IFCO 2630 - Chinese Political Culture through History: an Ecological Perspective

This course explores key issues in the contemporary and historical study of China and, by extension; East Asian cultures more generally: the power and authority of the state, the relationship between the state and (civil) society, and the degree of change and continuity in Chinese life over the course of the country's modern experience. It does this by exploring patterns within the Chinese political and social system from the early modern period up to today's Xi regime while, at the same time, appreciating the geographic and cultural diversity of China. The course views a range of related areas of Chinese historical development through the prism of ecology: Chinese state-building and cultures of rebellion; the 19th century rise of European intervention and influence in Chinese affairs; mass politics in the 20th century and Mao's “war on nature”; and finally the regime of Xi Jinping in the era of social media, surveillance, and climate change.
Alexandre GANDIL,Pierre FULLER
Cours magistral seul
English
Weekly readings (articles and/or primary source material) plus research and reading for the final essay.
There are no prerequisites for this course. However, it is in-depth in its approach (un cours d'approfondissement) so some familiarity with historical studies and East Asian subjects would be an advantage. That said, it is designed to benefit students of varying backgrounds and disciplinary interests.
Spring 2021-2022
Course Evaluation is a mid-term (30%) consisting in a comparative and critical analysis of readings (two books), to prepare at home, and a 3-hour final exam to be held on site, during the exam session at Sciences Po (70%).
This course is taught in open lecture format, meaning the lecture can be paused for class discussion and elaboration at any time depending on student needs and interests. It is also designed as a window onto how research is done on the subject, incorporating sources and scholarly literature into lecture discussion.
Karl A. Wittfogel, Oriental Despotism: a comparative study of total power. Yale University Press, 1957, excerpts.
Kathryn Jean Edgerton-Tarpley, From Nourish the People' to Sacrifice for the Nation': Changing Responses to Disaster in Late Imperial and Modern China, Journal of Asian Studies 73/2 (2014), 447-69.
Patricia Thornton, Disciplining the State: Virtue, Violence, and State-Making in Modern China. Harvard University Asia Center, 2007, excerpts.
Judith Shapiro, Mao's War Against Nature: politics and the environment in revolutionary China. Cambridge University Press, 2001, excerpts.
Glenn D. Tiffert, Peering down the Memory Hole: Censorship, Digitization, and the Fragility of Our Knowledge Base, The American Historical Review 124/2 (April 2019), 550-568.