Politics and Society in China

2024/2025

Academic Year

ENG

Instruction in English

4

ECTS credits

Delivered at:

Department of Political Science and International Affairs

Course type:

Elective course

When:

3 year, 1, 2 module

Instructor

Mazhinskiy, Stanislav

Course Syllabus

Abstract

The course is designed for students of the program "Political Science and International Relations" who study political and social processes in the countries of the Far East, in particular China. The goal of the course is to highlight the policy of the Chinese state in relation to Chinese society. The course will examine the policy of the central government of China in relation to society and the management of social processes. It is also supposed to consider the social problems of China, which significantly changed the public image of China in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. During the course, students will participate in the discussion of the features of social transformations and challenges for modern Chinese society, consider the causes and consequences of social problems.

Learning Objectives

• To provide students with an overview of the main directions of social policy in China and its evolution since 1911.
• To introduce students to the main political directions in relation to the management of social processes in China, social issues, trends and their impact on the modern Chinese state.
• To develop students' skills in applying theoretical models to the analysis of political and social processes in the PRC.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• • Works with information related to society and policy of modern China: finds, evaluates, systematizes and uses information necessary for solving scientific and professional problems from various sources;
• • Explains the significat role of ideology in Chinese society;
• • Describes evolution of political system in China during the XX century;
• • Knows key events in China’s social and political development 1911-1978 and explains main points of changes and development;
• • Knows major facts about Chinese wolrdview system: time, body, culture components and uses this knowledge to analyse civilization principles of Chinese society;
• • Applies social and political perspectives to the analysis of Chinese state since 1978;
• • Uses the conceptual apparatus of political science to analyze Chinese social and national politics;
• • Knows the background and features of the “One country, two systems” principle: GangAoTai region and its society;
• • Applies knowledge to the analysis of particular policies and social development;

Course Contents

• Part 1. Introduction in Chinese Culture and Politics (lecture 1and seminar 1).
• Part 2. Chinese society in the XXI century (seminar 2).
• Part 2. Chinese society in the XXI century (seminar 3).
• Part 2. Chinese society in the XXI century (seminar 4-5).
• Part 2. Chinese society in the XXI century (seminar 6).
• Part 2. Chinese society in the XXI century (seminar 7).
• Part 2. Chinese society in the XXI century (seminar 8).
• Part 2. Chinese society in the XXI century (seminar 9).
• Part 3. Modern Chinese policy (seminar 10).
• Part 3. Modern Chinese policy (and seminar 11).
• Part 3. Modern Chinese policy (and seminar 12).
• Part 3. Modern Chinese policy (seminar 13).
• Part 4. One Country — Two Sysytems (seminar 14).
• Part 4. One Country — Two Sysytems (seminar 15).

Assessment Elements

• In-class participation
  Lecturer evaluates students’ progress, including comprehension of lecture materials and assigned readings, as well as contribution to discussions. The component is calculated as an average grade achieved on all seminars. If a student is not able to attend the seminar due to illness or any other legitimate reason (relevant document should be provided), he/she is not graded for that seminar. In all other cases students are graded with 0 for the seminar they have missed.
• Group presentation
  Depending on the number of students, presentations will be conducted individually or in groups by 2-3 students. The time limit for presentation is 15 minutes and should not be exceeded. Students are expected to read literature recommended in the syllabus, as well as to search for extra sources, especially in order to get most recent information on the topic of their presentation. If a student is not able to be present at the seminar due to illness or any other legitimate reason (relevant document should be provided), he/she should approach lecturers to be assigned with alternative task the same week s/he is back to class. The presentation cannot be moved to another seminar, other students in his/her group should present without the missing student.
• Group work with a knowldge table
  Students prepare at home for seminar 9, reading and analyzing information about «Socialism with Chinese characteristics». In class work students discuss main features of cocialism and fill the table. Before the filling some aspect in the table student should prove his or her statement. Every student can add information in the table in different aspects of the topic. Lecturer can be a moderator and fill the information in the table. During the filling the table students are involving in disscussion. That table of knowledge may be supporting materials for exam preparation.
• Exam
  The exam is a written form of essay. The essay is a short (500-600 words) reflection on a given statement, resembling the “Expository” type of essays. The essay is conducted in class for 80 minutes. During the seminar students are allowed to use online dictionaries, as well as paper-based worksheets they fill in during the seminars. The assignment can be paper-based or conducted in a computer class via SmartLMS. The provisional structure is the following: ● Introduction: An introduction with a thesis statement explaining exactly what the essay will discuss. ● Main Part: Provide a student's point of view on the statements or problem. The body that details the facts of the subject, often citing sources that can be read during the course or other academic articles, and supported by empirical examples, relevant to the topic. ● Conclusion: Summarize your arguments. The use of notes and other materials is prohibited during the essay. A conclusion that summarizes the main points. In case of a valid reason (proved by relevant document) for absence at the seminar, students are allowed to retake the essay. The date and time of retake is to be discussed with a lecturer and / or teaching assistants.

Interim Assessment

• 2024/2025 2nd module
  0.4 * Exam + 0.2 * Group presentation + 0.2 * Group work with a knowldge table + 0.2 * In-class participation

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Chinese politics : state, society and the market, , 2010
• Chinese politics and government : power, ideology, and organization, Guo, S., 2013
• Contemporary Chinese society and politics. Vol.1: The Maoist era, , 2009
• Contemporary Chinese society and politics. Vol.2: Politics and social institutions, , 2009
• Contemporary Chinese society and politics. Vol.3: Urban China, , 2009
• Contemporary Chinese society and politics. Vol.4: Rural China in the reform era, , 2009
• The Cambridge companion to modern Chinese culture, , 2010

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Chinese society - change and transformation, , 2012
• Culture and social transformations in reform era China, , 2010
• Economic reform in China : problems and prospects, , 1990
• Grassroots political reform in contemporary China, , 2007
• Mobility, migration and the Chinese scientific research system, Jonkers, K., 2010
• Navigating the aspirational city : urban educational culture and the revolutionary path to socialism with Chinese characteristics, Yochim, L. G., 2019
• Reclaiming Chinese society : the new social activism, , 2010
• Religion in China : survival and revival under communist rule, Yang, F., 2012
• Understanding Chinese society, , 2011

Authors

• Mazhinskii Stanislav Vitalevich