Fall 2017 - HIST 366 D100
Social and Cultural History of Modern China (4)
Class Number: 2984
Delivery Method: In Person
Overview
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Course Times + Location:
Sep 5 – Dec 4, 2017: Wed, 9:30 a.m.–1:20 p.m.
Burnaby
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Instructor:
Jeremy Brown
jba41@sfu.ca
1 778 782-4379
Office: AQ 6228
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Prerequisites:
45 units, including six units of lower division history. HIST 255 is recommended.
Description
CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
Explores the social and cultural problems in modern Chinese history, with special emphasis on popular and elite cultures in the late Qing, Republican, and socialist eras.
COURSE DETAILS:
This class will explore how the momentous changes of China’s Republican era (1911-1949) affected everyday life and culture. After beginning the term with a three-week introduction to the major ideas, personalities, and conflicts of the period, we will use film, literature, and reportage as windows on such themes as family, the rural-urban divide, tradition, nationalism, revolution, and war.
For your final project you will choose your own window (either building on a theme covered during the term or selecting another area of interest—for example, business, diplomacy, sexuality, science, or sports). You will also choose the format of your final project—the format will be determined by the skills and knowledge you wish to acquire (for example: research paper, original Wikipedia entry, film, app, website). By the end of the term you should: (1) be able to identify major themes and events in China’s Republican period and link them to changes in everyday life and culture; (2) be able to critically evaluate films and literature as historical sources; (3) form a historical argument by completing a research project that draws on primary and secondary sources; (4) communicate your findings via a group presentation.
If you want to take the class but do not meet the prerequisites, you may request my permission to enroll (email jeremy_brown@sfu.ca).
Grading
- Participation, (full credit each week for active participation, half credit for inadequate participation or tardiness, no credit for absence). 20%
- Take-home exam, (distributed on September 27; due via Canvas on September 29). 16%
- Two brief in-class writing exercises. You may refer to your notes and readings during the exercises, which may take place at any time during the term. No make-ups. 14%
- Research proposal and annotated bibliography 5%
- Final research project 40%
- Group presentation 5%
Materials
REQUIRED READING:
Pa Chin [Ba Jin], Family, trans. Sidney Shapiro (Waveland Press, 1972 [1931]).
Edgar Snow, Red Star Over China: The Classic Account of the Birth of Chinese Communism (Grove Press, 1994 [1937]).
Xiao Hong, The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River, trans. Howard Goldblatt (Cheng & Tsui, 2002).
Older editions and versions of these books are acceptable.
Registrar Notes:
SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://students.sfu.ca/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.
Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS