Focus on China

Instructor: Dr. Libba Moore

Office: Davis Hall Office # 3;

Telephone: 508-213-2123

Office Hours: Mondays 2:30 -4:00;

Thursdays 2:30 - 4:00; and by appointment

COURSE OBJECTIVES

All eyes are on China these days. It is one of the world’s oldest and greatest civilizations and has once again emerged as a huge economic power that is confronting the current dominance by the West. China is a mixture of successes and challenges. It is comprised of highly productive, booming centers like Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong; it is the energy-hungry manufacturing center for millions of consumer goods; and it is the world’s largest user of cement and steel. And yet, 62% of its population lives in underdeveloped rural areas far from the modern life of the cities. It is a fascinating country to study.

To study China is a massive undertaking, but we have to start somewhere. This course is called Focus on China because we cover pieces of Chinese history, economics, religion, geography, politics, and current trends – not in any particular order or schema. It is hoped that this approach whets the appetite, provides a basic introduction to China and lays a useful foundation for further study of, travel in, or business with the great country of China.

Course Text and Materials

Text

There is no one text for the course. We will be reading articles and handouts primarily.

The one book you are required to purchase is Peter Navarro’s The Coming China Wars – which you will need to purchase on your own (as opposed to buying it at the book store).

Multi-media

There are several important course materials and resources besides our readings. With China being such a foreign and unknown entity to us, I felt that bringing China to us in multi-media was important., as follows:

· Films

· Speakers

· CCCI events

· Spontaneous opportunities

Materials on Reserve in the Library

During the course, there are student projects that can benefit from some reference materials that will be put on reserve in the library.

Grading

Grade %	Item due
10	Historical timeline for CCCI Program display in the library
10	Regions of China project and presentation
20	Research paper of 5-7 pages, with sources
30	Reflection papers from CCCI events
10	Reflection paper on China (with impressive statistics collected over the semester)
20	10% homework; 10% participation and preparation for class discussions
100%	total

Course Policies

Attendance

There are only 12 formal class meetings for this course. Therefore no absences are allowed. If extraordinary circumstances arise which prevent you from coming to class, you must come talk to me about it.

Cheating

There will be no cheating or dishonestly using the work of another. Students found plagiarizing will receive a grade of “F”.

Spirit of the Course

I hope this class is fun and interesting for you. Much of it is up to you: invest yourself in the projects, readings, and multi-media events. The course will be a challenge to us all to look beyond our western framework, to begin to understand China’s present phase of economic growth and development, and to evaluate its impact on the rest of the world. This is no small challenge, but as we shall see, studying China is the key to successfully participating in the 21^st century!