HISTORY 313
Mao Zedong, Revolution and China
Please note: this is archived course information from 2016 for HISTORY 313.
Description
Overview
This course uses the life and legacy of Mao Zedong (1893-1976) as a way to navigate China’s tumultuous history from the end of the Nineteenth Century to the end of the Twentieth Century. Mao is generally acknowledged as a towering figure in Chinese history whose personality and ideology continue to influence national and world politics today.
And yet a careful study of China’s twentieth century history reveals the limits, as well as the extent, of the influence of a “revolutionary” such as Mao Zedong. In this course, students will use primary and secondary texts to sketch out the broader social and cultural landscape of modern China and evaluate the historical significance of Mao’s life and the Maoist ideology that was his legacy.
Goals
By the end of the course, you should have improved your ability
- to find and analyse primary sources (ie, first-hand accounts)
- to read and critique secondary sources (ie, accounts written by historians)
- to gather primary and secondary sources together into a research essay shaped by your own original argument
- to listen to and evaluate the arguments and opinions of others
- to cite and reference in a manner appropriate to the genre of historical writing
- to read efficiently and retentively
- to write in polished and professional English
A trailer from last year’s class can be found on youtube.
Availability 2016
Semester 2
Lecturer(s)
Lecturer(s) Dr Melissa Inouye
Assessment
10% Participation
10% Source Analysis
40% Research Essay
20% Creative Primary Source Document
20% In-class Test
Points
HISTORY 313: 15 points
Prerequisites
30 points at Stage II in History or 15 points at Stage II in History and either CHINESE 201 or ARTHIST 225
Restrictions
HISTORY 213