Lecture TimeWednesday 2:30pm-4:15pm
Lecturer HE Xiaoqing Rowena ((852) 3943 7128)
Teaching Assistant LAO Ching Yin
This course is an intellectual inquiry into Chinese society, culture, and politics during the post-Mao period (1976-Present). It focuses on the sources and consequences of major transformation occurred in the China, socially, politically, and culturally. Topics include the relationship between intellectuals and the state, dynamics of social movements, civic education and youth values, media and social media, social activism and social change, the emergence and roles of civic associations, identity construction, and popular culture. In addition to examining the country as a whole, it also considers the particular circumstances of Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and of Taiwan.
This course aims to help students to develop skills to think, write, and speak critically and analytically about the past. We will work together as historians to evaluate historical evidence in primary and secondary sources, to think within historical contexts, to recognize the historical forces at work, to identify continuities and changes, and to understand the ethical dimension of historical interpretations as world citizens.
COURSE MATERIALS (Tentative)
Readings will include journal articles, scholarly books, and news reports on current affairs. In addition to reading required texts, we will watch selected films and documentaries relevant to the period we study. These visual materials aim to facilitate students’ understanding of history through human experience, and to eventually cultivate students’personal moral engagement as well as historical consciousness and intellectual understanding of the world. After all, the history that we are exploring is not just about dates, names, and numbers, but timeless questions such as values and choices, conflict and love, loyalty and betrayal.
CLASS PARTICIPATION AND ACTIVITIES
This is a student-centered class. Students are expected to be actively engaged in class and to work with other students. Class activities include group discussions, reading and news presentations, lectures, and documentary screenings, and reenactment of historical scenes. I will keep my nine-year tradition of having class lunches/dinners with students who are interested in joining.
We will work together to create an environment for intellectual dialogues and to cultivate informed, responsible, and engaged citizens. Being empathetic and inclusive does not mean that we stay away from core issues; it does not absolve us from our responsibility to engage in critical thinking and honest intellectual debates. I also recognize that we human beings have our own individual differences and preferences in learning styles and strategies. I will keep that in mind and will work with each of you to bring the best out of your potential and talent.
Final Project: 60%
Class Performance: 10%
A detailed list of weekly materials will be provided later
Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.
With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.
Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.
Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.
The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.