Session 11 - 11/18, Clay Dube

[Robert Docter]

The quote, "as if everything in America over fifty years were collapsed into a single decade" resonated with me too and the speed of a changing middle-class society in China. 

This articles was interesting for me personally, and helped me understand modern-China the best out of the other excerpts. Bella, the focus of this excerpt from "Factory Girls..." is born the same year as myself. Hearing her daily life as a fifth grader, with all of its pressures, standardized tests, all with various scales and comparisons to others was shocking. I couldn't help to compare it to American life and my childhood. I couldn't say that it was the same, as it feels much more extreme in China, but I see glimpses of this culture. 

A few moments stand out about the change in culture occuring in China (although this was from a time over a decade ago): 

"45 percent of Chinese urban residenrs are at health risk due to stress. highest rates among high school students" 

"Sons used to listen to their fathers. Now the fathers listen to their sons" 

College aged Chinese of different genders living together before marriage. 

"If you don't continue to upgrade and recharge... you'll be eliminated" 

I found the excerpt very unsettling. But I had to realize that similar accounts are occuring in my life and the life of some of my students (to a degree) here in Los Angeles. The price of a middle-class, especially in a society sharply changing and progressing at tremendous speed has pros and cons. Perhaps the cons (at least in this reading) outweigh the good. 

[Robert Docter]

A major reason for taking this seminar was to get a modern understanding of China in 2019 and their progression going forward. This reading helped shape Xi Jingping's practices and mindset very well along with Prof. Dube's lesson of modern China. 

A few things stand out that provided me with context for 2019 China: Xi is a leader of contuinity, and of disruption. It's this intresting scenario that, "everything has to change, so hat everything can remain the same" in order to preserve the ideologies while turning China into a global power by the party's 100th anniversary in 2049. This is seen in the last two decades as military spending and the overall economy has nearly quadrupled (military spending is at 110 billion versus 22 billion in 2002). Xi also uses force and intimidation to preserve and to build China. This is seen with slogans such as, "Chinese Dream", and his creation of a superstructure that includes, "...not only the political and legal system, but also culture and ideology". Prof. Dube mentioned this as well, but they're "changing to keep the same" China by dispatching officials permanently in 100 companies to "facilitate communication". This also provides me with the context of today's struggles, especially with Hong Kong, as Xi Jingping shapes the country's idealogy where, "We must also clearly see the ideological situation as a complicated, intense struggle.” The document envisages a multifaceted struggle against constitutional democracy and the notion of universal values, a dismantling of civil society, and strict controls on journalism and journalists to make sure they are loyal to the party"(4). In the words of this article, "China stood up under Mao Zedong, got rich under Deng Xiaoping, and is becoming powerful under Xi" which is currently capturing the global attention heading forward. 

[Robert Docter]

Thanks for the ideas, Cynthia! Exploring bias is at the forefront of teaching history. I loved the ideas you shared in regards to the multiple perspectives. I was trying to think of ideas of different accounts of the cultural revolution and Great Leap Forward. It's hard to have the multiple perspectives in the media under a communist state controlling the media, but that's where primary sources such as journals, speeches, conversations, or posters are so important. Prof. Dube and the team do a fantastic job in providing those sources to this lesson and the others - especially with China which could be difficult to find multiple perspectives from inside China itself. 

[Robert Docter]

I had similar reactions to reading the excitement of the youth, but I think it's a result of indoctrination but also the fact that young people are part of a movement, travelling far with others in excitement and similar age groups. I think those who joined the movement refused to look at the negative side affects because of the indoctrination itself. 

I read this and couldn't help but to think of the new "Jojo Rabbit" movie. The movie begins with a young boy's excitement to take part in a Nazi Youth training camp. The movie is satirical, but shows the silliness and of it all. I think the comparison of the red guard experiences versus the violence and struggles depicted in "Democracy Wall" reveal the harsher realities. It would be good to compare those sources to each other and discuss what's missing, why it's missing, because depicting partial truth reveals a tactic/reality in itself. 

[Robert Docter]

I agree with your view that, "Additional freedoms given to anyone also creates stress". I think this oxymoron roots to the speed of the change in the Chinese middle-class. In the beginning of the article, it details how apartment buildings four years ago look dates, that oppurtunities are rampant, but because there's SO much change and progress, the stress to keep up to date and relevant is resulting in these stressors. I see it on a smaller scale here in Los Angeles, but the fact that these changes are occuring at an alarmingly shorter time than what was experienced in America over a longer span of time, explains the consequences of the speed and middle-class pressures to perform. 

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