WELESLEY COLLEGE
Political Science 208
Politics of China
Fall 2007
Professor William A. Joseph
PNE 232, x2201
Office Hours: TBA

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.

Please note: Since much time in this course is spent on imperial China, the Chinese civil war and the Maoist period, if you have already studied a lot of modern Chinese history, you may want to think about whether this course is redundant for you

The written assignments for the course, tentative due dates, and weights in the final grade are as follows:

  • One take-home "essay-exam" (5-7 pages; open book), due Oct. 17. (25%)
  • A research paper (8-10 pages) on an important political issue in contemporary China. Topic statement/preliminary bibliography (5%) due Nov. 20; paper (30%) due Dec.10.
  • A self-scheduled final exam (closed book) The exam will be comprehensive (i.e. covers the whole course), but the emphasis will be on the post-1949 period. (40%)

Attendance, Attentiveness, & Participation will be taken into account when assessing the final grade. Please see the list of "Responsibilities and Expectations" attached to this syllabus.

The following books (all paperback) are available for purchase in the bookstore.

  • Jung Chang, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China.
  • Timothy Cheek, Mao Zedong and China's Revolutions
  • June Grasso, et. al., Modernization and Revolution in China, 3rd edition
  • Suzanne Ogden, ed. Global Studies: China, 12th edition.

Video assignments are a very 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 Knapp Center. If 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 both do a pretty good job of covering news from China. Daily editions of these 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 class each Thursday will be spent discussing current events. The events/issues discussed during this time will be part of the final exam.
COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING ASSIGNMENTS: Assignments marked (ER) are available via Electronic Reserve in the FirstClass Conference for this course. 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 through the On-line Readings folder in the course FirstClass Conference. Items marked (R) are on reserve in the library. The readings are listed in the order in which it is recommended that they be done.

Part I: Starting Points

Sept. 4 Introduction to the Course

Sept. 7 Language, Geography, & 2,228 Years of Chinese History

Part II: From Empire to People's Republic

Required video for Part II of the course: "China in Revolution" (2 hours) VHS: DS774 .C45 1989; DVD: DS774 .C44 2001. Also available from instructor.

Sept. 11, 14 Imperial China: The Glue is the Clue

  • Grasso, et. al, ch. 2.
  • Albert Feuerwerker, "Ideology as a Unifying Element" and "Emperor and Bureaucracy: The Political Order," in State and Society in Eighteenth Century China. (ER)
  • Emperor Qianlong's Letter to King George III (1793). (OL)
  • Lloyd E. Eastman, "Agriculture: An Overview," in Family, Fields, and Ancestors: Constancy and Change in China's Social and Economic History, 1550-1949. (ER)
  • Suisheng Zhao, "The Decline of the Chinese World Order," in Power Competition in East Asia, pp. 15-25. (ER)

Sept. 18, 21 Imperial China: Things Fall Apart

  • Grasso, et. al, ch. 3, pp. 34-45.
  • Suisheng Zhao, "The Decline of the Chinese World Order," pp. 26-31. (ER)
  • Digital China/Harvard, "The Opium War," (Browse 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).

Sept. 25, 28 The Five Rs: Rebellion, Restoration, Reform, Reaction, & Revolution

  • Grasso, et. al, ch. 3, pp. 45-70.
  • Jung Chang, Wild Swans, ch. 1-2.
  • John E. Wills, Jr., "Hong Xiuquan, The Heavenly King," in Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History. (ER)
  • Lucien Bianco, "Social Causes of the Revolution," in The Origins of the Chinese Revolution, pp. 83-107. (ER)

Oct. 2, 5 Civil War, World War and more Civil War

  • Grasso, et. al, ch. 4-6.
  • Wellesley College Person of the Week: "Madame Chiang Kai-shek"
  • Jung Chang, WILD SWANS, chs 3-7.
  • Timothy Cheek, Mao Zedong and China's Revolutions, pp.1-13, 183-197.
  • Mao Zedong (Mao Tsetung),
    • "Report on the Peasant Movement in Hunan" (1927) in Cheek, pp. 41-75 (Pay closest attention to Parts I and II, but do a careful skim of the rest)
    • "What is Guerrilla Warfare?" (OL)
    • "Talk at the Yanan Conference on Art and Literature" (1942) in Cheek , pp. 112-116.
  • Michael Schaller, "The United States Confronts the Chinese Revolution, 1942-49," in Schaller, The United States and China in the Twentieth Century. (ER)
NO CLASS, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9th, FALL BREAK

Oct. 12 MAOISM

PART III: Mao in Power (1949-1976)

  • Required video for Part III of the course: "The Mao Years" (2 hours). VHS: DS777.55 .M36 1994; DVD: DS774 .C44 2001. Also available from instructor.

Oct. 16, 19 Creating the "New China" (1949-55): Golden Years or Ominous Shadows?

  • Grasso, et. al, ch. 7, pp. 143-164.
  • Chang, chs. 8-9.
  • Zhou Yongming, "Nationalism, Identity, and State-Building: The Antidrug Crusade in the People's Republic, 1949-1952," in Brook & Wakabayashi (eds.), Opium Regimes: China, Britain, and Japan, 1839-1952. (ER)
  • Cheek, pp. 18-21.
  • Mao Zedong
  • "The Chinese People Have Stood Up!" in Cheek, pp. 125-127.

Oct. 23 Fragrant Flowers and Poisonous Weeds (1956-57)

  • Grasso, et. al, ch. 7, pp. 164-178.
  • Chang, chs. 10-11.
  • Cheek, pp. 21-24.
  • Mao Zedong
  • "On the Question of Agricultural Cooperation" (OL)
  • On the Correct Handling of Contradictions...," Parts I, II, VIII, IX, X, in Cheek, pp. 127ff.
Oct. 26, 30 The Great Leap Forward...Backward...and Rightward (1958-1964)
  • Grasso, et. al, ch. 8, pp. 179-199.
  • Chang, chs. 12-14
  • Cheek, pp. 24-26, 204-209.
  • Mao Zedong, "Talk at the Beidaihe Conference," in Cheek, pp. 160-166.
  • Jasper Becker, "Anhui: Let's Talk About Fengyang," in Hungry Ghosts: Mao's Secret Famine. (ER)

Nov. 2, 9, 13 Mao's Last Stand: The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)

NO CLASS, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6th, RUHLMAN CONFERENCE

 
PART IV: The Transition to Market-Leninism (1977--present)

Nov. 16, 20 Deng Xiaoping in Power: The Little Big Man Strikes Back

Nov. 27 - Dec. 7 China Today: Change, Continuity, and Contradiction

NOTE: Specific dates for reading assignments TBA

1) Economic, Social, and Cultural Reform in post-Mao China

  • William A. Joseph, "China," in Kesselman, Krieger, & Joseph, eds., Introduction to Comparative Politics, 4th ed., section 2. (ER)
  • Suzanne Ogden, Global Studies: China, Articles, 3-6. 8, 11, 17-18, 23.
2) Political Reform in Post-Mao China
  • Joseph, sections 3-4. (ER)
  • Ogden, Articles 1, 2, 7-10, 12. 24, 25.
3) Politics on the Periphery: Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tibet

Dec. 11 Current Challenges & Future Scenarios

  • Joseph, section 5. (ER)
  • Ogden, Articles 13-16, 19-21.
  • View one of the segments and the associated webpages from the PBS series China From the Inside (KQED 2007): 1) "Power and the People"; 2) "Women of the Country"; 3) "Shifting Nature"; 4) "Freedom and Justice." DVD on order for library; and available from instructor. Series website: http://www.pbs.org/kqed/chinainside/