade goes down one level. The elements of the grade will include four brief "role papers" which should grow easily out of the research necessary for the role playing itself. A mid-term exam and a final, and participation in the role-playing sessions, whether held in class or on computer.
WRITING THE ROLE PAPERS
The role papers are similar to each other, the major distinction between them is the time-frame covered in each:
The purpose of the role papers is to write a character sketch of the life experiences of a Chinese person, assumed to be a participant in the major events of recent Chinese political history. In your paper, you should strive to show an awareness of the generalities of life in China, in particular the events of the great political campaigns, and also illustrate specifically how role-types similar to your character were affected by those campaigns. Some students have done their role paper as a diary, as a series of letters, as a confession, etc. You may choose any voice you find comfortable.
FORM: The paper should be about 5 pages long, plus endnotes and bibliography. Cite materials which you have drawn from works other than the assigned readings. I assume that you have all read those works and that your paper may use them for very general background, but I also expect that a "B" paper will show additional research in secondary works (scholarly books and articles about China) and that an "A" paper will show both strong secondary research and strong research in primary documents: materials in translation from Chinese sources, such as the JPRS translations series, Chinese Literature, the Peking or Beijing Review, etc. I have posted the form which I will use to grade the first set of role papers.
LATE PAPERS are reduced one grade level per day that they are late. Papers are due at the beginning of class; late papers drop one grade level immediately after class begins.
Electronic Resources:
This course depends upon an electronic environment. If you are reading this syllabus in hard copy, the electronic version can be found on the WWW at: <http://mcel.pacificu.edu/MCEL/Barlow/Sp99/H316/index.html> For interactive functions such as a class bulletin board, chat room, email functions and a space for student work we will use a Web-ct environment. To log in to our web-ct environment:
PALACE ENVIRONMENT: We are also working up a graphical chat room "MAOPALACE" which will permit us to carry on discussions synchronously. To use the palace environment you must download a piece of software from THEPALACE.COM. Go to: <http://www.thepalace.com/> and click on Free Palace Software. Once you are familiar with the Palace Structure, visit out "Buddhist Palace" at 198.106.161.253. Click on the red room at right of screen and you will go into the MAOPALACE, now under construction. Our Maopalace is being placed on our server at present.
Extra credit for helping with the computer side of the course: If you want to get deeply involved in the computer work for the course, I welcome your assistance. You could sign up for History 255, History Web Lab, which will meet in Strain 220 Wednesday from 12-12:50, and in a second section which will be assigned only after the first week of class. The second section is intended to suit the schedules of those who cannot make the first section. This is a one-hour course but I could provide additional credit for additional work. You could help with the creation of the visual chat room, which will involve scanning and, if possible, learning the Palace scripting language, IPSCRAE. We also have work study money for those who might want to work on a for-pay basis and are entitled to work study.
Books to be purchased:
ELECTRONIC RESOURCES PAGE: This is a collection of useful materials to be found on the net., some graphics, etc.
Monday, May 10, is the last day of our class. Finals are 13-19.
FINAL EXAM IS Friday, May 14
OFFICE HOURS: Third Floor Marsh, TBA And by appointment.
EMAIL: barlowj@pacificu.edu
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