ExEAS - Syllabi

REPRESENTING CHINESE AND TIBETAN RELATIONS IN HISTORY: COMPETING NATIONALISMS IN EAST ASIA
Gray Tuttle
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Columbia University

download as PDF doc

Introduction:

Nationalism has dramatically influenced the writing of history in East Asia. The seminar will first introduce theories of nationalism and their application to Asia in general and China and Tibet in particular. We will then consider both Chinese and Tibetan nationalist representations of their shared history, as well as the perspectives that these two extreme ideologies serve to limit. Finally, you will turn these examples and analytical tools to the other contexts that you will explore through independent research.

By critically examining the historical arguments for and against the inclusion of Tibet as part of the modern Chinese nation-state, students will have an opportunity to compare two important cultural traditions presented as competing national entities. Together we will examine the issue of nationalist influences on representations of Asian history through the lens of Chinese and Tibetan historiography. This will serve as an analytical model for guiding students’ research on their own chosen topic. Individually, students will examine nationalist historical writing in their own country of interest or in the conflicting representations of history between two of these countries. Students will be particularly encouraged to explore previous versions of history and current controversies about how the events of the Japanese occupation of Korea, Manchurian, Inner Mongolia or parts of China Proper (e.g. the events surrounding the fall of Nanjing) are remembered.

The main requirements for the course are regular participation (on-line and in class) and the final paper. Students will rotate in their responsibility to respond to and grapple with the readings assigned. With few exceptions, the readings are not terribly difficult, butyour task is not easy: to read in a concentrated manner in order to extract significant points of analysis. An initial research proposal and preliminary bibliography for students’ chosen topics will be due in the first half of the course. A research proposal detailing the central question(s) the students will be examining is due mid-semester. Final presentations of the students’ conclusions (15-20 minutes depending on class size) will be scheduled for the last weeks of class. An independent research paper of 15-20 pages will be the culmination of the course.

Grading:

Participation (on-line and in class) : 25%
Oral Presentations (rotate in class & final paper) : 25%
Proposal & Preliminary Bibliography (due 10/11) : 10%
Full Research Proposal (due 11/29) : 10%
Final Paper (due 12/12) : 30%

Required Reading :

Benedict Anderson. Imagined Communities.
Anthony Smith. Nations and nationalism in a global era .
Courseworks articles and other readings, including:
W. D. Shakabpa. Tibet : A Political History . New York : Potala Publications.
Wang Jiawei and Nyima Gyaincain. The Historic Status of China's Tibet

General Expectations:

As participation is such a key component of the class, attendance at all classes is expected.
Feel free to cooperate in preparing the rotating oral presentation summarizing and responding to the readings; for example, I especially encourage you to consider role playing or debating points of views throughout the class, and in part II in particular.
Your written work for the final paper should be entirely your own, with careful citation of all sources according to an accepted Manual of Style (Chicago, MLA).

Schedule:

PART I: INTRODUCING NATIONALISM (IN THEORY, IN ASIA, IN CHINA & TIBET)

September 6 : Introduction to the Class : What is a nation, nationalism? What does it have to do with the writing of history?

September 13 : What is a nation, nationalism? Old or new, invented or natural?

Benedict Anderson. Ch 1: “Introduction,” Ch 2 “Cultural Roots,” Ch 3: “The Origins of National Consciousness.” Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism . pp. 1-46.

Anthony Smith. Ch 2: “The Modernist Fallacy,” Ch 3 “An Ethno-National Revival,” Ch4: “The Crisis of the National State .” Nations and nationalism in a global era . Cambridge ( UK ): Polity Press. pp. 29-115.

September 20 : Introduction to Nationalism in Asia : Are nations/nationalisms different in Asia? What factors influenced the development of Asian nationalism?

Stein Tønnesson and Jan Antlöv. “ Asia in Theories of Nationalism and National Identity.” In Asian forms of the nation , pp. 1-40.

Michael Robinson. “Enduring Anxieties: Cultural Nationalism and Modern East Asia .” In Harumi Befu, ed. Cultural Nationalism in East Asia : Representation and Identity . pp. 167-186.

Prasenjit Duara. “Historicizing National Identity, or Who Imagines What and When, “ in Becoming National , p. 150-177.

September 27 : Introduction to Nationalist Historiography in Tibet & China : What is distinctive about the nations/nationalism of China and Tibet ? What factors influenced the development of Tibetan/Chinese nationalisms?

John Fitzgerald. “The nationless state: The search for a nation in modern Chinese nationalism.” The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs (33):75-104.

Prasenjit Duara. “De-constructing the Chinese nation,” in Chinese Nationalism , pp. 31-55.

Georges Dreyfus. “Tibetan Religious Nationalism: Western Fantasy or Empowering Vision?” in Tibet , Self and the Tibetan Diaspora . P. 37-56.

———. “Proto-Nationalism,” in Tibetan Studies , Oslo , 1994, 205-218.