Advanced Topics in Chinese Literature and Culture (300-0-20)
Topic
Grassroots Revolt in China Today
Instructors
Stefan Henning
Sociology Department, 1810 Chicago Ave.
Office Hours: by appointment
Meeting Info
University Library 4670: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
AY 22-23 How have urban Chinese challenged the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party in the twenty-first century? What are the activist causes around which urban Chinese have rallied despite the risk of state repression? Given that activists risk persecution, prison, and torture, who would do this? How do activists maintain the emotional resilience to stand up to authoritarian rule? What are activists' tactics and strategies? To answer these questions, we will study reporters, labor organizers, environmental activists, religious activists, lawyers, and feminist activists. Many activists oppose the authoritarian state in the name of freedom. I have found that many urban Chinese are happy, or at least content, in their lives today. The insight that hundreds of millions of people can be happy or content even though they are lacking freedom is so astonishing to me, I have begun to question my own understanding of freedom. Is freedom a specifically Western concept? Should the notion of freedom have universal relevance? Should we demand of the Chinese people that they democratize? Or is this demand Orientalist? Or racist? Is the demand that Chinese democratize another way of saying, "They must become like us"? The Chinese Communist Party is a threat to United States democracy. Thinking about China and acting toward China, how are we to combine the defense of our democracy and the injunction to stay clear of Orientalism? Who is a greater threat to our democracy, the Chinese Communist Party or the Republican Party? It turns out that we, unfortunately, cannot study Chinese activists without finding a framework to evaluate Chinese authoritarian rule in political and ethical terms. Evaluating Chinese authoritarian rule involves thinking about ourselves. Are some Americans benefitting from authoritarian rule in China? Is the Chinese Communist Party profitable for some Americans? Would the United States economy collapse without Chinese poverty? Who are we in moral, political, and ethical terms to claim the high ground and criticize the Chinese Communist Party? It is possible to argue that Western modernity is flawed beyond rescue. From this perspective, are we in a desperate search for an alternative modernity? Can China be our inspiration for an alternative modernity? Or, would you agree with those Hong Kong activists who have coined the term Chinazi to indicate that, in their view, China increasingly resembles Hitler's Germany?
Registration Requirements
No prerequisites. All teaching materials are in English.
Learning Objectives
This class shall alert students to the fragility of democracy: Is our democracy in existential peril? Does the Chinese Communist Party pose a threat to our democracy? What is life like under authoritarian rule? What are the odds in the struggle of ordinary people against an authoritarian state? Which Americans have benefitted from Chinese authoritarian rule? Can we make demands on Chinese people in the name of universal values? Given the planetary scope of human-made global warming, can we demand that Chinese people restructure their economy?
Teaching Method
Discussion
Evaluation Method
You will read about sixty pages per class meeting, or circa one hundred twenty pages per week. To participate actively in class discussion, you must prepare the assigned readings outside of class for six hours per week. This includes taking good reading notes and bringing your reading notes to class. Class Discussion 50% Take-home Exam 15% Final Paper 35%
Class Materials (Required)
We will discuss select chapters from the following books. All of these required books are available to you as e-books through the Library's website.
Sebastian Veg. Minjian. The Rise of China's Grassroots Intellectuals. New York: Columbia 2019. 978-0-231-19140-1
Ching Kwan Lee. Against the Law. Labor Protests in China's Rustbelt and Sunbelt. Berkeley: California 2007.978-0-520-25097-0
David Ownby. Falun Gong and the Future of China. New York: Oxford 2008. 978-0-19-973853-3
Joshua Goldstein. Remains of the Everyday. A Century of Recycling in Beijing. Oakland: California 2021.
Rongbin Han. Contesting Cyberspace in China. Online Expression and Authoritarian Resilience. New York: Columbia 2018.
Leta Hong Fincher. Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China. New York: Verso 2018. 978-1-78663-364-4
Margaret Hillenbrand. Negative Exposure: Knowing What Not to Know in Contemporary China. Durham: Duke 2020. 978-1-4780-0800-2
Class Attributes
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area