POS V 3620x   Introduction to Contemporary Chinese Politics
Fall 1998
Elizabeth Wishnick 

This course is designed to introduce students with limited knowledge of China to key aspects of Chinese domestic and foreign policy since 1949, with a focus on the post-Mao reform period since 1978. First-hand accounts, video, and audio materials will be integrated with academic sources to provide a complex understanding of China's political and economic development. In evaluating China's multiple transitions, special attention will be paid to rural-urban differences, state-society relations, and the international consequences of domestic developments in China.

Background

Students are advised to take Introduction to Comparative Politics prior to this course, although this is not a formal prerequisite.

Class Format

The first hour will involve a lecture on topics related to the readings. Twenty minutes of each class will be devoted to discussion of required readings.

Requirements

1. Ten-page take-home mid-term, due on October 20 in class.   30%   In the mid-term, students will address a common theme of their choice, found in two of the required readings, Chen Village and Son of the Revolution.

2. Fifteen-page paper, due on December 3 in class.   30%   Students may select a topic of their choice, in consultation with instructor.

3. In class final.   30%   The final will cover the post-Mao period and will include short answer and essay questions.

4. Attendance and participation.   10%   Students are expected to attend class regularly and participate actively in class discussions.

Students who hand in assignments late will be penalized a half grade per day. Incompletes are discouraged and will only be granted in case of a verifiable emergency.

Readings

All books may be purchased at Labyrinth Books at 536 West 112th Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue).

All readings are available in the Reserves area of the Barnard Library and in the Starr East Asian Library. They are listed by the author's name. Students may also borrow the articles from the instructor in order to make copies.

Books Required for Purchase:

Anita Chan et al, Chen Village
Craig Dietrich, People's China 2nd edition
Lian Heng and Judith Shapiro, Son of the Revolution
Maurice Meisner, The Deng Xiaoping Era
Andrew Nathan and Robert Ross, The Great Wall and the Empty Fortress

Part One: The Origins of the Chinese Revolution

9/8 Introduction

9/10 From Civil War to Revolution

Dietrich, Ch 1

Wang, Ch 1

9/15 Communist Victory

Dietrich, Ch 2-3

9/17 Video: China in Revolution Part I (2 hours)

Meisner, Ch 2

Part Two: Maoism and Continuous Revolution

9/22 The Soviet Model and Maoism

Wang, Ch 3

Meisner, Ch 1

9/24 The Great Leap

Dietrich, Ch 4

Chan, Ch 1

9/29 Economic, Political, and International Repercussions

Dietrich, Ch 5

Chan, Ch 2-3

Heng and Shapiro, Ch 1-3

10/1 Cultural Revolution

Dietrich, Ch 6-7

Chan, Ch 4-5

Heng and Shapiro, Ch 4-10

10/6 Video -- China in Revolution Part II (2 hours)

Meisner Ch 4

Heng and Shapiro, Ch 11-15

Chan, Ch 6-7

Part Three: From Revolution to Reform

10/8 Origins of Reform

Dietrich, pp. 236-41

Meisner, Ch 5-7

Chan, Ch 8-9

Heng and Shapiro, Ch 16-24

10/8 Economic Reform

Dietrich, pp. 241-250

Meisner Ch 8-11

Chan, Ch 10-12

Wang, Ch 11

10/13 Political Reform

Dietrich, pp. 250-278

Meisner, Ch 12-13

Wang, Ch 9

10/15 Tiananmen Uprising

Dietrich, Ch 9

Meisner, Ch 14

Wang, Ch 10

10/20 Video: Born Under the Red Flag (2 hours)

Take-home Mid-term Due

10/22 The Open Door

Wang, Ch 12

David S.G. Goodman and Gerald Segal,

China Deconstructs, Ch 5-7

Recommended: Video -- Red Capitalism (Barnard Library, 3rd floor)

10/27 Regionalism in Chinese Politics

Wang, Ch 7

Goodman and Segal, China Deconstructs, Ch 1,3

10/29 China in the Deng Xiaoping Era: Evaluating China's Transition and a Musical Interlude

Dietrich, Ch 10

Meisner, Ch 15

11/3 Election Day Holiday

Part Four: State and Society in Contemporary China

11/5 The Institutions of the Party-State

Wang, Ch 4-7, 8

11/10 Political Culture

Suisheng Zhao, "A Tragedy of History: The Chinese Search for Democracy in the Twentieth Century"

Andrew Nathan and Tianjian Shi, "Cultural Requisites for Democracy in China"

Joseph Fewsmith, "Institutions, Informal Politics, and Political Transition in China"

Lowell Dittmer and Xiaobo Lu, "Personal Politics in the Chinese Danwei under Reform"

11/12 Political Participation

Far Eastern Economic Review, "Beijing Spring," "Voice of the People"

Journal of Democracy, "Will China Democratize?"

M. Kent Jennings, "Political Participation in the Chinese Countryside"

11/17 Jiang Zemin's Challenges

Avery Goldstein, "China in 1997"

Richard Baum, "The Fifteenth National Party Congress: Jiang Takes Command?

Neil C. Hughes, "Smashing the Iron Rice Bowl"

Far Eastern Economic Review, "Agent of Change," "Excising the Cancer," "Out of Business"

Part Five: China's Foreign Relations

11/19 Domestic Sources of China's Foreign Policy

Nathan and Ross, Ch 1-2, 7-8

11/24 Territorial Integrity: Hong Kong, Taiwan,

and Inner Asia

Nathan and Ross, Ch 11-12

11/25 Thanksgiving Holiday

12/1 China and the International Economy

Nathan and Ross, Ch 9

12/3 China and the United States

Nathan and Ross, Ch 4 and 10

Far Eastern Economic Review, "Riders on the Storm"

Asiaweek, "A Win-Win Summit"

Paper due in class

12/8 China's Role in the New World Order

Nathan and Ross, Ch 13

12/10 Conclusions and Review