This course will examine the course of Chinese history over the centuries. It will rely on

lectures, discussions, films, guest lectures, and presentations by students. The course will be

arranged chronologically and thematically with special emphasis on selected topics/people/ideas

that are central to understanding China’s history and culture. Students will develop their

knowledge of China as well as working on their critical thinking, researching, and writing skills.

Students are expected to be in class. If you miss class you are responsible for all materials

that you miss-lecture notes, films, discussions etc. In-class assignments cannot be made up

if you miss class because part of the assignment is working with others to evaluate and

critique material. If you are not in class your grade can be affected by missing in-class work.

Also, if you miss more than four classes your grade will be lowered.

There will be one map quiz to help students learn some of the key places in China. If you

miss the map quiz it will automatically be sent to the Testing Center and must be taken

within one week of the original due date. Any quizzes not taken within one week will be sent

back to the instructor.

Review for Quiz

There will be two take home exams during the semester. Questions and expectations will be

handed out separately. Due dates will be listed on the exam and no late exams will be accepted

unless there is some kind of emergency and the instructor decides this is acceptable. If there is

a problem it is the student’s responsibility to let the instructor know before the due date

otherwise there will be no late exams accepted.

Midterm Exam

Final Exam

Due dates and requirements for all papers are listed separately. Late papers lose three

points for every day they are late before finals week. No late papers will be accepted during

final exam week. All written work must adhere to Academic Honesty: The use of the

In accordance with University policy, if you have a documented disability and require

accommodations to obtain equal access in this course, please contact Kelly Oster in Student

Services to submit documentation. Then you must contact the instructor so that they are aware

of any required accommodations.

This year’s Campus Theme is "Ways of Knowing". The theme is created to help students see

that what they learn from class to class is connected and not just separate bits of information.

Campus speakers, arts events and other programs are set-up to reflect the campus theme. Students

will find the theme reflected in some assignments and some class discussions as well.

All readings listed in the following outline are tentative and subject to change as the semester

goes along. The instructor expects that all reading will be done at the beginning of each week

so that the information presented in class will go along with what is being read. Due dates

for assignments will not change unless there is an emergency of some kind that forces unexpected changes.

Week 1 Introduction and Beginnings

Read Intro in Fairbank, and Handouts

Week 2 Shang and Xia Dynasties, Unification

Read chapters 1 and 2 in Fairbank

Week 3 Dynastic Changes

Read chapters 3 and 4 in Fairbank

Week 4 Outside Rule Developing

Read chapter 5 in Fairbank

class notes

Class notes #2

Week 5 Ming and Qing Dynasties

Read chapters 6 and 7 in Fairbank

Week 6 Growth and Unrest

Read chapters 8 and 9 in Fairbank

Week 7 Rebellions

Read chapter 10 in Fairbank

Week 8 Decline of Qing

Read chapter 11 in Fairbank

Week 9 Republicanism and the Boxers

Read chapter 12 in Fairbank, p. 3-22 in Dietrich

Week 10 May 4^th movement and the Growth of Nationalism

Read chapters 13 and 14 in Fairbank, p. 32-43 in Dietrich

Week 11 ****Spring Break *****

Begin reading Bound Feet and Western Dress and p. 22-30 in

Week 12 Growth of Communism and Resistance

Read chapters 15 and 16 in Fairbank, p. 30-32, 43-49 in Dietrich

Week 13 Aftermath and development of a Communist State

Read chapters 17 and 18 in Fairbank, p. 50-204 in Dietrich

Week 14 Read and Discuss Bound Feet and Western Dress

Week 15 Pathway to control

    Read chapters 19 and 20 in Fairbank

Week 16 ****Poster Presentations ****

Finals Week ****Take Home Due and Poster Presentations 2 p.m on 5/10****

• Map Quiz: Feb. 1^st
• Take Home Exams: March 10 and May 10^th
• Research papers: April 28^th
• Rough Drafts: March 24^th
• Poster Presentations begin on May 3rd..
• Book Report due: April 5^th
• Short Papers: Feb. 15^th and April 12^th

Each student will complete a book review on a book chosen from a list compiled by the instructor.

Book choices must be turned in to the professor by February 24^th. The review will be 5-6 pages,

typed and double spaced. When the reviews are turned in copies will be made available for

the class to read the other reviews. The copies will be placed on reserve in the library so

students can read at their leisure and make copies of those they wish to.

The review will be a critical review that does not just retell the information in the book

but attempts to analyze the details presented. The review should address the following issues:

• Who is the author? What is their expertise? What is the author’s background? Have they written other works on this subject? In other words why should they be accepted as an authority? This type of information can be found through reference works in the library such as Who’s Who.
• What is the main topic/thesis or argument being presented?
• How well supported is the argument? What kind of evidence is used?
• Are there unanswered questions left by the author? Are there areas that you feel the author did not fully support?
• When was the book written? Does this in any way affect the material presented?
• Does the book include footnotes/endnotes? A bibliography?

Be sure to develop an opening thesis statement, support for this approach and a conclusion

that summarizes what you have presented. In addition, if you quote, paraphrase or use ideas

from the text be sure to properly credit the source with footnotes or endnotes. Students are

expected to use the Chicago Manual of Style as the format to follow. Copies can be found

in the library and the Writing Center as well as on the Internet. Failure to properly cite material

will result in an F on the assignment and a failing grade for the course if this happens more

than once. Students are encouraged to bring their papers to the instructor and the writing center

for help as they work on them.

Late papers will lose three points for every day they are late. Papers are due April 5^th.

Book List

Each student will complete two short papers of about 3 pages each, typed and double spaced.

These papers will be short biographical sketches on figures of importance in Chinese History.

The topics will be chosen from a list provided by the instructor. Copies of these sketches

will also be made available for the class so that we all learn about these figures. Papers

should include:

Be sure to include a bibliography and footnotes/endnotes using the Chicago Manual of Style.

Remember to properly credit all information that is not your own or considered common

knowledge. Failure to do so will result in an F for the paper.

2nd Sketch

Each student will present a poster summary of their research project to the class during

the final weeks of the semester. The presentation should present the overall thesis or argument

and the main support to give the class an idea of what the project was about. Students will be

graded on their content, organization, presentation, use of visuals and outline for the class.

Each student will be working on a research project that will result in a 14-16 page paper,

typed and double spaced. Papers will also include a bibliography and footnotes/endnotes

using the Chicago Manual of Style. Papers will be graded on their content, structure and

organization, strength of argument, supporting evidence, proper citations, having a

well-constructed thesis and a conclusion that summarizes the paper. Students are expected to

have used a minimum of six sources for the paper, not including any kind of encyclopedias.

Be sure to use all your sources and not rely solely on one or two. Avoid over quoting from

sources (2-3 per page maximum and avoid block quotes. 1 to 2 for the whole paper is the

maximum). Topics need to be approved by the instructor and turned in by February 10^th for

approval and comments. Students will also hand in a rough draft as explained below and

give a poster presentation. Students must complete that various parts of this project to receive

a passing grade. If you miss one part of the project you will fail the course. Topics can

cover any subject in China’s history. The following lists are simply some suggestions to help

think about possible topics of study.

Boxer Rebellion Taiping Rebellion May 4^th Movement

Rape of Nanjing Terra Cotta Warriors Art

Confucianism Neo-confucianism Chinese Literature

Cultural Revolution Great Leap forward Minorities in China

Relations with Tibet Relations with Hong Kong Mao

Chiang Kai-shek Chinese Economy Chinese Population

Empress Dowager Opium Wars Relations with the West

Relations with Russia Middle Kingdom Idea Mandate from Heaven

Emperor Qin Great Wall War Lords

Long March PLA Banner Troops

Eunuchs Forbidden City Han Dynasty

Women’s Roles Art of War Taoism

Chinese Inventions Shang Warriors Popular Culture

Nationalist Party Sun Yat-sen Gang of 4

Tang Dynasty Song Dynasty Ancestor Worship

Rough Draft

Every student will be expected to turn in a rough draft of their paper on the 24^th of March. The

rough draft should be typed, double-spaced and represent at least 2/3 of the final paper (meaning

10 pages) and include a bibliography and footnotes. The remainder of the paper should be

outlined so the instructor can see where the paper is headed. Failure to hand in a rough