Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "PL 350"
COURSE NAME: "Politics of China"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2019

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Enrico Fardella
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: W 1:30-4:15 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course reviews the evolution of China's national policies, focusing on its 1949 foundation, the Cultural Revolution, the post-Mao economic reforms, the events of 1989 at Tiananmen and their impact on different aspects of Chinese cultural and social life. It examines such contemporary issues as human, civil and political rights, environmental politics, the problems of minorities, and covers China's foreign policy and international relations.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

The course will critically delve intro the following ten questions:

What is the ‘Century of Humiliation’ and which role does it play in today’s China’s politics?
Which are the core elements of Mao’s ideology and how did they shape the history of the PRC?
How did Mao's foreign policy influence the evolution of the Cold War?
How did Deng’s reform and opening change China’s domestic politics and external relations?
How did US-China relations change since the establishment of official relations in 1979?
How does the Chinese Communist Party think?
How does the Chinese Communist Party work?
What is the Belt and Road Initiative and which kind of impact has it on the Euro-Mediterranean Region?
Is there a Chinese notion of world order?
Which are the core elements of Xi Jinping's Third revolution?

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

The course will allow the students to critically an analyse the political dimension of China’s national struggle, identify its resilience and evolution across the history of the PRC and creatively project its potential developments and impact in the world of tomorrow. The individual and group research will allow them to acquire a solid knowledge of China-related research networks, sources and tools, the workshop sessions will allow them to apply these tools in the debate with external prominent experts, and the final round table will let them using the newly acquired skills to project their analysis into the future by predicting some potential scenarios of China's interaction with the world in the next decades.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Comments
Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty First Century	Schell, Orville and John Delury	Little, Brown, 2013	0679643478
Politics in China: An introduction	William Joseph	Oxford University Press	9780190870713	Third Edition 2019
The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present	John Pomfret	Macmillan USA	978-1250160638
China's Quest: The History of the Foreign Relations of the People's Republic, revised and updated	John Garver	OUP USA	978-0190884352

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number
The Third Revolution: Xi Jinping and the New Chinese State	Elizabeth Economy	Oxford University Press	0190866071
Mao's China and the Cold War	Chen Jian	The University of North Carolina Press;	9780807849323
Maoism a global history	Julia Lovell	Bodley Head	978-1847922496
Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China	Ezra Vogel	Harvard University Press	978-0674055445
The Third Revolution: Xi Jingping and the New Chinese State	Elizabeth Economy	OUP USA	978-0190866075
China under Mao: A Revolution Derailed	Andrew Walder	Harvard University Press	9780674975491
Chinese Visions of World Order	Ban Wang	Duke University Press Books	978-0822369462

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Research paper	The students will be asked to draft a research paper on a topic related to the ten core questions of the course	30
Mid-Term	A written mid-term exam based on the five questions addressed in the first part of the course	20
Final Exam	A written final exam based on the ten core questions addressed during the course	30
Team work	A group research work to be presented in class	20

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

WEEK	TOPIC	DATE	READINGS
1	What is the ‘Century of Humiliation’ and which role does it play in today’s China’s politics?	SEPTEMBER 4TH	Joseph, chap. 2
2	Which are the core elements of Mao’s ideology and how did they shape the history of the PRC?	SEPTEMBER 11TH	Joseph, chap. 3
3	———	SEPTEMBER 18TH	Schell and Delury, chap. 9-10 Walder, chaps. 14 Lovell chaps. 1-12
4	How did Mao’s foreign policy influenced the course of the Cold War?	SEPTEMBER 25th	Garver Act.1 (2-8)
5	———-	SEPTEMBER 27TH (MAKE UP CLASS)	Garver Act.1 (9-12); Act. 2 (13) Chen Epilogue Fardella “The Sino-American Normalization: A Reassessment”, in Diplomatic History, Vol. 33, No. 4 (September 2009), 545-578.
6	How did Deng’s reform and opening change China’s domestic politics and external relations?	OCTOBER 2ND	Joseph, chap. 4 Schell and Delury, chap. 11-12 Vogel chap. 24
7	40 years of China and US relations:past, present and future Joint Lecture with Prof. Wang Dong (Peking University)	OCTOBER 9th	Pomfret Part V
8	Mid Term Exams	October 16th
9	How does the Chinese Communist Party think?	OCTOBER 23rd	Joseph chaps 5
10	How does the Chinese Communist Party work?	OCTOBER 25th	Joseph chaps 6
11	WORKSHOP: “What is the Belt and Road Initiative and which kind of impact has it on the Euro-Mediterranean Region?"	OCTOBER 30th	Joseph chap. 8 Fardella, “The Belt and Road Initiative Impact on Europe: an Italian Perspective" in China&World Economy, Special Issue: Eurasian Perspective on China's Belt and Road Initiative, Volume 25, Issue 5, September–October 2017, 125-138.
12	Is there a Chinese notion of world order?	NOVEMBER 6TH	Wang Chap. 6
13	“China and Italy in the XXIst Century” Joint lecture with Ambassador Bradanini (former Italian Ambassador in the PRC (2013-2015) & President of Centro Studi sulla Cina contempranea	NOVEMBER 13TH	Fardella, “A significant periphery of the Cold War: Italy-China bilateral relations, 1949–1989”, Cold War History, Vol. 2, 17. 2017, 181-197. DOI: 10.1080/14682745.2015.1093847
14	ROUNDTABLE "The PRC at 70: Xi’s Third Revolution"	NOVEMBER 20TH	Economy Chap. 2-7-8
15	Final exams	TBC