Session #1 - February 4

[clay dube]

Many schools and library systems support Kanopy. The service has many foreign films and documentaries:

https://www.kanopy.com/

One of the films they offer is Last Train Home, please watch it.
 

[Billie Johnson]

I don't teach geography explicitly, but the way Clay teaches is a perfect example of pedagogical best practices. I am always impressed by his knowledge and delivery.  If I move back up to 8th grade I think I will have more of an opportunity to do this. Also, your response to the readings and videos were insightful and thought provoking. Thank you!

[Kelly McKee]

Thank you for addressing the question about the drastic drop of infant mortailty during Mao's rule of China.  Do you have any sources, documents, articles, etc. sharing data to use as evidence of this rapid change in population growth?  I'd like to find some materials that my 10th grade students can access to learn more about this.  I'm also curious to further discuss your opening question about 'how does coronavirus health crisis impact the economy?'  I realize all Apple Stores, Starbucks, etc. have been closed in China addition to other venues shared last night in the discussion forum.  But, what about the economic loss here in the US as a result of fewer Chinese traveling to our country for tourism and/or business purposes.  Sharing a link to a NYT article from yesterday  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/04/nyregion/coronavirus-nyc.html  I'm hopeful we will continue this topic of discussion next week!

[clay dube]

One excellent, but now dated, resource is Judith Banister's Population of China. It came out in the mid-1980s. It is very good on the programs of the 1950s that brought infant mortality down. High school students might also find the "midwife" chapter from Gail Hershatter's The Gender of Memory to be useful. It's online at: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cache/h/e/b/heb33176.0001.001/00000178.tif.28.pdf#page=9;zoom=75 

We interviewed Gail about the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLf0C3P28L0&list=PLZoSvm2n7tkcvAsbeBYYi_yNW3WiisD51&index=33

And the US National Library of Medicine has a nice set of materials on propaganda posters and health campaigns: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/education/chinesepublichealthposters/highereducation/class4.html

[Billie Johnson]

Hi Aleida,

What stands out the most to me about the apps and other agencies who agree to assist in suppressing equitable access is wondering if it makes them complicit on any level.  Do you think so? I just heard this evening that media has been ordered to suppress reporting on the Coronavirus. It is strange what power will drive some people to do. 

[Billie Johnson]

Hi Clay,

I have of course heard the media reports come in and know how media can sensationalize information for a host of reasons.  With the low death toll (with all due respect) in comparison to the population, do you think this is heavily in the media because of the hit economies are taking because of the quarantines and halt to traveling freely? Do you think the death toll is higher than what is being reported? Every time I turn on my computer I see so many hyper fear inducing articles about the virus when the flu has killed up to 25,000 people according to WHO. I am glad that the US has offered help. 

[Diana Corey]

After attending the screening of One Child Nation this summer I planned to show it in class this fall during my family unit in my upper level courses. At that time, unfortunately, it was not available yet for streaming, so I am pleased to see that it now is! 

[Benjamin Schwarting]

I have always been fascinated with political philosophy and how it evolves to fit social/economic environments. I had previously been of the opinion that modern China is a communist nation in name only, but has, in many respects, become even more capitalist than the United States. Watching the second video about the modern party and Hukou system was enlightening to say the least, and it certainly helped inform my opinion.

I was amazed that the party's control over its citizens was this extensive. I knew about some of the more extreme, public policies (like the forced evacuation of flood plains, and the one child policy), but the constant surveillance of the Hukou system was far more Orwellian than I was expecting. The fact that citizens have to constantly report their location at all times was especially disturbing.

 

I was also struck by the statement that the Chinese Communist Party is a Leninist party. In addition to explaining the party's authoritarian nature, I felt like this statement helped shed light on its foreign policy. As I understand it, a core aspect of Lenin's brand of communism was that the infrastructure of global markets, and their subsequent subservient economies, have created bourgeois nations and proletariat nations that are unable to naturally revolt, and that the revolution must be forced and spread to other "economically oppressed" nations. This Leninist attitude seems to align with China's policies toward Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc...

[clay dube]

Benjamin raises several points. We're looking at how the party-state has evolved over time. The hukou system is not as controlling as it once was, but still affects life chances and choices. The party is not as present in many people's lives as it was even thirty or twenty years ago. Until the early 1990s, your school leaders assigned you jobs. While that meant you didn't have to hunt for a position, it also meant that you had little say in where you were assigned. Life is very different today -- and for many this means less certainty than before. Socialism with Chinese characteristics means that in economics, there is greater reliance on the market to allocate resources and rewards. People have more latitude in how they choose to live. But in politics, the CCP remains firmly in charge and it intends to remain as the ruling power.

[Benjamin Schwarting]

Hi Dr. Dube,

Thanks for your reply. I am interested in more information on why the party has backed off from micromanaging people's personal lives to the extent that it did during Mao's reign.

Most of the material we discussed seems to explain why the party has loosened its control on the economy (i.e., allowing the invisible hand to develop their markets/innovation, and shying away from a purely communist economic policy) but why have they relaxed on enforcing social aspects of the Cultural Revolution? For example, there appears to be far more religious freedom in modern China, and conservative dress and behavior doesn’t seem to be as heavily emphasized.

Given the information we have read and discussed, I suspect that the only reason China isn't as controlling as, say, North Korea is because of the difficulty in managing China's vast/diverse population. The Korean peninsula is much smaller and more homogenous, and therefore might be easier to micromanage on a citizen by citizen level.

Or, is it perhaps because China has become more concerned with projecting a moderate, western-friendly international image?

What are your thoughts?

[clay dube]

Benjamin - you're completely right about people having more choices. That's the subject of our discussion for week 3. My bottom line is that the party still cares about some things and is absolutist on those things, but has found it easier to control a few things than to try to control everything. It has discovered that letting people make many of their own choices is a good thing for them and has stimulated many positive changes. BUT - there are limits to the flexibility and we'll talk about that as well. Religious freedom -- yes, but also no if you build the church too big or develop too passionate a following (e.g., Falungong).

[Aleida Rojas]

Hi Billie,

Have you seen the video of an "infected person" bieng dragged out of their homes and put into a box? I remmeber watching that on the news and I was horrified. There is a lot going on in China but they are very good at hiding things.

[Aleida Rojas]

Hi Robert,

I intend to use those maps and maybe the lecture about Hokuo in my class. I will have the kids label the map and draw arrows to where the major cities are and where all the countryside people are migrating to. I think that this activity will help my students understand the Hokou system and they will also understand the descrimination factor that comes with it. 

[Billie Johnson]

I have not seen or heard about this...how awful!  I think people in the US need to calm down as well. There are so many bugs, viruses, and bacteria to contend with. There is a certain hysteria that is being created that is insighting violence, racism, and tanking the global marketplace.  I hope that people will soon become level-headed and handle the issue in a way that is in the best interests of people and not sensationalize this for whatever agenda.  Can't imagine reacting to a personal crisis the way this is being conveyed on the news. I just hope this doesn't continue on for too long and for people to start recovering soon.

[Kevin Bailey]

I had a lot of my students watch One Child Nation and it sparked a lot of great conversations in my class. Thanks for the heads up. 

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