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History
of Chinese Culture and Institutions |
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History 255 Index l Getting Started on the Web I Syllabus I Requirements I Bibliography I Museum Field Trip I Cultural Project I Required Paper I Maps I Chronology I Websites I Videos and DVD's |
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| Welcome
to my Chinese History website. Of course, I am pleased that you
are interested in the study of History. There are
many reasons for you to study Chinese History. Many observers have pointed out that this century will be the century of the Pacific rim. The United States is admirably positioned geographically to take advantage of this shift in global realities, but we cannot take full advantage of our position if we do not increease our cultural awareness of the Asian Pacific. China remains the dominant culture in that area by virtue of its size, its population, its |
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over the past 2,500 years, and its currently increasing effect on the
world's economic, positional, artistic, and intellectual development. Whatever direction China takes in the near future will influence our economic and intellectual concerns. Consider as well that a quarter of the earth's population cannot wisely be ignored and present political, economic, and cultural realities are not easily understood without a knowledge of China's historical and literary evolution. |
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| Marco
Polo noted the isolation of the Chinese world. Because of its
remoteness Europeans call the region the "Far East."
In contrast, the Chinese referred to themselves as the center of the
world--the "Middle Kingdom>" The Chinese
civilization is the oldest continuous culture on the globe. They
have since the beginning thought of themselves as a cultural unity
characterized by a common language, literature and government. The crux of Maoism and the Chinese Revolution is that it was made successfully with a peasant and not a proletarian base. Building on an agricultural base the Chinese experience has produced considerable material success over the past decades. Industrial figures are impressive; within the past decades an atomic capability has been acquired; oil resources have been developed; year by year agricultural production has been increasing in every way China is becoming a Superpower. |
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| Course materials include textbook reading assignments, journal articles for reading assignments, slide and power point presentations, museum trips, a formal paper. Blackboard discussions, and three examinations. | |
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Last update, August 12, 2005 I © Jean H. Braden, 2004 I email: jebraden@nvcc.edu |
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