Lecture Time:
EveryTuesday 16:40-18:20 p.m. （Siming Campus）
Thursday of even weeks14:30-18:20 p.m. （Xiang’an Campus）
Venue: Rm.
102 Haiyun Bldg. （Siming Campus）
B311,NO.1 Bldg. （Xiang’an Campus）
Total Hours：36
Credits: 2
Workload:
Attendance of lectures is mandatory. Students are encouraged to contribute to the in-class discussions on all topics. A quiz may be given in relation to the topic previously covered. Each student should try to develop his or her interest in a particular area and be prepared to write a short paper with minimum 2000 words about his or her understanding of the current situation and development in the area in China.
Grading:
Students' final grades will be based on (1) objective scores they accumulate during the course and (2) the instructors' evaluation of the students' performance, participation, progress and efforts. The objective scores will be calculated on the basis of the following components:
Participation 20%
Final paper 80%
The last two weeks of the semester will be arranged for term paper writing. Students of the class are expected to submit term papers(no less than 2000 words) before the due date.
Module Ⅰ: An Introduction (Lectures 1-4)
Siming Campus： Week 2 /3/5/6
Xiang’an Campus：Week2/6
Instructor: Liao Shaolian
E-mail: slliao@xmu.edu.cn
Description:This part of the lecture series provides an introduction to China with focus on history and politics. It will first give a brief introduction to ancient history of China with focus on features of social formation in different historical periods, and then touch upon development of science & technology. The section on politics of China will cover political power and administrative system, as well as the new security concept and its impacts on foreign relations.
Reading materials: (available in Xiamen University Library):
1. Keay, John. (2009) China: a History. New York: Harperm Press.
2. Wright, David Curtis. (2001) The history of China，Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press.
3. Chinese International Publishing Group. (2009) Five Thousand Years of Chinese Characters. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press.
4. Chow, Gregory. (2014) China's Economic and Social Problems. New Jersey: World Scientific.
5. Zhu, Zhiqun. China's New Diplomacy: Rationale, Strategies and Significance. Farnham, England.
6. Chen, Jian, (2013). Diplomacy Leads to World Harmony. Current Affairs Press.
7. Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China. (2013), China Science and Technology Indicators 2010. Scientific and Technical Documentation Press.
Module Ⅱ: Economic development in China (Lectures 5-6)
Siming Campus： Week 7-8
Xiang’an Campus：Week8
Instructor: Guo,Ye
E-mail: eyguo@xmu.edu.cn
Description:This part of the lecture series will first give a brief introduction to the history of Chinese economic development, including a general overview of the economic reform in China, rural development, external economic relations. Then the lecture will focus on the unbalanced growth of different zones in China.
Reading materials:
1.Barry Naughton, “The Chinese Economy: Transitions and Growth”, MIT Press, 2007.
2.Giorgio Gomel et al., “The Chinese economy: recent trends and policy issues” ，Berlin; London: Springer，2013.
3.Gregory Mankiw, “Principles of Economics”, South-Western, Division of Thomson，7th Edition，2014.
ModuleⅢ: Chinese Culture (Lectures7-8)
Siming Campus： Week 9-10
Xiang’an Campus：Week10
Instructor: Xia Guang-wu
E-mail: xiagw@xmu.edu.cn
Description: This part of the lecture series introduces Chinese Culture in brief. In order to help students quickly get to know the cultural root of Chinese people, the two-week lecture focuses on dominating variations of Chinese literature and their influence. Instructor will introduce the most important and representative holidays, which have strong impact on Chinese people. Students are encouraged to participate on-class discussion toward these instances as well.
Topics to be covered:
1. Chinese Spring Festival and so on：background and core thoughts
2. Chinese Valentine’s Day: Romanticism in Chinese culture
3. Dragon-boat Festival: Chinese Patriotism
4. Mid-Autumn Festival: Family reunion and other extension stories
Reading materials:
1.Gao Li ed, Talking about China in English, Beijing: China Water Power Press. 2011.
2.Yao Dan. Chinese Literature. Beijing: China Intercontinental Press, 2006.
3.Victoria Cass. In the Realm of the Gods: Lands, Myths, and Legends of China. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2007.
4.Valerie Hansen. The Open Empire: A History of China to 1600. N. Y.: W. W. Norton, 2000.
ModuleⅣ: Chinese Philosophy (Lectures9-10)
Siming Campus： Week 11-12
Xiang’an Campus：Week12
Instructor: Liu, Xiaofei
E-mail: liuxf@xmu.edu.cn
Description: This part of the course is a brief introduction to Chinese Philosophy. It will focus on perhaps the most influential and definitely the most well-known Chinese philosopher, Kongzi (also known as Confucius), and his ideas. We will discuss Kongzi’s political ideal and its relation to his notion of morality, in particular, Ren (goodness) and three key virtues – Zhong (dutifulness), Xiao (filial piety), and Yi (rightness). By understanding Kongzi’s ideas of morality and political ideal, especially in contrast with their western counterparts, we will peek into what’s at the core of the Chinese culture.
Reading materials:
1.Confucius Analects: with selections from traditional commentaries, translated by Edward Slingerland, Hackett Publishing Company, 2003.
2.Readings in Classic Chinese Philosophy, edited by Philip J. Ivanhoe and Bryan W. Van Norden, Seven Bridges Press, 2001.
3.The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven (DVD), available for free on Youtube.
4.Outlaws of the Marsh, by Shi Nai'An, translated by Sidney Shapiro, Foreign Languages Press, 2001.
ModuleⅤ: Chinese Society and Culture (Lectures 11-12)
Siming Campus： Week 13-14
Xiang’an Campus：Week14
Instructor: Lu,Yunfang
E-mail: lyf@xmu.edu.cn
Description: This part of the lecture series will give a general overview of the transformation process in Chinese society and culture in modern times, at personal, familial and social levels. It is to cover the topics on personal relations, career and education, love and marriage, family structure and power shift, aging society, ethnic issues, religions, gender issues, stratification and social mobility.
Reading materials:
1.Yan Yunxiang, The Individualization of Chinese Society, Berg Publishers, 2009
2.Prasenjit Duara, The Global and Regional in China's Nation-Formation. London ; New York: Routledge, 2009
3.Mayfair Mei-hui Yang, Chinese Religiosities: Afflictions of Modernity and State Formation, UC Berkeley, 2008
