July 30 - Session 1 - Dube - Maoist China, cont. - Evaluations

Re.: Chinese Stages of History: Primitive Communalism, Slave, Feudal, Capitalist, Socialist, Communist -

I found this very interesting and something that is easy to explain to students and have them comment on. What I would like to know now is how do they see themselves now? They never achieved true communism where everyone is equal, and they seem to be back at capitalism with a new type of bourgeoisie sanctioned by the totalitarian state. As Marx, would say this is a new type of economic history, but what does the Chinese politburo say?

Regarding Chinese party bureaucracy: For all of those who criticize the bureaucracy in our country, they need to look a little bit more closely at others.

A question: What happens if a Chinese person elopes? Is there such a thing? Are marriages that take place in another country recognized as legal when you return home?

I have a much better understanding of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution after today's session, especially how it effected the daily lives of individuals. The film, To LiveTo Live helped to visualize some of this. Overall, the land reform seems quite similar to Stalin's Russia although there does seem to be some differences. It seems that the people were more supportive of Mao's Leap than Stalin's collectivization policies or Five Year Plan. I'd be curious to hear about any of the resistant movement's, if there were any, during Mao's Leap Forward.

I also enjoyed hearing more about the Hukou System. Although aware of it, I wasn't exactly sure how it worked until now or how it limited social mobility. =:O

With regards to the destruction of Nanjing and Japanese brutality in general...I was talking to several classmates as well about it; I had recently gotten the opportunity to travel to a Concentration Camp near Berlin in June. I took the guided tour and was also horrified by the atrocities the nazis also performed.

The Nazis would "test" soles and boots for their soldiers with their camp prisoners (jews, gypsies, russians, homosexuals, etc.). They would be beaten, made to run, jump, crawl, etc. just to "test" equipment.

The Nazis also carried out experiments on their prisoners as well...I don't think Japan was the only one....

In general, it is sad to say, but the inhumane treatment to man from man, happens quite a bit in war...not to justify it, but the Japanese were not unique to this...

First let me say I loved the film…To Live…I was able to see the change of attitude as the years progressed. I have ordered this film and I plan on using it in my classroom.

Looking at China of the 1950’s was informative and the concept that the State was now in the life of the people was interesting, the Marriage Laws: and family planning.

I am so glad the Great Leap Forward was covered. I now have an understanding of the sequence of events, I knew there was the Great Leap Forward and a Cultural Revolution but I was not quite sure of why the Cultural Revolution took place, and why someone who was a leader was now on the outs and imprisoned. Today it was explained and I in turn will be able to explain it to my students. Who knew that a simple play would turn into a major movement?

In regard to the Hokou System, Clay did a great job explaining it, after reading it yesterday I still was not sure of the significance of the system…However, it is difficult for me to understand, how people could sit by and watch others starve because they are in the wrong city! All in all I thought it was a great day and I want to thank Miranda for letting us finish the film during lunch.

I too am glad that the Great leap foward was covered in class today. The depth of information that we revieved far surpassed the information that is presented in our textbooks. I think it is important for our students to understand exactly why the land reforms were enacted; to break up the power dynamic that was in place in China.
I also found the disscussion on marriage reform very enlightening. It was very shocking to heare how many females died in one town as a result of the reform. It is insane; however, I do think it was good that they enforced an minimun age and a both party agreeing requirement.

The movie (to Live) was very moving, and was a good visualization of what we have been talking about in class.[Edit by="slopez on Jul 30, 9:49:16 PM"][/Edit]

I found the afternoon discussion of Mao and Art particularly interesting. The notion that everything has political content whether or not intended is both reasonable and disturbing. I am reminded of a scene is the film "The Red Violin" which painfully depicts the personal conflict experienced by a female "comrade" during the Cultural Revolution. She must choose between her loyalty to "the people" and her love of classical (i.e. western) music.
I will use this clip in my class to illustrate

Not only did I learn a lot this morning, but I got a lot of clarification that I can pass on to students. In the world of Marvel Comics, there is a segment called "What if....." which basically retells the story of superheroes under diffferent circumstances if things had changed, altering the future and result of the world. That is exactly what I thought about as we discussed the effects of World War II. I always thought of WWII as affecting mostly just Europe and eventually Japan. I never realized what a major global impact it caused throughout the world. The Communist party, korea, Japan, Malaya, Singapore, Dutch Indies, India, Etc… changed sooooo drastically! What if just one element changed? What if the nationalists were victorious? What if the British refused to give up Imperialism?? I think I would turn this into a narrative or expository essay to combine the curriculums!

8) (a)