1
Revised November 19, 2008
PLCP 351: INTRO TO
CHINESE POLITICS
Fall 2008
Monday-Wednesday 3:30-4:45 Cabell 424
The class website is:
Mr. Brantly Womack
Office: Cabell 202
Phone: 924-7008 email:
Office hours: Monday, 5:00-6:00 and Wednesday, 2:00-3:00
and by arrangement
Description:This course provides a general introduction at the undergraduate level to Chinese politics in its societal context. A major task of the course will be to convey a concrete appreciation of a very different societal reality and how it interacts with an equally distinctive political system. We will also present an overview of Chinese politics, and discuss China's changing role in Asia and the world. It is expected that this will be the first course that students have taken on contemporary China.
Program:The course will begin with six weeks of readings and discussion developments in Chinese politics from the perspective of rural villages. Students will be expected to read all of Fanshen, a classic book describing the revolution and land reform in one village in 1947, and all of Chen Village, an account of a village from the 1950s to the 1980s. The second part of the course will be a general overview of Chinese politics, using Kenneth Lieberthal's Governing China, 2nd ed. as a text. In the last part of the course we will consider China from comparative and international perspectives. This section will include brief considerations of the basic parameters of China’s politics, democratization, and then move to China’s relationship with overseas Chinese, Taiwan, Asia, and finally the United States.
Requirements:This is an introductory lecture class, but students are encouraged to participate actively. It is expected that assignments will be read on time and critically. There will be two in-class exams, each covering half the course, and one paper. The paper will be due on October 8. It will be a six-page essay utilizing class readings and discussion as well as Chen Village and Fanshen in their entireity. The topic for the essay will be given out on September 24. The first test will be on October 29, and the second will be on December 3. Both tests will be in-class and will have short answer questions as well as a choice of essay questions. The essay and first test will each count for 35% of the final grade, the second test 20%, and 10% will be based on class participation. Explanations of the test structure and grading are posted on Toolkit. Late papers will not be allowed and absenteeism may be penalized.
Books in the Bookstore (schedule reference in parentheses)
Anita Chan, Jonathan Unger and Richard Madsen, Chen Village under Mao and Deng. Berkeley, 1992. (CV)
William Hinton, Fanshen. Vintage or California (Fanshen)
K. Lieberthal, Governing China. Norton (L)
Melvin Goldstein, The Snow Lion and the Dragon. Berkeley (G)
Additional materials (all of these are available through the course website. Additional materials may be assigned).
Week
2Selections from three Chinese philosophers: Mencius, LaoZi, and Han Fei Zi
3“Phases of Chinese politics” spreadsheet
3Canton youth decision tree
4Brantly Womack, “Provincial disparity in China,” Excel workbook
5Factsheet on the 3 Gorges Dam
5Edward Cody, “China's Symbol, and Source, of Power: Three Gorges Dam Nears Completion, at High Human Cost”, Washington Post May 18, 2006.
6Zhang Weiwei, “China’s Political Transition: Trends and Prospects.”
6John Kennedy, “Supply and Demand for Grassroots Political Reform in Rural China,” ms, presented at ACPS, July 2007.
9Organization charts
10Brantly Womack, “Political Reform and Sustainable Development in China,” ms, 2007.
10Brantly Womack, ResolvingAsymmetric Stalemate: The case of the Tibetan Question,” Journal of Contemporary China, no. 52 (August 2007), pp. 443-460.
11David Kang, “Getting Asia Wrong,” International Security 27:4 (Spring 2003)
11Brantly Womack, “China between Region and World,” ms.
12(Recommended) Wang Gungwu, The Chinese Overseas, Chapter 2.
12Ming Chan, “The retrocession of Hong Kong and Macao to Chinese sovereignty,” Journal of Contemporary China no. 36 (January 2003), pp. 493-519.
12Sonny Shiu-Hing Lo, “One Formula, Two Experiences: The divergence of Hong Kong and Macao since retrocession,” Journal of Contemporary China no. 52 (August 2007), pp. 359-387.
12Various texts in the Taiwan subdirectory of Toolkit
12Shelly Rigger, “The Unfinished Business of Taiwan’s Democratization”
13Albert Keidel, China’s Economic Rise: Fact and Fiction,” Carnegie, 2008.
13Lardy, "China in the World Economy: Opportunity or Threat?," in China: the Balance Sheet (New York: Public Affairs, 2006.
13Brantly Womack, “China and Southeast Asia: Asymmetry, Leadership and Normalcy,” Pacific Affairs76:3 (Winter 2003-4), pp. 529-48.
13Jae Ho Chung, “From a Special Relationship to a Normal Partnership,” Pacific Affairs 76:3 (Winter 2003-4), pp. 549-568.
13Yinan He, “National Mythmaking and the Problems of History in Sino-Japanese Relations,” in Lam, Peng Er,Japan's relations with China : facing a rising power. 2006
14Jeffrey Legro, “What China will Want,” Perspectives on Politics 5:3 (September 2007), pp. 515-534.
14Brantly Womack, “United States and China’s Rise:Parity and the Accommodation of Civilizations,” ms 2007.
Videos
4Carma Hinton, Small Happiness
5Discovery Channel, Three Gorges Dam
7Carma Hinton, Gate of Heavenly Peace
Schedule Overview
WeekMonWedTopicReading
18/27Course intro
29/1Chinese ways of thinking3 philosophers, L, 5-25
9/3Rural revolution in ChinaFanshen, 1-100; L 28-56
39/8From 1949 to Great Leap ForwardChen Village, -73; L 86-112
Phases, decision tree
/10The Cultural RevolutionCV, 74-235; L 112-122
4/15Movie: Small happiness
/17 Chen Village in reformChenV, 236-334
(finish reading Fanshen)
/19Alice Ba, “China Engaged: Comparative Conditions and Prospects”
5/22economic transformation of Chinaspreadsheets, powerpoint
(paper topic available)
9/243 Gorges dam documentary3G factsheet; Cody
69/29The reform eraL 123-167; Zhang
/1Gate of Heavenly Peace Documentary
710/6Papers due, discussion
/8Village politics todayKennedy, Grassroots Reform
8/13(reading holiday)
/15Political systemL 169-242
9/20Political system continuedorg charts
/22no class
10/27Ruling partyWomack Polit reform and sust
/29Tibet and diversity challengesGoldstein (G), Womack
1111/3first test
/5China in world perspectiveKang, Womack
12/10Overseas Chinese, HK and Macaorec: Wang Gungwu, Ch 2
Ming Chan, Lo
/12TaiwanRigger, Taiwan directory
13/17China’s international economyLardy,Keidel /19 China and East Asia “China and SE Asia”
Jae Ho Chung
Yinan He
14/24China, Asia and the US “US and China’s Rise” Legro, Womack
/26(Thanksgiving)
1512/1second test