|
|
|
Dec 26, 2024
|
|
Goucher College 2023-2024 Undergraduate Catalogue PLEASE NOTE: This is an archived catalog. Programs are subject to change each academic year.
|
HIS 131 - You Say You Want Revolution: Changing China (4)
China has endured as least three revolutions in the last 150 years, the last of which took as its stated goal not the overthrow of an existing government, but rather the thorough transformation of its “feudal” culture. The figures who unleashed the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution upon the country - Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, and the Gang of Four - wished to cleanse the government and the Communist Party of “rightists,” “capitalist roaders,” and “imperialist running dogs.” But they waged battle in the cultural realm, in the performing and visual arts and in literature, and through fiery, sometimes violent, campaigns against the Four Olds and the Great Sage, Confucius. And Chinese citizens become enthusiastic participants as well as traumatized victims of the mass movements that filled the decade. This course will provide an introduction to the discipline of History through a close examination of one of the most famous, yet least understood, events of the twentieth century. By the end of the semester, students will know why some of China’s leaders wanted to revolutionize their culture, how they attempted to do so, the extent of their successes and failures, and also how to be a practicing historian. Dawley
|
|
|
