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Brendon McGirrGreat example of a realist view of the world vs a liberalist view of the world. The liberal view says a rising China in a globalized world would benefit everyone. More resources, technology, trade, perhaps international cooperation through IGOS. That said, we really have had a unilateral world order since the end of the Cold War, and the US would want to preserve this position. Realism poises that every country should be trying to maintain or raise its power proejction and limit any challengers. Nye and Meshimeier argue if China can rise peacefully, as we really have not had a major county rise to the rank of superpower since the end of WWII (and the introduction of the atomic bomb to the hard power equation).
I really think it comes down to how China wants to rise. An innovative industrial power that can produce, educate, and innovate could be a blessing for the world. However, a power focused on expansion and control, especially of the South China Sea which is vital to global trade, poises a problem for the SEA region, and the world in general.
Brendon McGirrThe National Museum of Asian art is a Smithsonian museum in Washington DC. It offers extensive exhibits of art from all parts of Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. It is a museum I probably would not have considered going without enrolling into this course, but I am glad I did.
The highlight of the museum is probably the Freer Gallery of Art. In this gallery there are many examples of art and artifacts from the Ming Dynasty in China, including some lovely examples of porcelain. In addition, there are examples of Japanese prints from the Showa era, which were quite beautiful in their unique style.
My biggest takeaway for something I could use in my classroom was the religious art and artifacts found in the museum. There are several examples of Buddhist and Taoist artwork in the museum that show great craftsmanship and the reverence people had for these religions. I would like to do a specific artifact study using their website with my students in the future, maybe doing a cross curricular assignment with our arts program.
Brendon McGirrhttps://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202106/1227217.shtml
I used this article earlier this year to talk about perspectives. It essentially boils down to Western nations condeming China's actions, but Ukraine withdrawing when a similar response was not drafted for their situation.
A quote that summerizes it well
Ukraine's change of attitude shows that the so-called alliance did not really care about the Xinjiang human rights issue when those countries signed the Canada-led joint statement. The joint statement was just a temporary clique of interests cobbled together by a few countries. China does not need to care about the "claims" of these countries, especially when the leading country is basically a dehumanizing and brutal country in itself. Breen Ouellette, who is Métis and once served as counsel for the Canada National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, said on Twitter on May 21 that he learned of incidents within the past decade in which Indigenous children as young as 9 years old in foster care were forced to get intrauterine devices instead of access to safer care.
Brendon McGirrThank you for sharing this, I have not heard of this one. This looks like it would pair really well with my development unit. Do you do any type of activity with this? I could see a collage activity comparing the working culture of the US and China, or some sort of creative writing journaling applying concepts.
Brendon McGirrIt is a really fascinating historiography study, or at least will make one in several years. I am reminded on the perspective of the expansion of the USSR right after WWII. From the Western perspective, the USSR was forcing communism and was just concerned about expanding their territory. However, the USSR was trying to build a buffer zone to protect themselves, as they had been invaded by Western Europeans 3 times in 100 years, and feared of a unified W. Europe/US doing the same (which is legitimate, Patton wanted to push the tanks to Moscow while they were weakened as Berlin was falling).
I feel like China's role in Africa really shows the effects of the end of the age of Imperalism. Using the BRI to gain influence in a region that has a lot of economic potential shows China being innovative.
Brendon McGirrIts not just journalism. I remember being at an IB training and a teacher saying he couldnt offer parts of the history curriculum because of how Mao is portrayed (he is covered in the Authoritarian Leaders section, so you could imagine how China might view that). It goes back to the idea of how China has used its education and messaging to allow the citizens to accept this. At the end of the day, the average Chinese citizen has a higher standard of living as before, so from their perspective if its not broke, why fix it I suppose.
Brendon McGirrI really focused on the read China's would be Parents and Climate Change. This topic hits close to home personally, as it is something I struggle with looking at my own short and long term plans. When I consider these specific concerns, I was not aware how big an issue Chinese citizens view climate change and the standard of living. I really only attributed it to Western nations, which maybe shows my own personal bias. It does bring an interesting discussion on how does China deal with this, considering they are already in a difficult population predicament. The effects of the One Child Policy combined with the aging population are challenging on their own, how does reludence due to an uncertain future exacerbate this? During our discussion this week we talked about how promotion is mostly attributed to economic gains. Does China need to rethink their priorities if 41% of young Chinese citizens are hesitant to have children, or do you lump that into economic concerns? In addition, how does China continue its rapid economic increase (combined with the promised increase standard of living for its citizens) while also lowering their carbon footprint? And how much should the environmental stability of China be viewed as a global issue, as its large population and production provide so much for the world? My final thought is will China reconsider how they negociate with the world going forward, as they prefer a unilateral approach, but climate change will require a multilateral international response.
Brendon McGirrAs a film nerd, I jumped at the chance to listen to the discussion on film censorship in China. This is a trend I have noticed a lot more recently in the last decade, with decisions of casting, posters, and scenes being decided by how or even if they would play in China. The one section that really stuck out to me was the call for a unified response to combat Chinese censorship, because it will only get harder as China continues to grow economically. I believe China's growth combined with the financial hit studios took due to the Covid restrictions have made it so that China's vision for movies is here to stay. I found this article stating that while the frequent movie goers (those who attend 3+ a month) are back to pre Covid levels, infrequent movie goers are still down, and there does not seem to be a positive outlook of it growing at least in the short term
With that said, it makes more sense than ever for Western movie studios to tailor towards China's market. The mention of just slight changes (a Chinese bank card at an ATM, a Chinese beverage company's can in the background) shows that this does not necessarily have to alter the story to connect. I am also curious how Chinese cinema continues to grow, and how that will be viewed by Hollywood. While not breaking into American markets yet, foreign films are starting to gain traction in America. RRR is a great example of this, an Indian movie that found an audience in America.
While thinking about this session, I was reminded of the incident between the Houston Rockets in the NBA with comments about Hong Kong in 2019. I found a video that goes over the relationship between the NBA and China, and even found a familar face in it:
Brendon McGirrSomething that I wanted to add. I teach International Baccalaurate, and there are many teachers in my online communities that are from China. I looked it up and international schools have grown from 22 in 2001 to over 500 now. With how IB credits are accepted around the world, this encourages more Chinese students to study abroad.
Brendon McGirrYour last paragraph is a very intersting point. While people sometimes paint the US and China as rivals, they are really tied together in innovation and trade. We should be leaning into building these relationships, as it benefits everyone in the long run. However, preconceived notions of each other may make that very difficult.
Brendon McGirrI found the information this week very interesting
Looking at How Technology Made China an Economic Powerhouse, I found the ideas behind the benefits of the Great Firewall very interesting. When I think of it, I see it as a way of restricting information to the citizens and allowing a controlled narrative. The idea that it was porous in allowing innovation and the rise of Chinese competition to larger, Western companies is a unique take on the situation.
In the lecture, I found the slide that shows the contrasts of China's economic influence a good reference for the growth that China has made, but the steps it still needs to make going forward. As a movie nerd, I know how much China influences Hollywood's decision making on certain scenes/characters that can be included due to China being the largest film market. However, their own film industry has a limited reach and still needs to grow. It invest almost half of the world's contributions into renewables, while also being one of the largest polluters in the world. China has rapidly become a global economic power, yet still has major roadblocks ahead of it.
The largest roadblock may be its aging population. I have seen the issues Japan is facing with its aging population, and for comparison compared their pyramids on populationpyramid.net. While not a direct corelation, you can see a similar structure separated by about 15-20 years, which means this will be a concern for sustained growth going forward. This will really push China to become even more innovative, especially in AI as mentioned in the Carnegie video.
Brendon McGirrI found the idea of controlling the narrative across national borders very interesting as well. The idea of developing soft power among the diaspora is a facinating concept, and something I am curious to see evolve in the 21st century, as it is a very new concept.
Brendon McGirrI had a couple different things arise as I went through the materials this week.
The idea of identity plays a huge role in how we percieve the world, and how that identity is portrayed may play the biggest part in this. As I think back through Chinese history, I think of the cycles of unification and disunion that dot the timeline. As recently as the 1900s, China was still fractured and controlled by outside, Western influences. I see recent examples as a way of promoting the unity and harmony of the country through highlighting the good they are doing. Connecting it back to last week, the Belt and Road projects in Africa, combined with the significant pride Chinese tourist had seeing these projects, reinforce the ideas that China is not a stable force climbing to become the world power they see themselves. The media portraly in China supports the idea that China is a power on the rise, and the era of fracturing is ancient history.
When I think of the ambitions of China, it hinges on the promise that this generation will have a better life than their parents, and their children will have a better situation than themselves. The clip from Death of China reminded me of a video I use in Global Politics called American Factory on Netflix. The video focuses on Fuyao opening up a factory in Ohio that had been shut down during the 2008 recession. At first, the residents of the city see this as a blessing, providing more economic opportunities to the local area. However, it also highlights the cultural divide on work, with many of the American workers eventually being replaced with Chinese workers. I remember during it one of the Chiense workers talking about his idea of a bright future, owning his own house, having vacations, and overall living what we could closely associate with the "American Dream". I believe the idea of Chinese growth hinges on being able to continue to provide this dream to its citizens, and will call for more growth and resource need.
The final thing I was reminded of was the geographical differences in China. While the East/West divide was highlighted, I was reminded of a student project on the South-North Water Transfer project, in which China is trying to literally reshape the geography of the nation to support their population distribution. Planned for completion in 2050, it will eventually divert 44.8 billion cubic metres of water annually to the population centres of the drier north. I think this shows the ambition and determination for China to continue its rise and growth, no matter the circumstances.
Brendon McGirrReally interesting materials and lectures, thank you for providing them. I am most interested in the idea of how China views itself throughout history, and how that dictates modern policy. The idea of the Silk Road making China a "hub" pairs well with its current initatives in Africa. Being a provider allows China to project it's soft power in a region that is still trying to establish itself on the world stage. It was also intersting comparing this with the readings on tourism in China. Individualistically, the Chinese people see themselves as helpers to regions that have struggled against capitalistic societies, and take pride in helping others. This allows for more these projects to gain popularity and promote the Chinese foreign policy.
In my Devleopment unit in Global Politics we discuss if the Belt and Road is a way of promoting peaceful soft power or a new for of colonialism that China is exploit. These resources will be great additions to that discussion.
Brendon McGirrHello all,
Joining a little late here, but happy to be apart of this. My name is Brendon McGirr. I teach Global Politics, History, World Religions, and Anthropology at an IB school in Pennsylvania. I am looking to expand my knowledge of China to better enrich my Global Politics course. I can already see how week 1's readings could be used in my unit on development. Really excited to discuss and collaborate with you all.
