48
STORIA E ISTITUZIONI DELL'ASIA
Dati Generali
Periodo di attività
Syllabus
Obiettivi Formativi
By the end of the course, students:
1. will have a solid knowledge of the politics of contemporary China, the current and past ideologies of the Chinese Communist Party, and the key questions and policies in the governance of the People’s Republic of China
2. will be aware that to understand the politics of contemporary China it is necessary to consider the political, ideological, temporal and spatial context of the country. That sensitivity to the context of any given country is merely an analytical stance. Sensitivity to context does not and should not involve any value judgement (positive or negative) about the country under observation.
3. will be aware of the factors that have led and still lead to the existence of often widely divergent narrations, interpretations and perceptions of Chinese politics
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
By the end of this course students:
1. will be able to perform simple qualitative analyses of policy in the PRC
2. will be able to use their knowledge of the politics of China to enrich their arguments and the knowledge acquired through attendance of other courses
3. will be able to evaluate domestic and international accounts of Chinese politics, coming to their own judgement as to their accuracy and reliability
4. will be able to undertake a course of post-graduate studies either in Italy or overseas
Autonomy of judgement
By the end of this course students:
1. will be able to compare very divergent accounts of the same institution or policy and evaluate them, arriving at their own opinion
2. will be able to identify domestic and international narratives and representations of the politics of the People’s Republic of China inspired by different goals, approaches and ideologies
Communication skills
By the end of the course the students:
1. will be able to take part to discussions on controversial or highly divisive issues by supporting their point of view through a calm and reasoned argument, formed on the basis of their own beliefs and readings
2. will be able to listen to the reasons of those who hold very different points of view, arriving at their own evaluation and expressing their opinion in a manner that respects the opinion of others
3. will be able to communicate in a clear and well-organized way, using a linguistic register appropriate to the academic context.
Prerequisiti
Knowledge of the history of modern and contemporary China and of Mandarin Chinese are desirable, but not mandatory.
Metodi didattici
Frontal lectures, seminars, and in-class activities.
Verifica Apprendimento
For attending students: the evaluation of individual progress aims to verify, through a continous assessment examination:
- Knowledge of the PRC political system, its main actors, and its dynamics. This knowledge will be assessed: 1) through the quality of class participation and the ability to discuss the topics covered during the course; 2) through a midterm test consisting of multiple-choice questions.
- The ability to critically assess sources and information. This ability will be evaluated during the second part of the course, through the discussion of various types of sources.
- The ability to analyze a real-world case study. This will be assessed during the third part of the course, through an in-class presentation based on individual or group research.
For non-attending students: assessment will be based on an oral exam, conducted in English, aimed at verifying:
- Knowledge of the PRC political system, its main actors, and its dynamics
- The ability to critically assess sources and information
- The ability to critically evaluate a real-world case study
Testi
FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS:
1. William A. Jones (ed), Politics in China. An Introduction. Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
2. Steve Tsang, Olivia Cheung, The Political Thought of Xi Jinping. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024.
3.Steven M. Goldstein, China and Taiwan. Cambridge and Malden: Polity Press, 2015.
4.Chapters 13, 33, 47, 49 Christian Sorace, Ivan Franceschini, Nicholas Loubere (eds), Afterlives of Chinese Communism. Political Concepts from Mao to Xi. London and New York: Verso, 2019.
FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:
1. William A. Jones (ed), Politics in China. An Introduction. Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
2. Steve Tsang, Olivia Cheung, The Political Thought of Xi Jinping. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2024.
3. Steven M. Goldstein, China and Taiwan. Cambridge and Malden: Polity Press, 2015.
4.Chapters 13, 33, 47, 49 Christian Sorace, Ivan Franceschini, Nicholas Loubere (eds), Afterlives of Chinese Communism. Political Concepts from Mao to Xi. London and New York: Verso, 2019.
Contenuti
The course, divided in three parts, focuses on the governance of the People's Republic of China. The first part will introduce students to the main actors, dynamics and thematic areas of governance in the PRC. The second part will introduce students to the main qualitative methods used in researching politics and policy in the field of China studies.The third part will involve students in the analysis of a real-world case study.
CONTENTS
Part 1 - Politics in the PRC: Actors, Dynamics and Issues:
Class 1: Introduction to the course
Class 2 (Lecture): Main trends in the post-1978 political history of the People's Republic of China
Class 3 (Lecture): The "New Era" of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
Class 4 (Lecture): The Chinese Communist Party
Class 5 (Lecture): The state apparatus
Class 6 (Lecture): How the party-state works
Class 7 (Lecture): Centre-province relations
Class 8 (Lecture): State-society relations
Class 9 (Lecture): Urbanization policy
Class 10 (Lecture): Ethnic policy
Class 11 (Lecture): Foreign policy
Class 12 (Lecture): Elite politics
Class 13 (Lecture): Governing the Party
Class 14 (Lecture): Nationalism
Class 15 (Lecture): Propaganda, publicity and political communication
Class 16: Mid-term examination (Multiple-choice questions)
Part 2 - Researching policy in the People's Republic of China
Class 17 (Seminar): The main sources
Class 18 (Seminar): Research strategies and methods
Class 19 (Seminar): Evaluating sources
Class 20 (Seminar): Reading "in-between the lines"
Class 21 (Seminar): Activity
Part 3 - Case Study: Tensions in the Taiwan Strait
Class 22 (Students Seminar):History and its legacies
Class 23 (Students Seminar):Perspectives on Taiwan
Class 24 (Students Seminar):The PRC policy towards Taiwan
Class 25 (Students Seminar):Taiwan's policy towards the PRC
Class 26 (Students Seminar):The role of the United States and of the European Union
Class 27: revisiting course goals, summarizing key concepts and "connecting the dots"
Lingua Insegnamento
English
Altre informazioni
Attendance is not mandatory.