Syllabus
History
of Modern China
Spring,
2008
MWF
10:00-11:00
Psych. 213
Call #3155
Instructor: Beatrice
Spade
Office: Psychology Bld.,
Room 122
Office phone: 549-2417
E-mail: beatrice.spade@colostate-pueblo.edu
Office hours: Monday, 1:00-3:30,
Wednesday 1:00-3:30, and by appointment
Goals: The main objectives of the
class are 1) to provide you with an understanding of modern Chinese history,
2.) to encourage you to write knowledgeably about the
subject, and 3) to explore the use of comparative books reviews dealing with
different genre.
Textbook:
Spence, Jonathan. The Search for Modern China. 2nd ed.
New York: W. W. Norton, 1999. (required)
Readings:
Guan Moye (Mo Yan, pen name). Life and Death
Are Wearing Me Out. Trans., Howard Goldblatt. New
York: Arcade, 2008 [2006]. (required) Warning: The English translation of this book is
scheduled for publication after the semester begins. Originally publication was scheduled for Feb.
1; now it is set for March 13. If the
publication is pushed back later than that, we will read instead Big Breasts and Wide Hips by the same
author. I will let you know in class in
March which book we will read.
Kang Zhengguo. Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China. Trans., Susan Wilf. New York: W.
W. Norton, 2007 [2004]. (required)
Theme of the Course: This semester we will
explore the two main discourses of change and revolution in China--that of
traditional China and that of the "modern West".
Semester Schedule:
Jan. 14
Mon.
Introduction: China
Jan.16
Wed. Introduction: Revolutions—Theoretical
Framework
Jan. 18
Fri.
Background to the Qing World
Readings: Spence, pp. 5-116
Jan. 21
Mon.
Early Encounters with Russia
Jan. 23
Wed. Pirates, Traders, and Jesuits
Jan. 25
Fri.
Map quiz / Discussion—Attitudes about Chinese modernization
Readings: Spence, pp.
117-137
Jan. 28
Mon.
Qing Institutions
Jan. 30
Wed. Tobacco and Opium: China's introduction to the
Protestant West
Feb. 01
Fri.
The Popular Response: messianic movements
Readings: Spence,
pp.141-166
Feb. 04
Mon. The Taiping
Rebellion
Feb. 06
Wed. The Nien Rebellion and
Restoration
Feb. 08
Fri. Discussion (American
Revolution\Civil War – Chinese rebellion)
Readings: Spence, pp.
167-191.
Feb. 11
Mon.
Self-strengthening Reforms
Feb. 13
Wed. Elite Utopias: K'ang Yu-wei and the Hundred Day
Feb. 15
Fri.
Missionaries and Boxers
Readings: Spence, pp.
192-242
Feb. 18
Mon.
Japan and China
Feb. 20
Wed. Revolutionary Intellectuals, Anarchy, and Sun Yat-sen
Feb. 22
Fri.
Discussion (Nationalism)
Readings: Spence, pp. 243-270
Feb. 25
Mon.
Sun Yat-sen and the Revolution of 1911
Feb. 27
Wed. Yuan Shi-kai, the Failure of
Traditional Monarchy
Feb. 29
Fri.
Intellectual Reaction to the Collapse of the Qing
Readings: Spence, pp. 271-289
Mar. 03
Mon.
mid-term exam
Mar. 05
Wed. flick
Mar. 07
Fri.
flick
Readings: Spence, pp.
290-374
Mar. 10
Mon.
flick
Mar. 12
Wed. The Warlords
Mar. 14
Fri.
Chiang Kai-shek (Zhang Jieshi), KMT and CCP
Readings: Spence, pp.
375-458.
Mar. 17
Mon.
The Yenan Experience
Mar. 19
Wed. Japan in China
Mar. 21
Fri.
Discussion (What works?)
Readings: Spence, pp. 459-513.
March 24-28 vacation
Mar. 30
Mon.
Civil War
Apr. 03
Wed. Mainland and Island (Taiwan)
Apr. 05
Fri.
CP in power and secret societies
Readings: Spence, pp.
514-586
Apr. 07
Mon.
CCP Takeover of China: Land Reform—popular reaction
Apr. 09
Wed. The Cultural Revolution—science and religion, elite and
popular strains
Apr. 11
Fri.
Discussion
Readings: Spence, pp.
589-646.
Apr. 14
Mon.
flick
Apr. 16
Wed. flick
Apr. 18
Fri.
flick
Readings: Spence, pp.
647-704
Apr. 21
Mon.
After the Cultural Revolution: Tian An Men—not Western enough
Apr. 23
Wed. Falun Gong—not traditional
enough
Apr. 25
Fri.
The Grand Summation
Readings: Spence, pp.
705-728
Final Examination: May 2,
Friday, 8:00-10:20; Psych. 213
ADA
Statement: This
University abides by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which stipulates that no student shall be denied
the benefits of an education "solely by reason of a handicap."
If you have a documented disability that may impact your work in this class and
for which you may require accommodations, please see the Disability Resource
Coordinator as soon as possible to arrange accommodations. In order to
receive accommodations, you must be registered with and provide documentation
of your disability to: the Disability Resource Office, which is located
in the Psychology Building, Suite 232.
Grades:
|
Map Quiz |
Mid-term Exam |
Comparative Book Review |
Final |
|
Must Pass |
30% |
30% |
40% |
60-69 D 70-76 C 80-83
B- 90-91 A-
77-79 C+ 84-86
B 92-99 A
87-89 B+
__________________________
Relevant Information: The
rule of thumb is to spend two hours outside class for every hour of class.
Consequently you should expect to spend about six hours a week in addition to
class time for this course.
__________________________
In addition to the textbook
reading assigned above, you will be responsible for reading Life and Death
Are Wearing Me Out and Confessions and submitting a comparative book
review of 15 to 20 pages by April 18, 2008, which includes, but is not limited
to, the following:
·
the genre used in the two
works (comparative)
·
the relative merits of each
genre as source material (comparative)
·
the time period and location
each work covers (comparative)
·
the approach each takes toward
change and revolution (comparative)
·
the importance of
family/country in each work (comparative)
·
the role of women in Chinese
society (comparative)
·
the treatment of cultural
myths or “superstitions” (comparative)
·
the narrative use of religion
·
the objectivity of the
narrators (comparative)
Make sure you include
bibliographic information at the beginning of your review as it would appear in
a regular history journal review. (If you have never read a comparative
review in a history journal, do so before writing your own). Refer to
page numbers within the review by inserting author and page number in
parentheses, i.e., (Mo Yan, 23). Do not discuss one book and then the
other. Discuss comparatively by topic.