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AnonymousEven though multiple political parties exist in the US it's a common complaint that there seems to be only two that really matter. I suppose the comparison with a one-party system in which the majority of the population doesn't even belong is an interesting contrast. The recommendation system does seem to echo the old examination system of imperial China- at least in the notion that someone must first prove merit before holding a government position.
In the US there may be advantages to not joining a political party- especially if someone is not fond of receiving unwanted junk mail.
AnonymousI was a bit surprised with the discussion on Mao. I thought that we would maybe focus a bit more on the deaths during his leadership especially during the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward. Some of the information about the government was new to me. I guess I always had this view of Mao as all powerful almost like a dictator. I know that there was not a General Secretary during his leadership and Chairman Mao would have been at the top in terms of control, however it is a bit confusing as to how much power he really had. I was surprised to learn about how much influence the various committee members have in the Communist Party. Something also surprising was that roughly 85 million of 1.35 billion people are part of the Communist Party today--I guess I thought this number would be much higher.
In terms of taking responsibility for the actions of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution-- I know that Mao condemned some of these actions to a certain extent towards the end of his leadership and life. Does anyone know anything else about the government taking responsibility for the deaths?
AnonymousI found the discussion of how to become a member of the communist party to be particularly interesting. I am planning to teach Red Scarf Girl and this background information is invaluable. I also found it interesting how people were expected to do an extra duty to contribute to the party.
I was also intrigued by the relationship with Taiwan.
The information about landlords and land redistribution to be of great interest. It will be helpful in giving my students information.
The Cultural Revolution will be a valuable piece of information as well.
AnonymousToday's lecture on Mao was informative in terms of the description of the Chinese government. The part in the lecture where the government was described and the pagoda was used as a reference to show the power will definitely be useful when describing it to students. I was not aware of all the different groups in the groups, so it was helpful to get that descriptive breakdown of the different tiers. The Time Magazine front cover images were also useful and will be for students to analyze about the power that Mao possessed in China at the time. It would be cool do a perspectives activity, and compare propaganda that exists from China eyes of Mao, and the TIME Magazine covers as well as other images the US produced of him at the time.
Will we be learning more about Mao in upcoming lectures? I know you mentioned the cultural revolution in class, but wanted to see if we would go more into it and what exactly it entailed.
AnonymousAnother piece of this lecture that stood out to me was the information about China's marriage laws. Historically, the marriage law in China had been that people married without any documentation or licensing, just parental permission. Government made a new law that they needed to approve of the marriage in order for it to be legal. This was the first time that Chinese government had asserted themselves in Chinese private law. As long as a couple met the legal age, the government would register the couple. Now, parents did not need to approve of the marriage, so arranged marriages were no longer being followed. This was an assertion of state power where it had not been involved before. This was showing that the government was going to be far more present and unlimited than before. I think it would be really interesting to draw a comparison between this and some of the Colonial acts passed in the 13 American Colonies prior to American Independence.
AnonymousI too was surprised after tonight's lecture. I thought I had a basic understanding of how the Communist government functions in China, but I realize now how much more nuanced people's relationship with the party are. I found it interesting that part of the party's early success can be attributed to it's tackling of more private familial issues. The Marriage Law is a prime example of how intrusive the party's policies were (and still are), but that it's through this that the party has been able to gain so much power. Which made the breakdown of the current CCP's power structure so interesting to me. While the party is still undoubtedly powerful and controlling in the personal lives of people in China, the overall importance of the party on most people's daily experience seems to be waning. If anything, it seems the local committee members have the most power, not the heads of state as someone from the outside might assume. It would seems that the policy intentions of these committee members and local officials would have a much greater impact on people's lives, and that overall the CCP has a much more bureaucratic structure than what Mao had envisioned.
AnonymousDuring this seminar, I was particularly interested in the images of money across time. On the images, there were people that represented the party, such as peasants and soldiers. In the United States, as in other countries, you often see images of significant men, and much less often women, whom are significant to that country’s history. This leads me to question what does money and what is printed on it, say about that country’s society and culture? Also, what is the purpose of the images on the money? What is the purpose of the messages that are being sent to people who are handling this money?
AnonymousI agree that this would make a great lesson for the students to be able to connect to political parties in the USA by comparing them with another countries. This would make a great simulation in which half of the class can vote in the way that China does and the other half in the way that the USA does. The two groups can the debrief about their freedom to chose and vote. This could also be connected to the declaration of independence unit you do in your class. It could be an activity you do before the start of the unit on political parties so that students immediately get drawn into what political parties are like ad how the voting system works. Misconceptions may come up in the future for the students that did not get to simulate the USA system so making sure that the debrief time is very well thought out and given its own lesson will go a long way in helping out all of the students.
AnonymousI was so fascinated with this lecture! I have always wanted to know more about communist China and Mao's role in government. This was a great overview of the history of Mao's rise to power and his maintenance of the government. It was also interesting to see all the old Time magazine covers it is always so interesting to see history happening with such iconic images such as a Time cover. This is especially useful for our students who like to see the connection to the present day, and showing something from history on a cover of a still important magazine is a great way to tie it together for students and to give them primary source images. The part of the lecture about the political parties in China seemed to be most fascinating to everyone in the class. I agree that was a lot of new information for me as well. I had no idea how the political parties in China worked. I suppose I'm not surprised by the way it is corrupted by the people with more power. I know this class does not focus on southern Asia, such as Myanmar, but I am very interested to know if China and Myanmar have an allegiance of any kind. And if so with the recent announcement of the free election in Myanmar, what is China's reaction to what is happening?
AnonymousChina has a very interesting political systems. I feel like people here like to criticize how corrupt their government is because a lot of the power in handle by a few party members. However, if we really think about the success China has had in the last 60 years then they must be doing something right. This type of thinking will be very engaging for students to be presented with so they can make a decision on which type of government might be more efficient, China's or USA's?
AnonymousIs interesting, that political parties are viewed differently in China and the U.S.. When the school semester begins, my 8th graders will be learning about America's early political parties.
AnonymousToday’s lecture on colonial Korea was filled with a lot of information that was swiftly presented. One of the most intriguing points of today’s lecture was the election of Park Geun-hye. Given the tumultuous reign of her father, I was curious to know what associations the people of Korea made on this leader. It seems that Time Magazine painted her in a positive light by calling her the “Strong Man’s Daughter”, however I wonder how well people remember the instability of Korea’s political leadership at the time. It was also very interesting to see that even today, there is a close association between both leaders despite the significant difference in leadership style. Whereas Park Chung Hee ruled with an iron fist, his daughter presides operates within a more democratic context.
edited by nramon on 1/10/2016
AnonymousRe: Structures of Power in Mao's China
Jennifer, I also thought the use of the pagoda to illustrated the many tiers of power was also awesome, especially since we have gone to China to see these structures. Reading about the many parties involved within these political structures also reminded me of China's great tradition of bureaucracy. In earlier historical periods, it was clear that China had an intricate organized system of government, and that seems to be a running theme even within a movement that sought to move away from the traditional. Since you cover earlier periods of history, I bet this is a topic that is covered in earlier Chinese history.
edited by nramon on 1/12/2016
AnonymousRe: Representations in currency
Kriztian, you make a very interesting point about currency and the values of a country. The first thing that came to mind is the currency of the two countries I am associated with- the US and Mexico. When I think about the images in Mexican currency, I notice that it honors its precolonial heritage, its literature, its artists, revolutionary movements, among other things. Of course, there is an aspect of hegemony in the representations of a country in currency. I noticed that the United States has a less varied representation of its people, culture, and history as it represents mostly white men in its currency. Upon thinking about what countries chose to represent in their currency, I think it might be a good idea to examine a country's currency as a means of trying to decipher who has power and what these people value. Perhaps this could be an excellent anticipatory set towards studying a new country.
edited by nramon on 1/12/2016
AnonymousI've studied and to self-teach a lot of what I know about Mao and China so the discussion on the Communist Party of China was enlightening. The New York Times is a great site to find articles and short documentaries to share with high school age kids. In the college section I found an article titled The Communist Party of China and the "Party State." It's a pretty clear explanation of the party and their principles.
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/college/coll-china-politics-002.html