Political Science 208
Politics of China
Summer (II) 2003
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Professor William A. Joseph
PNE 232, x2201
This course is an introduction to the modern political history and contemporary political system of China. The emphasis is on China's political development; i. e. the changing structure, use, and distribution of power in China from the middle of the 19th century to the present.
Topics include the fall of imperial China, the origins, development, and victory of the Chinese Communist revolution; the rule and legacy of Chairman Mao Zedong, particularly the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution; economic reform, cultural opening, and political repression (especially the Tiananmen crisis) in the era of Deng Xiaoping; and the evolution of Chinese politics in post-Deng China. Politics in Tibet, the Muslim areas of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan will also be considered as time allows. Although the focus of the course is on China's domestic politics, close attention will be paid to the influence of international factors on China's development and part the last sessions of the course will look at China's role in the world.
The written assignments for the course, tentative due dates, and weights in the final grade are as follows:
Attendance, Attentiveness, & Participation will count for 20% of the course grade. Please see the list of "Responsibilities and Expectations" attached at the end of this syllabus.
The following books (all paperback) are available for purchase in the bookstore. They are also on reserve in the library.
Video assignments are an important part of this course, so you should take them just as seriously as the reading. The assigned videos are all on reserve in the library. When possible, common showing times will be arranged.
Students are also expected to keep up with current events in China. The New York Times and The Washington Post do a pretty good job of covering news from China. Daily editions of both papers are available on-line. For other suggested sources for news about China, see China Politics Links, which is accessible via the course conference on FirstClass and the instructor's homepage. The first 10 or so minutes of most classes will be spent discussing interesting current events; each student will take responsibility for leading on current events session.
NOTE: The reading assignments, particularly for Weeks III and IV, are tentative, pending a "mid-term" assessment by the instructor and students of the pace of the course.
Items marked (R) are on reserve in the library. Assignments marked (ER) are available via Electronic Reserve in the First Class Conference for this course (Pol2 208-F02). Assignments marked (OL) are "on-line" and can be accessed via the course syllabus on the instructor's homepage by clicking on the relevant link or directly through the On-line Readings folder in the course FirstClass Conference. The readings are listed in the order in which it is recommended that they be done.
Week I Starting Points
M July 14 Introduction to the Course, China, & the Study of Chinese Politics
W July 16 Imperial China: The Glue is the Clue
Fairbank & Goldman, CHINA: A NEW HISTORY. Introduction, chs. 1 (skim), 2 (46-64), 4 (all).
Huang Shu-min, THE SPIRAL ROAD, pp. 1-5.
Suisheng Zhao, "The Decline of the Chinese World Order," pp. 15-25. (ER)
TH July 17 Imperial China: Things Fall Apart
Fairbank & Goldman: chs. 6-9.
Suisheng Zhao, "The Decline of the Chinese World Order," pp. 26-31. (ER)
Digital China/Harvard, "The Opium War," (Skim the site, but be sure to read Commissioner Lin's Letter to Queen Victoria). (OL)
Required video: "The Two Coasts of China" (1 hour) Knapp Reserve DS518.8 .P32 1992 [also available from the instructor].
Recommended video:"The Opium War" (feature film produced in China in 1997;153 minutes) Knapp Reserve PN1997 .Y2735 1997.
Recommended browsing: Jonathan D. Spence & Annping Chin, THE CHINESE CENTURY: A PHOTOGRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS, ch. 1. (R)
Week II The Four Rs: Rebellion, Reaction, Reform, & Revolution
Required video: "China in Revolution" (2 hours) VHS: Knapp Reserve DS774 .C45 1989;DVD: Knapp Media DS774 .C44 2001. VHS also available from instructor.
M July 21: From Empire to Republic
Fairbank & Goldman, chs. 10-14.
Lucien Bianco, "Social Causes of the Revolution," in THE ORIGINS OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION, pp. 83-107. (ER)
Jung Chang, WILD SWANS, ch. 1-2.
W July 23 Civil War & World War
Fairbank & Goldman, chs. 15-17
Mao Zedong (Mao Tsetung), "Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan" (1927). (OL)
Jung Chang, WILD SWANS, ch 3-7.
Edgar Snow, "The Long March," Part 5, in RED STAR OVER CHINA. (ER)
Th July 24: Mao & Maoism
Stuart R. Schram, "Mao Zedong: Introduction; Early years; Mao and the Chinese Communist Party;The communists and the Kuomintang; and The road to power" in Encyclopedia Britannica On-Line (accessible from Wellesley College computers).
Mao Zedong (Mao Tsetung):
Recommended browsing: Spence & Chin, THE CHINESE CENTURY, chs. 2-7. (R)
WeeK III Mao in Power
Required video: "The Mao Years" (2 hours). (R) VHS: Knapp Reserve DS777.55 .M36 1994;DVD: Knapp Media DS774 .C44 2001. VHS also available from instructor).
M 7/28 Consolidation and Transformation (1949-57)
Fairbank & Goldman, ch. 18.
Huang, Intro. (pp. 5-9), chs. 1-2.
Chang, chs. 8-11.
Mao Zedong:
W 7/30 The Great Leap Forward...and Backward (1958-1965)
Fairbank & Goldman, ch. 19.
Huang, ch. 4-5.
Chang, chs. 12-14.
Li Zhisui, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF CHAIRMAN MAO (excerpts), pp. 51-80 (para. 3). (ER)
Th 7/31 Mao's Last Stand: The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)
Fairbank & Goldman, ch. 20.
Huang, chs. 6-7.
Chang, chs. 15-27.
Li Zhisui, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF CHAIRMAN MAO (excerpts), pp. 80 (para. 4)-90. (ER)
Recommended video: "Wild Swans" (59 minutes) (Knapp Reserve DS774 .C37182 1990).
Recommended browsing: Spence & Chin, THE CHINESE CENTURY, chs. 8-10. (R)
Week IV. The Deng Era and Beyond (1977--present)M August 4: Deng in Power -- Overview
Harry Harding, "The Legacy of Mao Zedong," in Harry Harding, CHINA'S SECOND REVOLUTION, pp. 11-39. (ER)
Fairbank & Goldman, ch. 21, Epilogue.
Chang, ch. 28 and Epilogue.
Deng Xiaoping:
Orville Schell, et. al. “The Tiananmen Square Demonstrations and the Beijing Massacre,” in Schell and Shambaugh, eds. THE CHINA READER: THE REFORM ERA,” pp.186-212. (ER)
Required Video: "Tragedy at Tiananmen" (1 hour) (R-Knapp; also available from the instructor).
Recommended browsing: Spence & Chin, THE CHINESE CENTURY, chs. 11-12. (R)
Recommended video: "The Gate of Heavenly Peace" (3 hours) (R). (Click here to visit PBS website for this film.)
W August 6: Change & Continuity in China's Transformation
Huang, chs. 8-12
Dali Yang, "China in 2002: Leadership Transition and the Political Economy of Governance," in Asian Survey, March-April 2003, pp. 25-40. (ER)
William A. Joseph, "China," in Kesselman, Krieger, & Joseph, eds., Introduction to Comparative Politics, chs. 2-4. (Handout)
Recommended Video: "Born Under the Red Flag" (2 hours). (VHS: Knapp Reserve DS779.2 .B67 1997;DVD: Knapp Media DS774 .C44 2001. VHS also available from instructor.)
Th August 7: Current Challenges & Future Scenarios
Joseph, ch. 5 (Handout)
Minxin Pei, "China's Governance Crisis," in Foreign Affairs, September/October 2002, pp. 96-109. (OL)
John Bryan Starr, Understanding China, ch. IX ("Han and Non-Han: Divisive Forces"); ch. XV ("Hong Kong and Macao: The Special Administrative Regions"), and ch. XVI ("Democratization on Taiwan: Model or Rival"). (ER)