Since the topics listed on the syllabus are big, you should narrow it down to a manageable small topic by focusing on one aspect of the topic, studying one or a couple similar cases, or in any other way to shrink it down to allow enough analysis of your own for that topic. For instance, if you choose the topic on Chinese media and soft power building, you could focus on the political communication on social media, or even just a few cases on social media to make your point. In this case, your paper should not provide broad and general introduction of Chinese media or China’s soft power drive, but focusing on examining, say, how developments of social media has changed China’s political communication, or state-society relation. This is only an example to explain what it means to “narrow down” and be analytical instead of descriptive.In the paper, you will need to generate a central argument, and organize your materials and analyses accordingly to prove the argument. Please avoid lengthy background and historical introduction unless they are central to your argument. Please also avoid making big empty statements without any support by evidence or listing out data without analysis.1
Great China Identity
While most Asian countries share certain similarities, China has very distinct practices
and beliefs, which may not be experienced by individuals from other parts of the world.
Although ancient China is often viewed as part of China’s history, the virtues, sense of family,
application of Confucius principles as part of their religious practice, and attitude towards work
are still part of the modern Chinese people. With more than a thousand years of the rise and fall
of different civilizations in China, the country has experienced a gradual transformation over the
years, which has contributed to significant economic, cultural, and technological developments.
The assimilation of traditional cultures and attitudes associated with Chinese civilization into the
modern civilization forms the great identity of Chinese people.
Economic Development
Today China has the second most powerful economy globally despite being an uppermiddle-income country. According to the World Bank, China’s per capita income is still lower
than that of most high-income nations and approximately 300 million of the country’s population
still lives in poverty. The country also faces gaps in labor productivity and access to human
capital. China also struggles with high-income inequalities, which affects its ability to achieve
the same status as high-income countries (World Bank). China managed to move from an
agrarian economy to a superpower globally in less than a century. The beginning of the
economic development in China can be traced back to 1949 during the Civil War between the
Republic of China (ROF) and the Communist Party of China (CPC), which led to the division of
China’s leadership. CPC emerged victorious, which led to the establishment of the People’s
Republic of China (PRC) (Pepper 426-427).
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The communist leader, Mao Zedong develop a few goals to fix the issues with land
ownership, reduce social inequality, and restore China’s economy through a five-year plan that
was supposed to last between 1953 and 1957. During the first five years, the program aimed at
boosting China’s industrialization. The production of steel in the country grew four-fold along
with the country’s agricultural output. The country had planned to use a budget of £8500 million,
which ensures that unless the country faced a serious shortfall by 1956, expenditure between the
first four years would reach 90% of the initial amount (Adler 190).
After the successful implementation of the first five-year plan, between 1958 and 1962,
the country planned to promote the agrarian economy to the industrial sector’s level through a
community farming system. Although this plan was supposed to promote China’s economic
growth, it failed and caused an economic failure, which was accompanied by millions of deaths
in a famine considered as the greatest famine in China. During the famine, farmers who relied
entirely on their farm outputs were forced to deliver their grains for national use. They were
accused falsely of hoarding grains for their personal use and eating too much, which led to
campaigns to strip farmers of their dwindling food and exposing them to the harsh famine
conditions (Walder 159). Between 1959 and 1962, top leaders in the country met to develop
detailed policies for the country’s future. This was followed by Mao’s attempt to regain the
country’s control between 1966 and 1976. His plans failed and crippled the country economy
further due to the violence that ensued and the death of millions of people (Walder 161-162).
By 1991, the implemented post-Mao leadership had led to mixed reactions about
economic reforms in the country. The country’s economy had dropped further. Between 1994
and 1996, the county had developed a poverty reduction plan, which enabled them to get more
than 400 million out of poverty by 2002. The beginning of 2000 marked China’s entry to the
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World Trade Organization (WTO), and their qualification for the Qualified Foreign Institutional
Investor (QFII), which made it possible for foreign investors to participate in their stock
exchanges. China’s entry in the WTO locked its commitment and integration into the global
tradition market. It also created a remarkable period of China’s growth through their involvement
in trade with investors from other countries and the ability to export more goods to other nations
(Garnaut, Song and Fang 38-39).
In 2006, the country created a medium-term plan to promote scientific development. The
fifteen-year plan was directed towards using 2.5% or more of the country’s GDP in conducting
scientific research that would promote the country’s development by 2020. Between 2008 and
2009, PRC experienced a mild economic drop from a GDP of 14.2% to 9.5% due to the global
financial crisis that affected most countries. After the global financial crisis, China continued
participating in global exports and investments, which promoted its growth making it the world’s
largest exporter and trader. By 2010, China overtook Japan and became the world’s second
largest economy. It also became the world’s largest exporter (Garnaut, Song and Fang 41).
The global financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2008 also affected the Asian
economy. China responded to the crisis immediately through the Keynesian economics approach
that entailed promoting fiscal expansion on a larger scale to boost their growth. By the end of
2009, the country had managed to turn around their situation and the rapid growth of China’s
businesses supported the recovery of their economy. From 2009, the country’s investment
increased rapidly, which assisted the country to restore its economic standpoint in the market.
The restoration of the country’s economic status brought back challenges such as labor scarcity
and pressure from workers for increased wages. The approaches used by the country to promote
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monetary growth and expansion reinforced the roles of the government in developing policies
that focused on their growth.
By 2011, the country had confidence in their restored economic status in the global
market, which allowed them to focus on structuring new models of economic growth based on
ideas that had been created by economists and renowned leaders. In 2012, the new leadership
around Xi Jinping that took over declared that they would commit themselves to proper wealth
distribution in the country based on domestic and international environmental convenience,
greater equity in income, and establishment of a more flexible economic system. The changes
implemented by the government ensured that the country promoted both small and large
businesses as part of growing their economic status. The country still faces challenges in
promoting higher productivity and transitioning from an upper-middle to a high-income nation
(Garnaut, Song and Fang 41).
China’s economic development has been characterized by great losses, deaths of millions
of people, and the implementation of a wide range of strategies focused on developing different
sectors of its economy. The challenges that faced China’s economy during the initial
implementation of the agrarian revolution that led to the great famine and those that occurred
because of political instability in the country, acted as lessons that helped the country understand
the impact of its actions.
Technological Development
In recent years, China has become a superpower in the world economy due to its
increased technological development. The breakthrough of China’s technological development is
a result of its consistent modernization strategies, materialization, and a great experience.
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Additionally, the world has become a competitive front and having powerful scientific
technology diplomacy and information system is vital to the growth of the country. China has
therefore seen various technological developments in various sectors including bridge
technology, information systems technology, and the energy sector technology.
According to the country’s history, it is known that the advancement of science and
technology across the world is part of the industrial revolution that began years ago. In China,
technology development began with the establishment of educational institutions for training
scientific personnel. Between the 1930s and 1940s there, research centers in mathematics,
physics, pharmacology, and biology arose in Shanghai, Beijing, and Nanjing (Vinogradov,
Salitskaya, and Salitskii 48-56). Currently, China is at the forefront with technology as seen from
the manufacturing of electric buses by Chinese companies, or construction of the largest radio
telescope in the world in Guizhou China.
Huawei Technology
As the largest private company in China, Huawei is the epitome of the technological
development of the telecommunications industry in the country. This company has increased
globalization, as it is active in almost all countries across the world. Additionally, Huawei is
known for its high quality and affordable technology equipment that is used in communications
networks across the globe (China Institute University of Alberta). Apart from communications
equipment, Huawei is also a leading producer of electronics including laptops and smartphones.
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., a multinational technology company has its founding in
the year 1987. The company started as a one-room domestic company selling foreign telephone
switches, it has now become the largest ICT services and solution providers across the globe
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(Chong). After learning how to reverse engineer foreign products, the company used this
experience to design its independent and more complex technical equipment. Huawei has now
developed in various fields including carrier networks, consumer and enterprise fields.
Huawei technology growth was exacerbated through the use of internal Research and
Development (R&D). Through an emphasis on R&D and employing undercutting prices,
Huawei overtook the Shanghai Bell Company becoming the leading producer of optical devices
and telecommunications switches in China. Additionally, Huawei has been able to expand over
the years with a presence in more than 140 countries and offering solutions to at least one-third
of the world’s population (Chong). According to the China Institute University of Alberta,
throughout the 1990s decade, the company’s revenue rose steadily which eventually made it a
recognized brand and increased its expansion into the international market. In 2014, Huawei
technologies gained $ 5.5 billion in profits (Chong). Out of the 50 largest telecommunications
operators in the world, 45 of them among them Vodafone, BT Group and Orange rely on
telecommunication network equipment from Huawei. This technology development has made
Huawei the only company in China to generate more revenue from foreign markets that form the
domestic ones.
As a result of the globalization of production and markets, Huawei has been able to adapt
through its internationalization strategy through the use of technology and adaptive mechanisms.
The strategy first includes meeting the needs of its local clients at low costs and with speed to
meet demand. Secondly, Huawei has worked in combining this strategy with the development of
other ICT goods and meeting the needs of other consumers across the world (Michelli and
Carrillo 35-58). For instance, the company is a large supplier of technology equipment for
mobile networks in Canada and provides funding for research institutions. However, the
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challenges facing Huawei include great national security concerns by Western countries
especially the United States. For instance, the US government has blocked Chinese Chipmaker
companies from acquiring a US-based company to remain competitive in the telecommunication
industry.
The Development of Bridges Technology
The development of bridges technology is another notable technological advancement in
China. To improve the Chinese infrastructure industry, the focus bridge engineering has
increased over the years. Bridges help to overcome geographical and political barriers and
increase human reach (Zhou and Zhang 1120-1130). Through the use of intelligent information
technology, the demand for bridge engineering has increased. In China, through the use of
technological development general laws, bridge engineering has developed through three major
stages: The learning and following stage in the 1980s, the stage of tracking and improvement in
the 1990s and the innovation and transcending stage at the beginning of the 21st century. After
this development, the construction of extra-long bridges such as the Lupu Bridge by the Chinese
through the use of high-tech equipment and materials has increased.
The technological advancements in bridge construction have allowed China to transcend
international borders and construct international bridges such and the Third Panama Canal
Bridge and the second Malaysia Penang Bridge. China boasts of 34 international awards dues to
its excellence in civil engineering (Zhou and Zhang 1120-1130). The awards indicate the use of
technology by China to develop its bridge industry and have increased its international
recognition on bridge engineering. Besides, the achievements indicate the commitment of China
engineering in technological and scientific research to meet its own needs. China has progressed
to in survey and design technology, material technology, construction, maintenance, and
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management technology. The country has set a pace on the need for the world to invest in
research and technological advancements
Chinas technology development has also been linked to partnerships and investments
from outside. The Taiwanese investments in China’s electronics industry have contributed to
making China a world-leading exporter of high technology industrial products (Wang).
Additionally, electronic technology innovations in China have improved trade relations with the
United States. The telecommunications technological development has indeed increased
globalization through reduced the distance between states separated by borders.
Through consistency in scientific and technological research, China has put effort into
developing powerful industries and companies that have allowed it to be competitive in the
global field. As seen by the development of Huawei Technologies Ltd., a world-leading
Telecommunications Company, the bridge engineering industry, which has won China
international awards, and the investments done in the electronics industries, China has been able
to revolutionize its economy. These technological advances ties indicate that the ability of China
to position itself in the global market can be attributed to the use of innovative, open-minded and
self-reliant strategies. China offers an example for countries on how to remain competitive in the
global front through rapid use of science and technology and rapid response to changing needs.
Cultural Development
In the last seventy years, since China founded the PRC, the culture of the Chinese people
has undergone different twists and turns. The leadership of the country along with their citizens
have tried to retain the traditional cultures associated with the country, while at the same time
absorbing the advances of the global cultures. This has resulted in great prosperity and the
countries cultural industries. The ways of doing things that form part of Chinese’s culture
9
describe their identity. It also dictates other aspects of their lives such as the economic, political,
social, and technological developments. The term, “Chineseness” was coined to reflect the
consciousness and nature of people or things associated with China and as a way of
understanding the interaction between people in China. The term is intertwined with the identity
of the Chinese nationality, their cultures, and the different ethnic groups in the country (Lo).
Chinese Traditions, Class and Cultural Education
Chinese traditions are recognized through their practice of Buddhism and Taoism as part
of their religion. The languages, food, eating practice, mystical stories, and martial arts, which
relies on specific fighting and animal movement techniques forms the basis of their cultural
practices. Their cooking techniques and diets, which rely heavily on natural spices and herbs
have promoted their global recognition (Ministry of Culture). Cultural practices in China have
often been associated with the social status of families or individuals.
The class factor in Chinese societies exerts a significant influence on children’s education
and their assimilation in society. For instance, the probability that Taiwanese families would take
their children to mainland China and allow them to associate with other children is dependent on
their social status. Families that rank higher in the social class are likely to send their children to
local Chinese schools renowned for high-quality education and better performance among the
students. Enrolling their children in these school also allows them to interact with local elites and
form useful networks that they can use to develop their careers (Wang 209).
China promotes cultural education through different avenues. Students are taught from a
young age about the cultures and practices in the country and are assimilated into the
participation of cultures that are still practiced in their homes. The country’s leadership also
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emphasizes on higher education and the formation of a Greater China higher education region
that is founded on the connection between Chinese societies (Lo). Despite these efforts,
traditional Chinese education faces challenges of losing its values as it is increasingly being
neglected in higher education settings. Courses related to traditions are being squeezed out of the
education programs of some of the higher learning facilities due to the increased interest in
technology-related courses that are recognized through their affiliation with high-income careers
(Xing 21).
Cultural Industries
The retention of most of the Chinese traditional cultures through cultural festivals has
promoted the cultural industries by attracting tourists from different parts of the world to travel
to China and witness their traditions. The country promotes the continued establishment of
cultural markets, which comprise of entertainment, and performing arts market, audio-visual,
film, internet culture, art through Chinese hieroglyphic writing, and other forms of culturerelated businesses. The growth of the country’ cultural industry has increased in recent years and
has become a reliable source of income for many Chinese citizens involved in these industries.
As assessment of the capacity of this industry from 2004, suggests that China has experienced a
seven-fold growth in its Chinese industry between 2004 and 2012, which translated to the
financial gain of RMB 2.0081 trillion from RMB 344 billion. This suggests that between this
period, the number of people participating in the Chinese cultural industry increased. For
instance, the number of working in the television and radio industry in China increased between
2006 and 2013 by approximately 30,000 people each year (Jiang, Xu and Yang 79-80).
The growth of the cultural industry has also been noticeable in the animation sector.
Chinese film creators in this industry incorporate traditional cultures associated with China and
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other Asian nations such as family relations, social interactions, respect towards the elderly, and
meditation, and martial arts like Kung Fu in their animations, making them stand out and attract
a wider audience across the globe. In 2009, 142,700 minutes of animations were produced in the
country, which was five times higher than the productions done in 2004. By 2010, the animation
output in the country had grown to 220,000 minutes. The development in this industry has also
been seen through the rise of different clusters of animation that represent various regions of
China and their specific cultures. The proportion of imported animation aired in the country is
quite low, which promotes the growth of local talent in this industry (Jiang, Xu and Yang 80).
Cultural Heritage Protection
China has implemented laws and policy that support its move to protect and promote
their cultural heritage. The country has also designated a Cultural Heritage Day, which was
implemented in 2006 to ensure that they were able to spread awareness about their traditions,
cultures, and beliefs. They have also invested in techniques for gathering documentation on their
cultural heritage, which has protected the country’s access to Chinese traditional anthologies,
ethnic literature and arts. More than 400,000 immovable cultural properties that were
investigated and registered under and inventory system that had been established to offer
heritage protection at the different government levels. The country also promotes protection and
continued maintenance of historical buildings such as the Potala Palace, the Great Wall and other
national properties that also function as a source of income through their ability to attract both
local and international tourists. Their efforts in protecting their heritage have placed China at
position three in the UNESCO’s heritage list (Ministry of Culture).
Cultural heritage protection has also been promoted in the country through China’s
economic contribution to this industry. During the first five-year plan, the country’s leadership
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had allocated approximately RMB 497 million towards culture promotion. This amount
increased to RMB 24,805 billion by 2008 and entailed a budget for the central and provincial
government. Directing the funds to the provincial level ensured that there was a proper
distribution of resources nationwide. These funds also support local talents, especially among
low-income communities that rely on the culture industry (Ministry of Culture).
Political Development
For the strategies of Chinese politics, it can be seen that have reformed several times from
the founding of New China, 1949. On the one hand, different with democracy of most western
countries, China politics advocates the idea of “democracy” though, which is more like a form
that a leader seeking for recommendations from his subordinates but the right of decision only
belongs to him. As mentioned in the book The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China
written by Susan L. Shirk, “Party leaders intended none of these changes to destroy the authority
of the party over the government, only to improve the quality of decision-making by putting the
government on a longer leash”(63). Democracy is not based on serious system of Chinses
politics, the action “leaders ask subordinates” itself called “democratic dictatorship”, is a Chinse
form of “democracy”, which is usually criticized by western politicians. On the other hand,
compared with the awesome speed of economy development, Chinse politics is always appeared
as steady even slower. However, in a broader sense, the steady situation of Chinese politics is
good for high-speed development of Chinese economy. It has to be admitted that Chinse politics,
with Chinese economy, culture, technology and military, has been made a big progress and
basically beneficial to the development of whole China. There are some great examples of
Chinese political reformations, such as the most famous one, Deng XiaoPing’s reform and
openness from 1978.
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Every country should have their own politics because of its special national conditions
meanwhile responding to the great global tides a country is supposed to change itself to fit in the
new times. The one of most important standards to evaluate national politics is to see whether the
citizens are living better than before or not and whether the citizen can live better in the future
than now or not. Obviously, Chinese politics now can be regarded as awesome one. Furthermore,
following the development of times, now people are caring more about protecting environment,
people’s living feelings and other moral standards, which may influence the political regulation
of a country. A national politics is unable to show its function by itself but it shows its function
by reflection of country’s economy, culture, social reformations and other aspects of a country. In
the same time, a country’s economy, culture, military and social reforms, all of these, serve for
national politics. Politics is invisible but is everywhere. For instance, there is one citation from
Chen DuXiu in the book China’s Twentieth Century: Revolution, Retreat and the Road to
Equality written by Wang Hui, “the majority of the people do not interact with them. Our
publication’s main goal is the education of the youth, with the expectation that our citizens will
reach a complete awakening, and therefore we hope to vastly improve upon a still awaited-for
party politics”(35). Chen DuXiu is a famous Chinese figure with political works, cultural works
and educational works. He is a good example to show the relationship between politics and
culture himself. The aim of his publication is education as well as politics but generally is for his
country China. Similarly, Deng XiaoPing reached his political plan “reform and openness”,
which was also embodied by transforming economic systems and social structures.
Apparently, China has a series of political achievements during these decades from national
politics to global politics. People’s democracy is the true meaning of Chinese socialism, which is
national communist party’s slogan. It is hard to say that the communist party really give people
14
more rights but there is a little improvement than before. In the aspect of political democracy,
even a little improvement is not easy so it is actually a good achievement in the point of my
view. Through development of modern technology like public media, people has more ways to
express their ideas and government tries harder to listen to people’s minds no matter the
government is sincere to people or just because the government is forced by pressure of public
opinion. Furthermore, the present chairman Xi JinPing did lots of things to deepen the reform of
politics and laws. The most obvious example is that he made many corrupted high-rank officials
fell down to make a better political surroundings. The politics is one very big matter but
improving it is supposed to be from one small step after one small step. The reform of national
politics is slow but effective, which offers China a suitable environment to develop. In the aspect
of global politics and foreign politics, respectively, China made more clear achievements. Under
the policy “One country, two systems”, China successfully welcomed Hong Kong, Macao and
Taiwan returning back in a peaceful way and have ruled them for a long time. As same as
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, the policy “One country, two systems” also have special
Chinese wisdom and style. It says under one China, the mainland has socialism and Hong Kong,
Macao and Taiwan have capitalism. Chinese policy is pragmatic, flexible and meets the needs of
Chinese development, not a useless political slogan only sounds good and right. Besides,
becoming a member of World Trade Organization and other world-class organizations shows
Chinese police of “openness”. Xi JinPing have said that “China will never close the door to
foreign countries” and set up the policy “one belt one road” to build a new kind of relationship
between China and neighbor countries that helps to develop participated countries’ economy.
Nowadays, the important tasks of reforming Chinese political structure are “improving
democratic system, broadening democratic forms, increasing democratic ways; performing
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democratic election, democratic decision-making, democratic management, democratic
monitoring under the laws; protecting people’s rights to learn the truth, the rights of participate,
the rights to express, the rights to monitor; regulating socialist democracy and making people
possess political states as country’s owner”(translated by the writer according to the Chinese
political system). It can be seen that there is a long way for Chinese government to achieve all
these goals. Almost all countries’ politics has flaws and incompleteness, however, China
government did a lot for the whole country Chinese people and the world, based on the present
conditions, the biggest land, the biggest number of people and complex races, historic issue and
geographic issues.
China has undergone different forms of transformations over the past seventy years,
which has contributed to its current position as a superpower in the global economy. Their
cultural development, political development and investment in technological advances have
ensured that the county maintains both its affiliation with ancient China, while at the same time
embracing technological innovations. With the country’s changing notion towards cultural work
or employment, the concept of cultural work has expanded from activities such as singing and
dancing for tourists to the incorporation of ideologies like the organization of local and national
networking events that display different cultures. The country’s dedication towards political
progress, allocating funds for research and development and culture promotion has promoted its
economic growth and made China recognized globally for its technological and cultural
practices.
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Works Cited
Adler, Solomon. The Chinese Economy. Routledge, 2013.
China Institute University of Alberta. “Examining Huawei’s growth & global reach.” Ocassional
Paper Series 5.4 (2019).
Chong, Guan. Chinese telecommunications gainat Huawei:Startegies to success. Nayang:
Nayang Technopreneurship Center, 2019.
Garnaut, Ross, Ligang Song and Cai Fang. China’s 40 Years of Reform and Development 19782018. ANU Press, 2018.
Jiang, Chang, Tao Xu and Haijun Yang. Developemnt of China’s Cultural Industry. Springer,
2019.
Lo, William Yat Wai. “The concept of greater China in higher education: adoptions, dynamics
and implications.” Comparative Education (2016): 52(4), 26-43. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03050068.2015.1125613.
Michelli, Jordy and Jorge Carrillo. “The globalization strategy of a chinese multinational:
Huawei in Mexico.” Frontera Norte 28.56 (2016): 35-58.
Ministry of Culture. Ministry of Culture: 60 Years of Cultural Development in the People’s
Repiblic of China. 14 September 2019. http://www.china.org.cn/government/scio-pressconferences/2009-09/14/content_18523480.htm.
Pepper, Suzanne. Civil War in China: The Political Struggle, 1945-1949. Rowman & Littlefield,
1999.
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Shirk, L. Susan. The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China.
https://books.google.com/books?id=C84u47hp7zkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_sum
mary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Vinogradov, A. V., E. A. Salitskaya, and A. I. Salitskii. “Science and technology in China:
Modernization accomplished.” Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences 86.1 (2016):
48-56.
Walder, Andrew G. China Under Mao: A Revolution Derailed. Harvard University Press, 2015.
Wang, Hui. China’s Twentieth Century: Revolution, Retreat and the Road to Equality.
https://books.google.com/books?id=JoZIBQAAQBAJ&printsec
Wang, Jenn-hwan. Border Crossing in Greater China: Production, Community, and Identity.
Routledge, 2014.
World Bank. Overview. 13 December 2019.
.
Xing, Jun. General Education and the Development of Global Citizenship in Hong Kong, Taiwan
and Mainland China: Not Merely Icing on the Cake. Routledge, 2013.
Zhou, Xuhong, and Xigang Zhang. “Thoughts on the development of bridge technology in
China.” Engineering 5.6 (2019): 1120-1130.
Course Description:
This course is an interdisciplinary introduction to Chinese society and culture of the 20th and 21st
century from a variety of perspectives. Focus is on the formative thoughts and the overall
development of Chinese culture and society, China’s perception of the West as well as how the
West (mid)understands China. This will be part I of the course under the title “Variable Topics in
Culture and Society in China” and has a primary focus on key issues in modern China on the
global stage with a historical perspective. It provides general introduction to modern Chinese
history and its connection to the world. It also aims to help students understand how modern
Chinese society has come to its present stage from a historical perspective.
Learning objectives:
• understand China from a global perspective
• Attain a historical perspective on Chinese society, culture, and politics.
• Discern different perspectives in narrating China.
Requirements:
1. Complete reading assignments before coming to class; Readings will be uploaded to
CCLE by Friday of the previous week.
2. Attendance in lectures;
3. Active participation in discussions;
4. Complete and turn in assignments on time: one group project, one take-home exam of
gobbets analyses and one final paper;
Assessments:
The assessment methods for this course are designed to evaluate student achievement of the
objectives. They hence consist of the following:
1. One group project, 15 pages, 12’ font, double spaced. Due Jan. 31st, noon
2. Take home exam, released on Feb. 21th; due March 8th noon.
3. Final paper, 10-12 pages, 12’ font, double spaced. Due Mar. 20th, noon.
Breakdown of Grades:
a. Attendance and participation
b. Group project
c. Take home exam
d. Final paper
20%
30%
20%
30%
Academic Integrity:
Under no circumstance will behaviors that violate academic integrity be tolerated. These
behaviors include: cheating, fabrication, plagiarism, denying fellow students access to
information or material, helping others to violate academic integrity, or purchasing essays online
or otherwise. All violations will automatically receive no grade and be referred to the Office of
Student Conduct. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with UCLA’s student code of
conduct at https://www.deanofstudents.ucla.edu/studentconductcode
Disabilities:
Students with disabilities are welcome and will be appropriately accommodated. Students
needing academic accommodations based on a disability should contact the Center for
Accessible Education (CAE) at (310)825-1501 or in person at Murphy Hall A255. In order to
ensure accommodations, students need to contact the CAE within the first two weeks of the term.
Class schedules:
Week 1:
Mon, Jan. 6
Introduction
Wed. Jan. 8
China’s Rise and the Global Order
Required readings:
Foreign Affairs. “A World Safe for Autocracy? China’s Rise and the Future of Global Politics”
Aug. 2019.
Men Honghua. “China’s Rise and the Transformation of International Order (1985–2015).” In
Political Economy of Globalization and China’s Options. Vol. 6, Aug. 2018
The Diplomat. “China’s Rise and the Future of Liberal International Order: Asking the Right
Questions.” Feb. 23, 2018. (https://thediplomat.com/2018/02/chinas-rise-and-the-future-ofliberal-international-order-asking-the-right-questions/)
Rana Mitter. Modern China. An very Short Introduction. New York: Sterling. 2018 Chapters 1
& 3.
Week 2:
China today
Mon. Jan.13
Open and Reform as origin
Wed. Jan.15
China’s Belt and Road strategy
Required readings:
Council on Foreign Relations. “China’s Massive Belt and Road Initiative.” May 2019.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinas-massive-belt-and-road-initiative
The Guardian. “What is China’s Belt and Road Initiative?”
https://www.theguardian.com/cities/ng-interactive/2018/jul/30/what-china-belt-road-initiativesilk-road-explainer
Susan Shirk. The Political Logic of economic Reform in China. University of California press,
1993. “Introduction”
(https://books.google.com/books?id=C84u47hp7zkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_sum
mary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false m)
Week 3:
From Mandarins to Revolutionaries
Mon Jan.20
MLK holiday – no class
Wed Jan. 22
Screening: Bernardo Bertolucci “The Last Emperor”
Required readings:
Wang Hui. China’s Twentieth Century: Revolution, Retreat and the Road to Equality.
“introduction”(https://books.google.com/books?id=JoZIBQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=
Revolutionary+Politics+in+TwentiethCentury+China&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_y9bGrO7mAhX
TIDQIHbXbAsoQ6AEwAHoECAUQAg#v=onepage&q=Revolutionary%20Politics%20in%20
Twentieth-Century%20China&f=false
)
Suggested readings:
An Illustrated history of the Chinese Communist Party:
http://english.china.org.cn/english/features/45954.htm
Week 4:
Mon Jan. 27
Group projections meeting
Wed Jan. 29
Mao’s revolution
Required readings:
Tony Saich etc. edited. New Perspectives on the Chinese Revolution. Routledge. 2015.
“Introduction”(https://books.google.com/books?id=BPLqBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA231&lpg=PA231
&dq=Tony+Saich+etc.+edited.+New+Perspectives+on+the+Chinese+Revolution&source=bl&ot
s=CGQLOyxa09&sig=ACfU3U2h5_o3Uw7iBbTMCyX8k5qJlIzo7Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahU
KEwjo9eeCru7mAhW5JzQIHZWdCPMQ6AEwA3oECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Tony%20Saic
h%20etc.%20edited.%20New%20Perspectives%20on%20the%20Chinese%20Revolution&f=fal
se)
Week 5:
Chinese communists and the international left-wings
Mon Feb. 3
CCP and the ComIntern
Wed Feb. 5
International left-wing politics and China
Required Readings:
Tony Saich. “The Chinese Communist party during the era of the Comintern (1919-1943)”
https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/fs/asaich/chinese-communisty-party-during-comintern.pdf
Pearl S. Buck, Good Earth. New York: The John Day Company, 1931, Chps. 4-6.
(https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=dXsHuO58cxEC&hl=en&pg=GBS.PT59)
Edgar Snow, Red Star over China. New York: Grove Press, 1968, pp. 293-304, 352-369.
“Introduction” and Parts 1&2.
(https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=mjb739nuPEsC&hl=en&pg=GBS.PT11)
Week 6:
US – China Relations
Mon Feb.10
The Korean War in Propaganda
Wed Feb.12
Rapprochement -1
Required Readings:
Warren Cohen. America’s Response to China: A History of Sino-American Relations. New York:
Columbia University Press, 2010. “Communism in China” “the Great Aberration,”
“Rapprochement – at last” pp. 148-231.
Chen Jian, China’s Road to the Korean War. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996, pp.
92-124.
Wang Hui. China’s Twentieth Century: Revolution, Retreat and the Road to Equality. “Chapter
3.(https://books.google.com/books?id=JoZIBQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Revolutiona
ry+Politics+in+TwentiethCentury+China&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_y9bGrO7mAhX
TIDQIHbXbAsoQ6AEwAHoECAUQAg#v=onepage&q=Revolutionary%20Politics%20in%20
Twentieth-Century%20China&f=false)
S. Mahmud Ali, US-China Cold War Collaboration, 1971-1989. New York: Routledge, 2005,
pp. 119-165.
Suggested Readings:
Ronald Reagan, An American Life (New York: Threshold Editions, 1990), pp. 368-373.
Week 7:
Mon Feb.17
Wed Feb.19
Rapprochement -2
Embracing the Post-Cold War World
Required Reading:
Cohen, “In the Shadow of Tiananmen,” pp. 232-262.
David Lampton, ed., The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform.
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001, pp. 1-38.
Condoleezza Rice, “Promoting the National Interest,” Foreign Affairs (January/February 2000)
(https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2000-01-01/campaign-2000-promoting-nationalinterest).
Suggested Readings:
Hillary Clinton, “America’s Pacific Century,” Foreign Policy (November, 2011)
(http://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/americas-pacific-century/).
National Security Strategy of the United States of America (December, 2017)
(https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf).
Week 8:
China’s soft power
Mon Feb. 24
Chinese media and political communication
Wed Feb. 26
Chinese media go global
Required Readings:
Yinan He, “Domestic Troubles, National Identity Discourse, and China’s Attitude Towards the
West, 2003-2012,” Nations and Nationalism, 2017, pp. 1-26.
Daya Kishan Thussu, Hugo de Burgh, Anbin Shi ed. China’s Media Go Global. Routledge. 2018.
“Introduction”(https://books.google.com/books?id=pW5ADwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&s
ource=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false)
Suggested reading:
Elizabeth Redden, “China’s ‘Long Arm’,” Inside Higher Ed (Jan 3rd, 2018)
(https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/01/03/scholars-and-politicians-raise-concernsabout-chinese-governments-influence-over).
Rachelle Peterson, “American Universities Are Welcoming China’s Trojan Horse,” Foreign
Policy (May 9th, 2017) (http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/05/09/american-universities-arewelcoming-chinas-trojan-horse-confucius-institutes/).
The Guardian, “Inside China’s audacious global propaganda campaign.”
(https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rL105t5iploJ:https://www.theguardian
.com/news/2018/dec/07/china-plan-for-global-media-dominance-propaganda-xijinping+&cd=11&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us)
Week 9:
Mon Mar. 2
Greater China Chinese identity-1
Wed Mar. 4
Greater China Chinese identity-2
Required readings:
Jenn-Hwan Wang. Border Crossing in Greater China: Production, Community and Identity.
Routledge. 2015. “Introduction”
(https://books.google.com/books?id=VCEWBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT3&lpg=PT3&dq=Border+Cro
ssing+in+Greater+China:+Production,+Community+and+Identity&source=bl&ots=Qgs10x5awq
&sig=ACfU3U293gQoK2wmFMoqw3UO9zQd0AoVQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwijn4L64O3mAhUabs0KHcXrDMwQ6AEwB3
oECBMQAQ#v=onepage&q=Border%20Crossing%20in%20Greater%20China%3A%20Produc
tion%2C%20Community%20and%20Identity&f=false)
William Yat Wai Lo. “The concept of greater China in higher education: adoptions, dynamics
and implications.” Comparative Education. Jan. 2016.
Week 10:
Mon Mar. 9
Environmental debates – China as rising leader?
Wed Mar. 11
The technological China
Required Readings:
James A. Lewis. “Technological Competition and China.” Report from Center for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS). 2018
China Power Project. “Is China leading in global innovation?” Report from Center for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS). 2018 (https://chinapower.csis.org/china-innovation-globalleader/)
The Guardian. “China urged to lead way in efforts to save life on Earth.” 2018.
(https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/29/china-urged-lead-way-efforts-save-lifeon-earth-un)
Iza Ding. “Can China Lead the Fight on Climate Change?” The Diplomat. Dec. 1, 2019.
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