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MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies
Course Handbook
2016-17
University of Oxford China Centre
Dickson Poon Building
Canterbury Road
Oxford OX2 6LU
http://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ea/chinese/mph_modchst.html
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Welcome from the Course Director
On behalf of the MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies, I’d like to warmly welcome you to Oxford. The
study of Chinese language at Oxford began in 1876 and the Faculty of Oriental Studies has
longstanding undergraduate and graduate programs teaching Chinese language and culture. In 2014,
the Chinese Studies Institute moved into a new purpose built China Centre that brings together faculty
and students specialising in China from across the University. We know that your motivation,
enthusiasm and diverse experiences will contribute greatly to our efforts to make Oxford a hub of
debate and critical inquiry into China within the UK, Europe and internationally. We hope that each of
you will deepen your understanding of China during your time here through your interactions with
faculty and with each other.
The MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies is designed to enable you to undertake intensive study of the
Chinese language while also acquiring advanced knowledge of the society, politics, economics, history,
literature, film, and cultural studies according to your individual interests and background. As well as
your time in Oxford which will provide foundational courses in the study of modern China and options
of your choice, you will also be spending a term studying in China, which will give you the opportunity
to develop your fluency in Chinese and to undertake the research for your dissertation. Combining
language learning and area studies is a challenge. You will be working very hard for the next two years,
especially those of you who are ab initio language learners, but the rewards for this will be great. We
hope that the degree will prepare you either for professional work in which knowledge of China and
Chinese is an advantage, or for doctoral studies related to China.
The core teaching staff for the MPhil programme includes the faculty of the Chinese Studies Institute,
especially Henrietta Harrison, Matthew Erie, Margaret Hillenbrand, Shelagh Vainker, and our
outstanding language teachers Fang Jing, Hu Bo, Yang Song and Kan Shioyun; faculty of the School of
Interdisciplinary and Area Studies who teach in the associated MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies,
especially Rachel Murphy, Paul Irwin Crookes, Patricia Thornton, Kyle Jaros and Miriam Dreissen; and
also other China experts in the University including Xiaolan Fu from the Department of International
Development and Micah Muscolino and Gordon Barrett from the faculty of History. Other China
faculty across the university may also become involved in advising your dissertation research.
I hope you are excited about the possibilities of your upcoming year here at Oxford. As you well know,
China’s status as a global power is an increasingly complex one with long-term consequences for
international political economy, the environment, and transnational security to name a few pressing
concerns. Today there is enormous interest in better understanding China among governments,
policy-makers, NGO activists, business people and ordinary citizens. As one of the world’s leading
centres for the study of China, Oxford aspires to be at the cutting-edge of scholarship and training on
China and to facilitate active engagement with the country. We welcome you to join the Chinese
Studies community at Oxford in these efforts, and hope you that you see the chance to study China at
this place at this time as an opportunity to be seized.
Best wishes to you all,
Matthew Erie
Director of the MPhil Modern Chinese Studies
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CONTENTS
1. The MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies
Overview of the MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies – p5
Course Modules 2015-16 - p6
Relation to the MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies – p7
Timetables – p7
Staff Contact Details – p7 2. The Study of Contemporary China – p9 3. Methodology Training
Modern China Humanities – p27
Research Methods for China Studies – p29 4. Option Courses
China’s Economic Reforms - p32
Chinese Fiction after Tiananmen – p35
Chinese Law and Society – p36
History and Historiography of Modern China – p37
Modern Chinese Art – p38
Politics and Government of China – p39
The International Relations of Contemporary China – p41
Technology and Industrialisation in Developing Countries – p43 5. Chinese Language - p51
6. Dissertation
Formal requirements – p54
Timetable – p54
Choosing a topic – p55
Sources for research – p55 o Basic bibliographical tools and links – p56 o Library catalogues for Chinese and Japanese materials – p56 o Sources for current events – p57
Writing and referencing – p59
Academic honesty and plagiarism – p65
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7. Examinations - p66
Candidate numbers – p66
Submitting your work to the Examination Schools – p67
Written examinations – p67
Graduation ceremonies – p68
8. Organisation
Degree Administration – p69
Teaching rooms – p69
Website – p69
WebLearn – p69
Student Administration – p69
Overseas Students – p69
Student Self Service – p70 Registration – p70
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1. THE MPHIL IN MODERN CHINESE STUDIES
1.1 Overview of the MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies
The structure of the course is as follows:
(a) Chinese Language at level 1 (elementary) or level 2 (intermediate). Candidates will be
allocated to these levels by a placement test.
(b) Compulsory Core course on The Study of Contemporary China
(c) Methodology Training: Candidates can choose between two courses focused on either
social sciences or humanities approaches to modern China
(d) Option papers: Candidates must choose two option papers.
(e) Dissertation of 20,000 words
There are two sets of examinations:
(1) Qualifying examinations taken in the first year
(2) Final examinations (most of these are taken at the end of the second year, but the first
year option is also included)
Candidates will be required to achieve an overall pass mark of 50% in the Qualifying examinations to
continue to the second year of the course. For the final examinations the pass mark is 50 and
candidates who receive an average of at least 70% across their entire MPhil studies will be awarded a
distinction.
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1.2 Course Modules 2016-17
CORE COURSES TERM(S)
THE STUDY OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA (DR PAUL IRWIN CROOKES ET AL)
MICHAELMAS EXAM
CHINESE LANGUAGE I OR CHINESE LANGUAGE II MT, HT, TT EXAM
RESEARCH METHODS FOR AREA STUDIES – QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE
ASPECTS (PROF RACHEL MURPHY ET AL ) OR MODERN CHINA HUMANITIES
MICHAELMAS
AND HILARY
PROJECTS
EXAM
OPTION COURSES
THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA (DR PAUL IRWIN CROOKES)
HILARY EXAM
HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY OF MODERN CHINA (PROFESSOR HENRIETTA HARRISON, DR MICAH MUSCOLINO AND DR GORDON
BARRETT) HILARY
TAKE-HOME
EXAMINATION
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT OF CHINA (PROFESSOR PATRICIA THORNTON)
HILARY EXAM
CHINA’S ECONOMIC REFORMS (PROFESSOR KYLE JAROS)
HILARY EXAM
CHINESE LAW AND SOCIETY (PROFESSOR MATTHEW ERIE)
HILARY EXAM
MODERN CHINESE ART (SHELAGH VAINKER)
HILARY EXAM
CHINESE FICTION AFTER TIAN’ANMEN (DR PAUL BEVAN)
HILARY ESSAY
TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRIALISATION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (PROFESSOR XIAOLAN FU)*
HILARY EXAM
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1.3 Relation of the MPhil to the MSc in Contemporary China Studies
The MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies in Oriental Studies has a close relation with the one-year MSc
in Contemporary China Studies in the School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies (SIAS). You will study
alongside the MSc students in the first term Contemporary China course, the Social Science Research
Methods course (if you choose to take it) and in your option classes. We hope you will enjoy
working with the MSc students.
But please be aware that there are some differences especially in examinations and assessments.
Please always follow the regulations and deadlines given in the MPhil Exam Conventions (available
on the program website).
1.4 Timetables
It is best to consult the online timetables as these are constantly updated. Your classes are partly in the Oriental Studies Faculty and partly in the School of International Area Studies so you need to consult two lecture lists: For classes in Oriental Studies: http://intranet.orient.ox.ac.uk/lectures/index.php
Under MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies you will find your Chinese language classes and also the Modern China Humanities classes.
For classes in SIAS: https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/ Under the MSc in Contemporary China Studies you will find the timetable for the other studies classes and options.
Additional information about Chinese language classes can be found on the CTCFL website http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/
1.5 Staff Contact Details
Staff in the Faculty of Oriental Studies whose classes you are likely to attend.
Paul Bevan, Departmental Lecturer paul@dufay.com Chinese literature, music Matthew Erie, University Lecturer in Modern Chinese Studies, Director of the MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies St Cross College, matthew.erie@orinst.ox.ac.uk Anthropology of China; Chinese law and society; Islam in China. Henrietta Harrison, University Lecturer in Modern Chinese History, Pembroke College, henrietta.harrison@orinst.ox.ac.uk Social and cultural history of China from Qing through to the present; local history; religion and the experience of revolution Jing FANG, Instructor in Chinese University College, jing.fang@chinese.ox.ac.uk Sociolinguistics; applied linguistics; teaching Chinese as a foreign language.
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Margaret Hillenbrand, University Lecturer in Modern Chinese (on leave MT 2013) Wadham College; margaret.hillenbrand@orinst.ox.ac.uk Modern Chinese (and Japanese) Literature; East Asian comparative literature; Chinese cinema; Asian American literature and cinema.
Bo HU, Instructor in Chinese Queens College; bo.hu@chinese.ox.ac.uk. Teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Shio-yun KAN, Senior Instructor in Modern Chinese.
Wadham College; shioyun.kan@orinst.ox.ac.uk Teaching Chinese language through web-based tools; Chinese as a second language. Yang SONG, Shaw Instructor in Chinese St Hilda’s College; yang.song@chinese.ox.ac.uk Linguistic studies of modern Chinese; Chinese as a second language. Barend TER HAAR, Shaw Chair Oriental Studies, University College; barend.terhaar@orinst.ox.ac.uk Cultural and religious history; ethnic identity; violence and fear; social organization Shelagh VAINKER, University Lecturer in Chinese Art; Curator of Chinese Art, Department of Eastern Art, Ashmolean Museum; St Hugh’s College. shelagh.vainker@ashmus.ox.ac.uk Early Chinese art; Chinese ceramics.
Administrative staff in Oriental Studies:
Graduate Studies Administrator: Gemma Forster (Oriental Institute Pusey Lane) Tel: 288203 Email: graduate.admissions@orinst.ox.ac.uk (For queries about exams, timetable etc)
Rosanna Gosi, China Centre, tel: 280406, email: rosanna.gosi@orinst.ox.ac.uk (For term abroad arrangements)
MSc Contemporary Chinese Studies Contact Details for Academic and Administrative Staff
Academics
Dr Miriam Driessen (6)13855 miriam.driessen@area.ox.ac.uk
Dr Paul Irwin Crookes (6)13848 paul.irwincrookes@area.ox.ac.uk
Prof Kyle Jaros TBC kyle.jaros@area.ox.ac.uk
Dr Annie Hongping Nie (6)80381 hongping.nie@orinst.ox.ac.uk
Prof Rachel Murphy (6)13851 rachel.murphy@area.ox.ac.uk
Prof Patricia Thornton (6)13853 patricia.thornton@politics.ox.ac.uk
Administrative
Donna Ho (6)13826 chinesestudies@area.ox.ac.uk
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Staff in other Oxford departments engaged in teaching and research on modern and contemporary China: Xiaolan Fu Development Studies Todd Hall International Relations Elisabeth Hsu Medical Anthropology Maria Jaschok Women and Gender Studies Rana Mitter History and Politics of Modern China Xin Sun Politics and Political Economy Biao Xiang Anthropology Eric Thun Business Linda Yueh Economics Winnie Yip Public Health
Library Staff for Chinese Studies
Joshua Seufert HD Chung Chinese Studies Librarian Minh Chung Chinese Studies Librarian Trevor Langrish Chinese Studies Librarian David Helliwell Chinese Special Collections
2. THE STUDY OF CONTEMPORARY CHINA (CORE COURSE)
Paul Irwin Crookes et al.
In this course we use an interdisciplinary lens to consider social, political and economic change in
contemporary China. Our analysis is guided by two key concepts which are understood in their
broadest sense. The first is ‘institutions’ which includes organisational forms such as communes, work-
units, companies, government agencies, neighbourhoods, social groups, civil society organisations,
families and households as well as less formal arrangements which structure aspirations, incentives
and human behaviour including ideas about the good life, community boundaries, social norms,
customs and civil and religious codes. The second is ‘transition’ which refers to a shift from plan to
market and even from authoritarianism to democracy. Through in-depth examination of selected
topics – pathways to socialism, communes, the work unit, social networks, gender relations and
families, ethnic groups, new welfare arrangements and environmental regulation, we derive several
insights.
We see that policies which prescribe new institutional forms or new behaviours are never
implemented in a neutral social or cultural setting. We see that new policy directions and institutional
arrangements always emerge on top of and/or in response to interactions with pre-existing ones. We
see that institutional configurations in different domains (e.g. family, markets and the state) overlap
often in unanticipated ways to shape individual behaviours which have aggregate effects that in turn
influence the wider institutional environment. We see that different actors are enabled and
constrained in different ways and that institutional changes have different implications for the
interests and choices of people with different attributes. We see also that owing to institutional
heterogeneity across regions, communities and social groups in China there is no single unidirectional
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experience of transition even as the overall trend is towards an increased role for markets (alongside
ongoing Party-state dominance).
Course Aims
To develop an understanding of key social, political and economic aspects of developments in
China since 1949.
To develop a sound understanding of the formal and informal institutions which have
underpinned developments in China during the socialist and reform eras.
To develop a critical understanding of the concept of ‘transition’ and an appreciation of the
complexities involved in China’s experiences of transition.
To develop an ability to critical analyse academic literature and to express knowledge and
understanding of key debates in written form and in oral presentations.
Course Teaching Arrangements
1. Lectures on Tuesdays, 2-3.30pm in the China Centre Lecture Theatre, unless otherwise indicated in
the timetable. A student-led seminar class on Thursdays, 2-3pm (group 1), 3-4pm (group 2) and 4-
5pm (group 3) in the Dickson Poon Building. Each week between 1-2 students will offer a short 5-7
minute presentation, which should not be in PowerPoint, but should instead include a brief hand-out
sheet of key points for discussion, on one of the discussion questions. The presentation schedule will
be arranged during induction week. All other students not presenting for that week please come to
class having done approximately 4 of the readings in advance. You can follow up on other readings at
a later date.
2. Tutorials
Students will write two un-assessed essays. You may select any two questions from the suggested
essay questions and discussion questions. The first essay (from questions and readings listed in weeks
1-4) is due on Friday of week 3, and the second essay (from questions and readings listed in weeks 5-
8) is due on Friday of week 6. Dr Erie will be in touch to arrange tutorial times.
(NB These arrangements are different from those of the MSc students, who have essay review
feedback classes instead.)
Course Assessment
Assessment is by one three hour exam to be held in week nought of Hilary term, 2016. Students will
answer three questions out a total of twelve.
Preparation reading
Before this course begins, students are strongly advised to read one of the following:
Jonathan D. Spence (1990) The Search for Modern China, Norton Press.
Maurice Meisner (1999), Mao’s China and After: A History of the People’s Republic, third edition, Free
Press.
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Also recommended is:
Anita Chan, Richard Madsen and Jonathan Unger, (1992) Chen Village Under Mao and Deng, second
edition, University of California Press.
2.1 The Study of Contemporary China Lecture and Class Module List
Week Subject Lecture (Open to All) Classes (MSc & MPhil)
1
What was the Chinese Revolution
Prof Henrietta Harrison Prof Henrietta Harrison
2
The Drivers of China’s Foreign Policy after 1949
Dr Paul Irwin Crookes Dr Paul Irwin Crookes
3
The Causes and Consequences of the Cultural Revolution
Prof Matthew Erie Prof Matthew Erie
4
China’s Economic Transition and Change since Reform and Opening
Prof Kyle Jaros Prof Kyle Jaros
5
The structure and workings of China's party-state.
Prof Kyle Jaros Prof Kyle Jaros
6
Labour migration in the context of contemporary China-Africa Relations
Dr Miriam Driessen Dr Miriam Driessen
7 Marriage in Contemporary China
Dr Miriam Driessen Dr Miriam Driessen
8
Islam and the Law in Contemporary China
Prof Matthew Erie Prof Matthew Erie
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2.2 Week 1: What was the Chinese revolution? (Professor Henrietta Harrison)
LECTURE 1: TUESDAY 11TH OCTOBER, 2PM – 3:30PM
SEMINAR 1: THURSDAY 13TH OCT, 2PM – 3PM (GROUP 1), 3PM – 4PM (GROUP 2), 4PM – 5PM (GROUP 3)
LECTURE:
This lecture analyses the history of the Chinese revolution. We will look at how different ways of
periodising the revolution create different patterns of history and different understandings of
China’s present. We will ask when the revolution began? When did it end? Did it succeed or fail?
These are major questions for Chinese intellectuals today and their answers are related to important
political issues in China.
SEMINAR:
Discussion Questions:
* What are the most important continuities and differences between China today and China in the
1930s?
* Why is the Cultural Revolution said to have lasted from 1966 to 76? What is the purpose of this
periodisation?
READINGS:
“Resolution on certain questions in the history of our party since the founding of the People’s Republic of China,” 1981. (http://www.marxists.org/subject/china/documents/cpc/history/01.htm)
And:
Karl, Rebecca E. Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World: A Concise History. Durham: Duke University Press, 2010.
or
Mitter, Rana. A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the Modern World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
ADDITIONAL READINGS:
Cohen, Myron. “Cultural and Political Inventions in Modern China: the Case of the Chinese ‘Peasant’” Daedalus 122.2 (1993).
Gao, Mobo C.F. Gao Village: A portrait of rural life in Modern China, London: Hurst, 1999.
Gerth, Karl. China Made: Consumer Culture and the Creation of the Nation, 2003.
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Goodman, Bryna. “The new woman commits suicide: The press, cultural memory, and the new republic” Journal of Asian Studies 64.1 (2005).
Hinton, William. Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village, 1966.
Lean, Eugenia. Public Passions: The Trial of Shi Jianqiao and the Rise of Popular Sympathy in Republican China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007.
Schwarcz, Vera. The Chinese Enlightenment: Intellectuals and the Legacy of the May Fourth Movement of 1919, 1986.
Wasserstrom, Jeffrey. Student Protests in Twentieth Century China: The View from Shanghai, 1991.
2.3 Week 2: The Drivers of China’s Foreign Policy after 1949 (Dr Paul Irwin Crookes)
LECTURE 2: TUESDAY 18TH OCTOBER, 2PM – 3:30PM
SEMINAR 2: THURSDAY 20TH OCTOBER, 2PM – 3PM (GROUP 1), 3PM – 4PM (GROUP 2), 4PM – 5PM (GROUP 3)
LECTURE DESCRIPTION
This lecture introduces the patterns of Chinese foreign policy during the Cold War era and in its
aftermath, providing an analytical framework for understanding China’s outward engagement in
international relations in the modern era. The lecture will explore different drivers of foreign policy
across this time, and will overlap the role and significance of key actors such as Mao Zedong and Deng
Xiaoping in China’s decision making. We shall examine how an interplay of factors, including history,
ideology, territorial integrity, and regime security have all played, and continue to play, an important
part in shaping policy outcomes. These concepts will be tested as we evaluate events such as China’s
entry into the Korean War, the Sino-Soviet split, the rapprochement with the United States, and the
possible motivations behind the formulation of, and adherence to, Deng’s dictum to “keep a low
profile” during the 1990’s and beyond.
Discussion Questions:
* How important was ideology in persuading China to enter the Korean War?
* What factors have shaped China’s embrace of Deng’s “low profile” dictum in foreign policy?
* To what extent does this dictum continue to influence China’s approach to foreign relations?
Required Readings:
Barnovin, Barbara and Yu Changgen 1998 Chinese Foreign Policy during the Cultural Revolution, Kagen Paul International, Chapter 1.
Chen, Jian 2001 Mao’s China and The Cold War University of North Carolina Press, chapters 1 and 3.
Gaddis, John Lewis 2005 The Cold War: A New History Penguin Press, Chapters 3 and 4.
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Murphy, Melissa 2008. Decoding Chinese Politics: Intellectual Debates and Why They Matter, Center for Strategic and International Studies. See especially the section: Foreign Policy: The Rise of Nationalism.
Shao, Kuo-Kang 1996 Zhou Enlai and the Foundations of Chinese Foreign Policy Macmillan, chapters 6 and 11.
Shen, Zhihua and Danhui Li 2011. After Leaning to One Side: China and its allies in the Cold War Washington DC: Woodrow Wilson Press and Stanford: Stanford University Press. Chapters 1, 2 and 10.
Wang, Fei-Ling 2005. Preservation, Prosperity and Power: What Motivates China’s Foreign Policy? Journal of Contemporary China, 14(45): 669-694.
Lanteigne, Marc 2013. Chinese Foreign Policy: An Introduction, Routledge, Second Edition. See especially chapter 1.
Zhang, Baijia 2001 The Changing International Scene and Chinese Policy toward the US 1954 – 1970 in Ross, Robert S. and Jiang Changbin Re-examining the Cold War: US – China Diplomacy 1954 – 1973 Harvard University Press.
Zhu, Zhiqun 2010. China’s Foreign Policy Debates, Chaillot Papers No. 121, Institute for Security Studies, Paris. See in particular chapter 4: Debates on Strategy.
Recommended Readings:
In addition to lecture readings, the following might also provide useful reference:
Korean War
1. Gaddis, John Lewis 1997. We Now Know: Rethinking Cold War History Oxford University Press, especially Chapter 3.
2. Garson, Robert 1994. The United States and China since 1949 Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, especially Chapters 5 and 6.
3. Luthi, Lorenz 2010 Sino-Soviet relations during the Mao Years 1949-1969 In Bernstein, Thomas and Hua-Yu Li (Eds.) China Learns from the Soviet Union 1949–Present Lanham: Lexington Books.
4. Roy, Denny 1998 China’s Foreign Relations Rowman and Littlefield, chapters 1 and 2.
5. Shen, Zhihua 2000 Sino-Soviet Relations and the Origins of the Korean War: Stalin’s Strategic Goals in the Far East Journal of Cold War Studies Vol. 2. No. 2, pp44–68.
6. Weathersby, Kathryn 1993. New Findings on the Korean War Cold War International History Project: Bulletin, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, No 3.
Deng’s Dictum
1. Chen, Dingding and Jianwei Wang 2011. Lying Low No More?: China’s New Thinking on the Tao Guang Yang Hui Strategy, China: An International Journal, Vol. 9, No. 2, 195-216.
2. Glaser, Bonnie and Evan Medeiros 2007. The Changing Ecology of Foreign Policy Making in China: The Ascension and Demise of the Theory of “Peaceful Rise” The China Quarterly, Vol. 190, 291-310.
3. Hsiung, James 1995. China's Omni-Directional Diplomacy: Realignment to Cope with Monopolar U.S. Power. Asian Survey, Vol. 35, No. 6, pp. 573-586.
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4. Zhao, Suisheng 2012. China’s Foreign Policy as a Rising Power in the early twenty-first century: the struggle between taoguangyanghui and assertiveness, In China’s Soft power and International Relations, edited by Hongli Lai and Yiyi Lu, Routledge.
5. Zhao, Suisheng 2013. Foreign Policy Implications of Chinese Nationalism Revisited: the strident turn Journal of Contemporary China, Vol. 22 No. 82, 535-553.
6. Zhu, Zhiqun 2011. Chinese Foreign Policy: External and Internal Factors, China: An International Journal, Vol. 9, No. 2, 185-194.
2.4 Week 3: The Causes and Consequences of the Cultural Revolution (Prof Matthew Erie)
LECTURE 3: TUESDAY 25TH OCTOBER, 2PM – 3:30PM
SEMINAR 3: THURSDAY 27ND OCT, 2PM – 3PM (GROUP 1), 3PM – 4PM (GROUP 2), 4PM – 5PM (GROUP 3)
LECTURE DESCRIPTION
Depending on estimates, some 400,000 to several million people were killed during the Cultural
Revolution (1966-1976). By sheer death toll, the Cultural Revolution was not the bloodiest period in
modern Chinese history (the Great Leap Forward, by comparison, claimed some 40 million lives), yet
its legacy is far-reaching and continues to haunt modern China and specifically the relationship
between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the state, and Chinese citizens. The kind of factionalism
that contributed to the Cultural Revolution remains a major concern of the CCP. (President Xi Jinping’s
anti-corruption drive has been called China’s “Second Cultural Revolution.”) For the state, the Cultural
Revolution necessitated the opening and reform that has led to China’s historic ascension on the world
stage. For different members of the Chinese population, whether they identify through their ethnicity,
region, gender, class, or political loyalties, memories of the Cultural Revolution remain a source of
suspicion, doubt, and even anxiety as to the leadership of the Party and the institutions it wields.
In trying to understand the Cultural Revolution, we will balance the study of elite politics with an
anthropological focus on the everyday experience of those who endured the Cultural Revolution and
continue to remember it through memories that are other than those of “official history.”
Discussion Questions:
* Who were the victims of the Cultural Revolution and who were its perpetrators? How has the state
addressed the claims for justice and compensation of the former and how has it punished the latter?
* How do Chinese explain the Cultural Revolution and how do they remember it? What devices,
genres, institutions, and resources do different groups within and outside of China use to make
sense of the period?
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Required Sources:
MacFarquhar, Roderick and Michael Schoenhals (2006). Mao's Last Revolution. Cambridge, Harvard University Press. Mueggler, Eric (2001). The Age of Wild Ghosts: Memory, Violence, and Place in Southwest China. Berkeley, University of California Press. [Introduction and Chapter 7] “Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China,” June 27, 1981. [Pp. 12-18.] Wu, Yiching (2014). The Cultural Revolution at the Margins. Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
Resources:
[For those who can read Chinese] Chinese Film and Newsreel Scripts from the Cultural Revolution
(Brill e-book accessible via the Bodleian Libraries Collections)
Documentary “China Under Mao – The Cultural Revolution” (17:15 min.) Available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPuvFXv8Gos
Morning Sun Website (documentary film, archival images, and music recordings from the era).
Available here: http://www.morningsun.org/index.html
Additional Readings:
Liu, Binyan (1990). A Higher Kind of Loyalty. New York, Pantheon.
Lü, Xiuyuan. (1994). "A Step Toward Understanding Popular Violence in China's Cultural Revolution."
Pacific Affairs 67(4): 533-563.
Pye, Lucian W. (1986). "Reassessing the Cultural Revolution." The China Quarterly 108: 597-612.
Zhang, Everett Y. (2013). "Grieving at Chongqing's Red Guard Graveyard: In the Name of Life Itself."
China Journal (70): 24-47.
Zhong, Xueping, Wang Zhen and Bai Di, Eds. (2001). Some of Us: Chinese Women Growing up in the
Mao Era. New Brunswick, NJ, Rutgers University Press. [Introduction and Chapter 4 (by Bai Di)]
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2.5 Week 4: China's Economic Transition and Change since Reform and
Opening (Prof Kyle Jaros)
LECTURE 4: TUESDAY 1ST NOVEMBER, 2-3:30 PM
SEMINAR 4: THURSDAY 3RD NOVEMBER, 2-3 PM (GROUP 1), 3-4 PM (GROUP 2), 4-5 PM (GROUP 3)
LECTURE DESCRIPTION
This lecture examines China’s economic transition in the post-Mao period. How did far-reaching market reforms emerge under the Communist Party’s political leadership, and what were the major economic and political consequences of reform? Focusing on the period from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, we discuss the temporally phased and spatially uneven nature of reforms, and identify winners and losers in this process. Discussion Questions: * How did economic reforms unfold over time? What explains the specific timing and sequencing of
different reform phases?
* What is the significance of China’s ‘segmented,’ or spatially uneven, approach to economic
liberalization? How did this influence the politics and the outcomes of reform?
* In what ways did market reforms in agricultural and the growth of collective and private industrial
firms affect the lives of ordinary people? Who benefited, and who lost out?
Required Readings:
Yang, Dali L., (1996), Calamity and Reform in China: State, Rural Society, and Institutional Change
Since the Great Leap Famine, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. “Chapter 5: Structural
Incentives for Rural Reform”; “Chapter 6: Political Struggle Over Reform.”
Naughton, Barry (1995), Growing Out of the Plan: Chinese Economic Reform, 1978-1993, New York:
Cambridge University Press. “Chapter 2: Crisis and response: Initial reorientation of the economy”;
“Chapter 4: Growth of the non-state sector”; “Chapter 6: The second phase of reform, 1984-1988.”
Shirk, Susan (1993). The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China, Berkeley: University of
California Press. “Chapter 9: Playing to the Provinces: Fiscal Decentralization and the Politics of
Reform.”
Zweig, David (2002), Internationalizing China: Domestic Interests and Global Linkages, Ithaca: Cornell
University Press. “Chapter 2. Segmented Deregulation and the Politics of Urban
Internationalization.”
Oi, Jean (1995), “The Role of the Local State in China’s Transitional Economy,” The China Quarterly.
144.
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Recommended Readings:
Richard Baum. “Chapter 5: The Road to Tiananmen: Chinese politics in the 1980s.” In MacFarquhar,
ed. (2011). The Politics of China: Sixty Years of The People’s Republic of China. Third Edition.
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Huang, Yasheng. Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: Entrepreneurship and the State.
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Naughton, Barry (1995), Growing Out of the Plan: Chinese Economic Reform, 1978-1993, New York:
Cambridge University Press. “Chapter 7: Rapid Growth and Macroeconomic Imbalance.”
Shirk, Susan (1993). The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China, Berkeley: University of California
Press. “Chapter 10: Creating Vested Interests in Reform: Industrial Reform Takeoff, 1978-81.”
Steinfeld, Edward (1998). Forging Reform in China: The Fate of State-Owned Industry. Cambridge;
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sun, Yan (2005), “Corruption, Growth, and Reform: The Chinese Enigma,” Current History, 104 (683):
257-263.
Wedeman, Andrew Hall, (2003). From Mao to Market: Rent Seeking, Local Protectionism, and
Marketization in China, Cambridge, UK ; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Whiting, Susan (2001), Power and Wealth in Rural China: The Political Economy of Institutional
Change, Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press.
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2.6 Week 5: The Structure and Workings of China’s Party-State (Prof Kyle Jaros)
LECTURE 5: TUESDAY 8TH NOVEMBER, 2PM – 3:30PM
SEMINAR 5: THURSDAY 10TH NOV, 2PM – 3PM (GROUP 1), 3PM – 4PM (GROUP 2), 4PM – 5PM (GROUP 3)
LECTURE DESCRIPTION
How is China’s party-state structured, and how does the form of the state influence the way it
functions (and malfunctions)? After reviewing the basic structure of the party-state, this lecture
highlights some of the problems of economic and political governance created by China’s ‘fragmented
authoritarianism.’ We then analyze Beijing’s attempts since the mid-1990s to address such challenges
through rebuilding of the Party apparatus and renewed state interventions in the economy.
Discussion Questions:
* What are the virtues of China’s ‘fragmented’ party-state? What kinds of political and economic
problems are associated with ‘fragmented authoritarianism’?
* In what ways and to what ends have central leaders attempted to reform state institutions since the
mid-1990s? How successful have such efforts been?
* What does it mean to call China a Leninist political system? In what ways does the Party organization
control politics and policymaking in China?
Required Readings:
Lieberthal, Kenneth, and Michel Oksenberg, (1988). Policy Making in China: Leaders, Structures, and
Processes. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. “Chapter 4: Salient Characteristics of the
Structure of Power.”
Goodman, David S.G. (1994). “Chapter 1: The Politics of Regionalism: Economic development,
conflict and negotiation,” in Goodman, David S. G., and Gerald Segal, eds., China Deconstructs :
Politics, Trade and Regionalism, London: Routledge.
Pei, Minxin (2006), China’s Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy, Cambridge,
Mass: Harvard University Press. “Chapter 3: Rent Protection and Dissipation: The Dark Side of
Gradualism.”
Yang, Dali L. (2004), Remaking the Chinese Leviathan: Market Transition and the Politics of
Governance in China. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. “Chapter 3: Institutional
Development and the Quest for Fiscal Prowess and Market Order”; “Chapter 7: Institutional Reforms
and the Struggle Against Corruption.”
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McGregor, Richard (2010), The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers. New York:
Harper. “Chapter 1: The Red Machine: The Party and the State”; “Chapter 6: The Party and the
Regions.”
Pearson, Margaret M. (2015), “State-owned business and party-state regulation in China's modern
political economy,” in Naughton, Barry and Tsai, Kellee eds., State Capitalism, Institutional Adaption,
and the Chinese Miracle, Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Recommended Readings:
Heilmann, Sebastian, (2005), “Regulatory Innovation by Leninist Means: Communist Party
Supervision in Chinas Financial Industry.” China Quarterly, no. 181: 1–21.
Mertha, Andrew (2005), “China’s ‘Soft’ Centralization: Shifting Tiao/Kuai Authority Relations,” The
China Quarterly 184 (2005): 791–810.
Mertha, Andrew (2009), “‘Fragmented Authoritarianism 2.0’: Political Pluralization in the Chinese
Policy Process,” The China Quarterly 200 (2009): 995–1012.
Shambaugh, David (2007). China’s Communist Party: Atrophy and Adaptation. Washington, D.C.:
Woodrow Wilson Center Press. “Chapter 7: Rebuilding the Party: The Organizational Dimension,”
128-160.
Shirk, Susan (1993). The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China, Berkeley: University of
California Press. “Chapter 3: Authority Relations: The Communist Party and the Government.”
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2.7 Week 6: Labour Migration in the context of Contemporary China-
Africa relations (Dr Miriam Driessen)
LECTURE 6: TUESDAY 15TH NOVEMBER, 2-3:30 PM
SEMINAR 6: THURSDAY 17TH NOVEMBER, 2-3 PM (GROUP 1), 3-4 PM (GROUP 2), 4-5 PM (GROUP 3)
LECTURE DESCRIPTION
In this module, we examine the dynamics of the recent wave of Chinese labour migration to Africa,
which took off in the early 2000s and has grown hitherto. Labour migration to Africa is linked to salient
social, economic and political transformations in China.
The key question we address in this module is: What drives so many Chinese to Africa and other
countries of the global South? We also consider concepts of ‘localization’, ‘the labour question’ and
‘the politics of casualization’ to assess the impact of Chinese labour migration on African societies.
Finally, we look at the similarities and the differences of Chinese and European engagement with
Africa.
Discussion Questions:
* What are the push and pull factors of Chinese labour migration to Africa?
* What are the types of Chinese migration to Africa? And how do these different types affect encounters with local Africans?
* What are the similarities and the differences of Chinese and European involvement in Africa?
Required Readings: Brautigam, Deborah. 2009. The dragon’s gift: The real story of China in Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Lee, Ching Kwan. 2009. ‘Raw encounters: Chinese managers, African workers and the politics of casualization in Africa’s Chinese enclaves.’ The China Quarterly 199: 647-666. Mung, Emmanuel Ma. 2008. ‘Chinese migration and China’s foreign policy in Africa.’ Journal of Chinese Overseas 4(1): 91-109. Xiang, Biao. 2003. ‘Emigration from China: A sending country perspective.’ International Migration 41(3): 21-48. Recommended Readings: Alden, Chris; Daniel Large. 2011. ‘China’s exceptionalism and the challenges of delivering difference in Africa.’ Journal of Contemporary China 20(68): 21-38.
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Driessen, Miriam. 2016. ‘Pushed to Africa: Emigration and social change in China.’ Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies DOI: 10.1080/1369183X.2016.1174569. Mawdsley, Emma. 2008. ‘Fu Manchu versus Dr Livingstone in the dark continent? Representing China, Africa and the West in British broadsheet newspapers.’ Political Geography 27: 509-529. Nyírí, Pál. 2006. ‘The Yellow Man’s Burden: Chinese Migrants on a Civilizing Mission.’ The China Journal 56: 83-106. Tang, Xiaoyang. 2010. ‘Bulldozer or Locomotive? The Impact of Chinese Enterprises on the Local Employment in Angola and the DRC.’ Journal of Asian and African Studies 45(3): 350-368. Yan, Hairong; Barry Sautman. 2012. ‘Chasing Ghosts: Rumours and Representations of the Export of Chinese Convict Labour to Developing Countries.’ The China Quarterly 210: 398-418.
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2.8 Week 7: Marriage in Contemporary China (Dr Miriam Driessen)
LECTURE 7: TUESDAY 22ND NOVEMBER, 2-3:30 PM
SEMINAR 7: THURSDAY 24TH NOVEMBER, 2-3 PM (GROUP 1), 3-4 PM (GROUP 2), 4-5 PM (GROUP 3)
LECTURE DESCRIPTION
In this module, we consider the multiple ways in which the institution of marriage in China has
changed within the context of rapid socio-economic restructuring. We start with China’s Opening up,
which heralded major shifts in the institution of marriage. Increased individual pursuits of new
possibilities for marital and sexual satisfaction as well as growing youth autonomy have challenged
traditional values in regard to marriage. Nonetheless, marriage remains near universal in
contemporary China.
The central question we address in this module is: What explains the resilience of marriage in China?
In answering this question, we examine the continuing functions of marriage. We also seek to explain
the continued parental investment in their children’s marriage, evidenced by the popularity of so-
called ‘grey-hair dating’ (baifa xiangqin).
Finally, we discuss much-debated issues in regard to marriage in China, such as the marriage squeeze,
metropolitan China’s ‘left-over women’ and the challenges faced by the country’s LGBT community.
Discussion Questions:
* What are the major changes that the institution of marriage has undergone since China’s Opening up?
* To what extent are the ‘traditional’ principles of patriarchy and filial piety still valid in China today?
* What is the role of the family in regard to marriage in contemporary China?
Required readings: Davis, Deborah. 2014. ‘Privatization of marriage in post-socialist China.’ Modern China 40 (6): 551-577. Farrer, James. 2014. ‘Love, sex, and commitment: delinking premarital intimacy from marriage in urban China.’ Pp. 62-96. In Deborah S. Davis and Sara L. Friedman (eds.), Wives, husbands and lovers: marriage and sexuality in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and urban China. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Greenhalgh, Susan. 2013. ‘Patriarchal demographics? China’s sex ratio reconsidered.’ Population and Development Review 38: 130-149. Wolf, Margery. 1984. ‘Marriage, family, and the state in contemporary China.’ Pacific Affairs 57(2): 213-236. Recommended readings:
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Croll, Elisabeth. 1981. The politics of marriage in contemporary China. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Engebretsen, Elisabeth L.; William F. Schroeder; Hongwei Bao. 2015. Queer/tongzhi China: New perspectives on research, activism and media cultures. Copenhagen: NIAS. Farrer, James. 2002. Opening up: Youth sex culture and market reform in Shanghai. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Fincher, Leta Hong. 2014. Leftover women: the resurgence of gender inequality in China. London: Zed Books. Liu, Lige; Jin, Xiaoyi; Melissa J. Brown; and Marcus W. Feldman. 2014. ‘Male marriage squeeze and inter-provincial marriage in central China: Evidence from Anhui.’ Journal of Contemporary China 23(86): 351-371. Yan, Yunxiang. 2003. Private life under socialism: Love, intimacy, and family change in a Chinese village 1949-1999. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
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2.9 Week 8: Islam and the Law in Contemporary China (Prof Matthew Erie)
LECTURE 8: TUESDAY 29TH NOVEMBER, 2PM – 3:30PM
SEMINAR 8: THURSDAY 1ST DECEMBER, 2PM – 3PM (GROUP 1), 3PM – 4PM (GROUP 2), 4PM – 5PM (GROUP 3)
LECTURE DESCRIPTION
It comes as no surprise that Islam is hotly debated in the UK, US, France, and other Western
democratic societies. Specifically, conservative voices in such states assert that sharia, the legal and
ethical requirements of Islam, offends liberal sensibilities, particularly in regards to gender, freedom
of religion, and individualism. Further, such views often equate Islam with terrorism. Liberals have
identified in Islam and its law a litmus test for the multicultural model of society. What about China?
China has over 20 million Muslims and has experienced an Islamic revival over the past 30 years. Islam
is assuming a higher profile in public life for reasons both domestic and foreign. This session will
contextualize these developments in global trends to assess the relationship between piety and
politics, moderate and fundamentalist interpretations of Islam, and sharia and state law. We will
investigate how China’s experience with Islam is similar to that of Western states and how it differs.
We will explore the various pressure points as transnational Muslim communities engage the Chinese
state on issues that shape modern understandings of “the good.”
Discussion Questions:
* Thinking comparatively, how have different states responded to the challenges posed by Islam? * What tensions do Muslims in China and elsewhere experience between citizenship in a state and belonging to a community of believers? * What’s wrong with sharia and by what standards do we judge it? * If you could reform aspects of China’s ethnic and religious policy, how would you do it?
Required Readings:
An-Na'im, Abdullahi Ahmed. 2014. What is an American Muslim?: Embracing Faith and Citizenship, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch. 1.
Bowen, John R. 2016. On British Islam: Religion, Law, and Everyday Practice in Shari’a Councils, Princeton: Princeton University Press. Ch. 10.
Fernando, Mayanthi L. 2010. “Reconfiguring Freedom: Muslim Piety and the Limits of Secular Law and Public Discourse in France,” American Ethnologist 37(1): 19-35.
Erie, Matthew S. 2016. China and Islam: The Prophet, the Party, and Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Introduction and Ch. 1.
Mahmood, Saba. 2003. “Ethical Formation and Politics of Individual Autonomy in Contemporary Egypt,” Social Research 70(3): 1501-1530.
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Recommended Readings:
Bovingdon, Gardner. 2010. Uyghurs: Strangers in their Own Land. New York: Columbia Univeristy Press.
Cooke, Susette. 2008. “Surviving State and Society in Northwest China: The Hui Experience in Qinghai Province under the PRC,” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 28(3): 401-420.
Gladney, Dru C. 1996[1991]. Muslim Chinese: Ethnic Nationalism in the People's Republic, Cambridge, MA: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard U.
Jouili, Jeanette S. 2015. Pious Practice and Secular Constraints: Women in the Islamic Revival in Europe, Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Ramadan, Tariq. 2008. Radical Reform: Islamic Ethics and Liberation, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roy, Olivier. 2004. Globalized Islam: The Search for a New Ummah, New York: Columbia University Press.
Rohe, Mathias. 2007. Muslim Minorities and the Law in Europe: Chances and Challenges, New Delhi: Global Media Publications.
Scott, Joan Wallach. The Politics of the Veil, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
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3. METHODOLOGY TRAINING
Students can choose to take either the Modern China Humanities course offered by the staff of the
Faculty of Oriental Studies, or Research Methods for Area Studies which will be largely based in the
School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies.
3.1 MODERN CHINA HUMANITIES
Course convenor: Matthew Erie
Overview
This course covers modern Chinese culture broadly conceived, from the high culture of literature,
film, and art through to cultural patterns and institutions such as nationalism, religion and the
family. The lectures will deal with the period from the late 19th century to the present. The course
is taught by specialists in several humanities disciplines and the approaches and students will have
opportunities to practice writing papers using these approaches.
Course aims
• To broaden students’ knowledge of key aspects of modern Chinese culture and society
(1890-2012)
• To prepare students for future research on China in the disciplines of history, literature,
cultural studies, and history of art
Teaching
Students will attend regular weekly lectures offered by the Chinese Studies Institute on Modern
China. There will be a series of eight seminars to discuss major topics and themes. Students will also
have two tutorials in Hilary term for which they will write essays on a subject of their choice.
Lectures
Lectures take place on Thursdays at 12pm at the China Centre Lecture Theatre 1. Please note that
the dates of individual lectures may change. This list is to give you a general sense of the course
content. MPhil students who choose to take the Social Sciences methodology course are also
strongly encouraged to attend these lectures.
Michaelmas Term
Week 1: The Qing dynasty and questions of legitimacy HH Week 2: Ideas of Revolution HH Week 3: Literature and imagining modern China Paul Bevan Week 4: The Foreign Presence in China HH Week 5: Defining the Nation HH Week 6: Cinema and the construction of gender in Republican China Paul Bevan Week 7: The Environment Micah Muscolino Week 8: The Chinese Diaspora HH
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Hilary Term Week 1: WWII: heroes, traitors and memories HH Week 2: Land Reform S.A. Smith Week 3: Religion and anti-superstition campaigns BTH Week 4: Creating a national language BTH Week 5: Education HH Week 6: Government by campaign HH Week 7: The changing workplace and social welfare policy HH Week 8: Friends, family, foes ME Trinity Term Week 1. Domestic Politics in the Reform Period ME Week 2. China’s Built Environment MH Week 3. International politics in the Reform Period ME Week 4. Contemporary Art SV Week 5. Law ME Week 6. From neo-nationalism to China’s soft power MH Week 7. Internet culture MH Week 8. Chinese economy and society TBC
Seminars
Michaelmas Term
Week 2: History: Arguments and Sources H Harrison
Week 4:. Popular culture Paul Bevan
Week 6: Literature Paul Bevan
Week 8:. History: Reading about the 1949 revolution (primary sources) H Harrison
Hilary Term
Week 2: Religion Barend Ter Haar
Week 4. Art Shelagh Vainker
Week 6. From Village to Nation M Erie
Week 8. From Nation to World M Erie
Tutorials
Students will have two tutorials on subjects of their choice drawn from the topics covered in the
course (broadly defined). Each tutorial will be taught by the subject specialist concerned. Students
are responsible for contacting the relevant tutors in the first week of Hilary term to let them know
that they will want a tutorial, to ask for reading lists, and to arrange when the tutorials should
happen.
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Assessment The course will be assessed by a single three-hour written examination paper on topics
on modern China from a humanities perspective. The exam will be held in Trinity Term of the
second year of the degree.
3.2 Research Methods for China Studies (Core Course)
Qualitative and Quantitative methods
This course runs over two terms and comprises two modules.
Qualitative module
The first module runs during Michaelmas Term and covers principles of research design, approaches
to collecting data, and approaches for managing and analysing qualitative data. During the first
weeks of the course students are introduced to finding primary and secondary sources and are invited
to explore the relationship between the social science disciplines and the empirical study of an ‘area’
such as China, India, Japan, Russia or Latin America and to reflect on strategies for integrating social
science theory with the production of area-specific knowledge. Subsequent sessions will consider
different approaches to obtaining and analysing qualitative data. Specifically these include case study,
collection and analysis of talk and texts, interviewing and ethics, historical and contemporary research
and ethnography.
Quantitative module
The second module runs during weeks 1-5 of Hilary Term and introduces students to field skills
research methods and techniques in quantitative analysis. Students will develop the skills to
understand and evaluate the quantitative statistics and statistical tests commonly used by authors in
academic papers and official reports. Students will also develop the skills to carry out basic statistical
tests of research hypothesis, including t-tests and simple regression analysis.
Through class exercises and assessed written work students will be required to obtain and
demonstrate a general understanding of approaches to research. At the same time, students will enjoy
the opportunity and flexibility to specialize in accordance with individual disciplinary and research
interests.
There will be a Combined Introduction to the Research Methods Course and Oxford’s IT services in
Week 0 of Michaelmas Term (Thursday 6th October 2016) at 2.00 pm in the Nissan Institute
Lecture Theatre, St. Antony’s College followed by tea at 4.00 pm in the Hilda Besse Building.
** Please bring this course guide with you to the meeting on Thursday in 0th week
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Course Objectives
During the course students will:
Gain an understanding of the inter-relationships between theory and research design and between theory and data collection and analysis.
Gain a more informed and critical understanding of methodological approaches to the study of the region.
Acquire a working, practical knowledge of key methodological tools
Have a critical knowledge of social science debates on the relevance and utility of these methods to the study of the region.
Improve the ability to critically evaluate academic scholarship and other texts produced from different disciplinary traditions or from inter-disciplinary approaches with reference to the region – so be able to better assess the robustness of the knowledge that others have produced.
Improve skills in writing and in the presentation of information and argument.
Develop awareness of the qualities of good research design and good research practice as preparation for MSc/MPhil thesis and for further advanced research on the region.
Course Teaching Arrangements
Qualitative module (Michaelmas Term 2016) Lectures open to all students will be held in the Nissan Lecture Theatre on Mondays, 10-11am. (except weeks 3 and 8 which will run from 10-12.30). Also, please note that the first lecture for research methods on Monday of Week One will take place in the China Centre rather than in the Nissan Lecture Theatre. A one-hour class for China MSc and MPhil students will take place in the Ho, Leung, Ho and Lee Scholars Room (HLHL Room) in the China Centre Dickson Poon Building, on Wednesdays 2-3pm (group 1), 3-4pm (group 2), and 4-5pm (group 3). Groups will be assigned at the start of term. The lectures and classes will provide an understanding how to formulate a research question, design a study to answer that question, collect and analyse qualitative data, and write a paper based on original qualitative research. The classes conducted in smaller groups will build on the lectures and provide students with a deeper understanding of how to use and write about data collected through qualitative research on a topic related to China. Diverse methods will be covered, and students are encouraged to choose research methods for their own projects that work best for their selected topics. Each week students will be required to complete readings and short assignments for the class. Participation and attendance in class are vital for students’ learning, and absences should be excused in advance. Quantitative module (Hilary Term 2017) (Lectures: Prof Hugh Whittaker; Classes: Prof Kyle Jaros) Lectures open to all students will be held in the Nissan Lecture Theatre, St Antony’s College on Mondays, 10-11.30am (except week 1 which will be 9-11am). In conjunction with weekly lectures, computer labs will be held (exact time and location will be noted in the Research Methods separate handbook timetable). A one-hour class for China MSc and MPhil students will take place in the HLHL
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Room in the China Centre Dickson Poon Building, on Fridays 2-3pm (group 1), 3-4pm (group 2), and 4-5pm (group 3). The lectures will provide an understanding of basic statistics for the social sciences. The classes build on these concepts to provide concrete examples of how these statistical tools can be applied to research on China. Prior knowledge of basic statistics is not necessary for this course. Students are encouraged to follow the lectures closely as the classes will build on materials covered in lectures. Each week students will be required to complete readings and short assignments for the class.
Course Assessment
Assessment for this course comprises three parts, each weighted equally.
1. QUALitative Methods Assignment
a. A practical exercise in the collection and analysis of qualitative data (word limit 2,500 words) to be submitted to the Examination Schools by 12.00 noon on Monday of Week 9 of Michaelmas Term (5th December 2016).
b. Please see Appendix 1 for further instructions about the Assignment.
2. QUANTitative Test
a. A take-home test in quantitative analysis will be set on Monday of Week 6 of Hilary Term (20th February 2017) and the work is to be submitted to the Examination Schools by 12 noon on Monday of week 7 of Hilary term (27th February 2017).
b. Collection of take-home test arrangements to be confirmed by our unit administrator at the start of Hilary term 2016.
c. Further information about the assignment to be provided on the first class week 1 of Hilary term 2016.
3. Research Proposal
a. Individual research proposal for each student (word limit 2,500 words) to be submitted
to the Examination Schools. (This is the research proposal for your dissertation. Further
information on expectations is in the section of this handbook on the dissertation.)
b. Deadline in Trinity term. Dates will be available nearer the time in the Exam Conventions
on the Oriental Studies website
Recommended Books
Bryman, Alan (2012): Social Research Methods, 4th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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4. OPTION COURSES
The MPhil requires students to choose two options from the list of available courses. Students take
one of these options in the first year and one in the second year. The option list is not the same each
year (for example options on literature and film are usually held in alternate years to make it possible
for a student to do both).
You are strongly advised to consider your future dissertation topic when selecting your first year
option. Taking an option and working with the academic teaching it is an excellent way to identify a
suitable dissertation advisor.
Option Courses
China’s Economic Reforms (Prof Kyle Jaros).
Chinese Fiction after Tian’anmen (Dr Paul Bevan)
History and Historiography of Modern China (Prof Henrietta Harrison, Prof Micah Muscolino,
Prof Rana Mitter and Dr Gordon Barrett )
Intermediate Chinese Language for Social Scientists (Mr Shioyun Kan / Ms Song Yang/ Dr
Annie Hong)
Modern Chinese Art (Ms Shelagh Vainker)
Politics and Government of China (Prof Patricia Thornton)
The International Relations of Contemporary China (Dr Paul Irwin Crookes)
Chinese Law and Society (Prof. Matthew Erie)
Technology and Industrialisation in Developing Countries (Prof Xiaolan Fu)
4.1 China’s Economic Reforms Course Convenor: Prof Kyle Jaros
Overview
This course explores the political economy of China’s transition since 1978, focusing on the ways in
which political factors have, at different times, both enabled and obstructed economic reforms. We
begin with an historical overview of the reform era, examining broad trends and major turning points.
We then delve into specific issue-areas for a closer look at what has been at stake in reform, and why
different political actors and economic interests have supported or fought changes to the status quo.
Challenging the assumption that China is evolving toward a Western-style liberal economic model, we
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will consider alternative conceptualizations of China’s economic order, and think about what the
future might hold.
Content and Structure
Weekly classes will address different historical phases and issue-areas in China’s economic
transition, including:
China’s socialist economic legacy: beyond the plan
Reform during the Deng era: cycles and spirals
The post-Deng era: state vs. market
Rural reforms: liberating the countryside, again
Industrial reforms: grasping the big, releasing the small
Foreign economic opening: two steps forward, one step back
Urban governance restructuring: unfinished business
A ‘trapped transition’?
Teaching Arrangements
There will be eight classes of two hours apiece across Hilary term. Each week’s meeting will consist of
a lecture and a student presentation followed by discussion. Each student will give at least one
presentation to the class based on the weekly readings for that week’s topic. Over the course of the
term, students will submit at least one essay of up to 1,500 words addressing any one of the weekly
discussion questions.
Course Assessment
There will be a three-hour unseen written examination in Trinity Term. Students will be required to
answer three questions in three hours. The marks for each question will be equally weighted in the
final overall mark for the paper.
Indicative Readings
Brandt, Loren and Rawski, Thomas G, eds. (2008), China’s Great Economic Transformation,
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Gallagher, Mary Elizabeth (2005), Contagious Capitalism: Globalization and the Politics of Labor in
China, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Goodman, David S. G., and Gerald Segal (1994), China Deconstructs : Politics, Trade and Regionalism,
London: Routledge.
Heilmann, Sebastian, and Melton, Oliver (2013), “The Reinvention of Development Planning in
China, 1993-2012,” Modern China 39 (580).
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Huang, Yasheng (2008), Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: Entrepreneurship and the State,
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hurst, William (2009), The Chinese Worker after Socialism, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Naughton, Barry and Kellee Tsai, eds., (2015), State Capitalism, Institutional Adaptation, and the
Chinese Miracle, Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Oi, Jean Chun (1999), Rural China Takes off: Institutional Foundations of Economic Reform, Berkeley,
CA: University of California Press.
Pei, Minxin (2006), China’s Trapped Transition: The Limits of Developmental Autocracy, Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Shirk, Susan L (1993), The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China, Berkeley, CA: University of
California Press.
Steinfeld, Edward S (1998), Forging Reform in China: The Fate of State-Owned Industry, Cambridge,
UK; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Zweig, David (2002), Internationalizing China: Domestic Interests and Global Linkages, Ithaca: Cornell
University Press.
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4.2 Chinese Fiction after Tiananmen
Dr Paul Bevan
Course Outline
This course explores Chinese literary practice in the era of market reforms, taking 1989 as its point of
departure. We read a wide range of novels and short stories in English translation, complemented by
extensive reading in English-language scholarship. The course investigates the various forms that
fictional writing has assumed in China over the last twenty years – from radically avant-garde to highly
populist, and from conventional print media to internet literature – and it analyses the ways in which
China’s transition from a revolutionary society to one orientated decisively towards the market has
changed the shape and function of Chinese writing.
Course Assessment
The option is assessed by means of two 2,500 word essays.
Teaching Arrangements
The course will be taught over 8 sessions in Hilary term. Each session will consist of a lecture, a short
student presentation, and general discussion.
Indicative reading
Michael Berry, A History of Pain. Trauma in Modern Chinese Literature and Film, New York:
Columbia University Press, 2008.
Marco Fumian, “The Temple and the Market: Controversial Positions in the Literary Field
with Chinese Characteristics”, Modern Chinese Literature and Culture 21/2 (2009):
126-66.
Shuyu Kong, Consuming Literature: Best Sellers and the Commercialization of Literary Production
in Contemporary China, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005.
Richard Kraus, The Party and the Arty in China, Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2005.
Wendy Larson, From Ah Q to Lei Feng: Freud and Revolutionary Spirit in 20th Century China,
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2009.
Charles Laughlin (ed.), Contested Modernities in Chinese Literature, New York: Palgrave, 2005.
Jie Lu (ed.), China’s Literary and Cultural Scenes at the Turn of the 21st Century, New York:
Routledge, 2008.
Jason McGrath, Postsocialist Modernity: Chinese Cinema, Literature, and Criticism in the Market Age,
Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2008.
Robin Visser, Cities Surround the Countryside: Urban Aesthetics in Postsocialist China, Durham:
Duke University Press, 2010.
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4.3 Chinese Law and Society
Introduction:
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has, since 1978, embarked on an historic effort to build a
modern legal system. The reasons for this are many: resolving social conflicts, creating a stable and
transparent environment for contract enforcement, attracting foreign direct investment, joining the
international law community, and regime legitimacy to name a few. This is no easy task, however,
given China’s significant income gap, ethnic and regional disparities, traditions that have preferred
informal norms over formal law, and a single-party state that continues to hold itself above the law.
Nonetheless, the PRC has built legal institutions (e.g., courts and legislatures), professionalized
lawyers through legal education and training, and begun a process of “legal popularization” to teach
citizens their rights. Legal modernization has touched all areas of law including criminal law, civil law,
and China’s approach to international law (e.g., the WTO, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,
human rights, etc.) Law matters to not just urban Chinese and foreign investors but also to those
who are marginalized by China’s economic reforms. This course will introduce candidates to China’s
legal modernization program by placing it in China’s historical, political, and cultural context. We will
examine progress and points of tension in the PRC’s construction of a “rule of law,” and assess the
role of non-state actors in shaping the future of law in China. In short, law provides a prism through
which to understand some of the opposing incentives that give shape to modern China.
Goals:
First and foremost, we will develop a familiarity with Chinese law in context. This means, for
example, not just learning statutes, but understanding how they are implemented and how officials
and citizens alike use laws or choose not to use laws. We will examine both text of law and context
of the law by analyzing institutions, legal consciousness, and socio-economic, inter-ethnic, and
gender asymmetries in using law. MPhil and MSc degree candidates (hereinafter, “candidates”) will
learn about the fundamental laws of China, how institutions interact (e.g., people’s congresses,
people’s courts, and the Party), and when parties may resort to nonstate norms to resolve disputes
as opposed to formal ones. We will assess the limits and possibilities of law in an authoritarian
regime to understand how rights work in China and how they may or may not ensure accountability
over those in power. This course will be of interest to candidates who arrive to the study of China
from a number of backgrounds and who intend to engage China from any number of professional
capacities, whether business, research, journalism, diplomacy, human rights advocacy or civil
society. Neither prior knowledge of Chinese law nor Chinese language is required.
Sample Readings:
Alford, William P. 1984. “Of Arsenic and Old Laws: Looking Anew at Criminal Justice in Late Imperial
China.” California Law Review 72, pp. 1180-1256.
Bodde, Derk. 2014. “Basic Concepts of Chinese Law: The Genesis and Evolution of Legal Thought in
Traditional China.” Charles Le Blanc, ed. Essays on Chinese Civilization. Princeton: Princeton
University Press.
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Chen, Albert HY. 2011. An Introduction to the Legal System of the People's Republic of China. Hong
Kong, LexisNexis, 4th ed., chapter 3 (“The Legal History ofModern China”).
Webster, Timothy. 2014. “Paper Compliance: How China Implements WTO Decisions.” Michigan
Journal of International Law 35, pp. 525-578.
4.4 History and Historiography of Modern China
Professor Henrietta Harrison, Professor Micah Muscolino, Professor Rana Mitter, Dr Gordon Barrett
Course description
This is a graduate colloquium designed for students in modern Chinese history or interested in the
historiography of modern China since 1900.
Students should learn:
to identify a select number of the major current debates in the field of modern Chinese history
to explain how those debates have developed
to articulate and defend a position within the debates
The required readings are available electronically. Students will be asked to select from among the
additional readings during the course of the term.
Course Outline
This course is co-taught by Oxford’s strong team of specialists in the history of twentieth century
China. There are no lectures. Instead each week’s class will be conducted as a seminar on a
different theme. The themes we expect to cover are the Boxer Uprising of 1900 and what it tells us
about China in the late 19th century; the intellectual changes that took place in the early twentieth
century (often associated with the May 4th Movement); China’s changing environment; World War II;
the Communist Revolution and the early years of the People’s Republic; the Cultural Revolution; and
the roots of China’s massive urbanisation program in recent years.
Prerequisites
A general understanding of modern Chinese history is expected. If you have not previously taken a
course on modern Chinese history, you should make sure that you read a survey and make good
notes before the beginning of Hilary Term. Indeed, it is highly recommended that all students
refresh their memories. Good surveys include:
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Lloyd Eastman, Family, Fields and Ancestors: Constancy and Change in China’s Social and Economic
History 1550-1949, 1989.
Maurice Meisner, Mao’s China and After, 3rd Edition 1999.
Peter Zarrow, China in War and Revolution, 1895-1949, 2005.
Rana Mitter, A Bitter Revolution: China’s Struggle with the Modern World, 2005.
Rana Mitter, Modern China: A Very Short Introduction, 2008.
Jonathan Spence, The Search for Modern China, 2nd Edition 1999.
Rebecca Karl, Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-century World, 2010.
NB Not all these surveys cover the whole period. Make sure that you have read about the period
both before and after 1949.
4.5 Modern Chinese Art
Ms Shelagh Vainker
Overview
This is a graduate colloquium designed for students in modern Chinese art. Classes will include viewing
of paintings in the Ashmolean collection and the development of skills in identifying paintings and
prints dating from the late Qing to the present. Each class will combine examination of works of art
with discussion of the art historical, intellectual and political contexts in which they were produced.
Students should learn:
The position of visual art within Chinese society.
Understanding of the debates relating to modernity and identity in Chinese art.
How to approach identifying ink paintings, prints and other pictorial works of art.
Content and Structure
Regionalism in the visual arts: Beijing, Lingnan, Shanghai
Early 20th-century responses of artists in China to art in the West
Traditional ink painters of the early twentieth century
Art and politics 1949-65
Art during the Cultural Revolution
Prints and printmaking
Post-Mao developments, including calligraphy
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Teaching Arrangements
Tuesdays 10.00-12.00, Jameel Centre, Ashmolean Museum
Course Assessment
A three-hour exam in Trinity term.
Course Readings
Works below are available online or in the Sackler Library. There are duplicates of some titles in the
Dept of Eastern Art; these may be borrowed by arrangement with Shelagh Vainker.
Preparation
A general understanding of modern Chinese culture is expected. Good surveys include:
Andrews, Julia and Kuiyi Shen, The Art of Modern China, Berkeley, 2012
Andrews, Julia and Kuiyi Shen, A Century in Crisis: Modernity and Tradition in the Art of Twentieth-
century China, New York, 1998
Silbergeld, Jerome, Chinese Painting Style: Media, Methods, and Principles of Form, Seattle, 1982
Sullivan, Michael, Art and Artists of Twentieth Century China, Berkeley, 1996
Vainker, Shelagh, Catalogue of Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Oxford, 2000
Wang Yaoting, Looking at Chinese Painting, Tokyo, Nigensha Publishing Co. Ltd., 1995
4.6 Politics and Government of China Prof Patricia Thornton
This option provides an introduction to the political history and development, political sociology,
political ideologies and institutions, and the political economy of China in a comparative
context. Students will have the opportunity to read and consider a number of approaches to
conceptualizing, modelling, and analysing Chinese politics within the broader framework of
comparative social science methods, with a particular focus on situating China as a case within the
field of comparative politics.
Major themes addressed in the course include:
Key phases and turning points in the establishment and reform of the political system since
1949
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Maoism in theory and practice; the political and ideological dynamics of the post-Mao reform
era.
Contemporary architectures of the party-state; central and local administration.
Key social groups (peasantry, intelligentsia, workers, entrepreneurs, migrants) and their
changing positions in the polity.
The political economy of industrialization, urbanization, economic liberalization, and
globalization.
The changing roles of law, the media (including new media) and other channels of political
communication.
Changing patterns of political participation, political dissent, and popular protest.
Conceptions of the nation and Chinese nationalism; discourse of exceptionalism
in comparative context.
Methodological issues in studying Chinese politics in comparative perspective.
Assessment
The Politics and Government of China (an advanced option for the MPhil in Comparative Government)
will be examined through a three-hour examination paper in Trinity Term, date to be determined by
the Department of Politics and International Relations. Candidates are required to write on three
questions. The marks for each question will be equally weighted in the final mark for the paper.
Teaching Arrangements
Students are welcome to attend the 12 hours of undergraduate lectures offered for PPE
227: The Government and Politics of China. Six hours of lectures will be held in MT, and six are
scheduled for HT. This seminar course will be held on Wednesday afternoons, 2-5pm in HT at the China
Centre.
Indicative readings:
Yang, Dali. Remaking the Chinese Leviathan: Market Transition and the Politics of Governance in China,
2004.
Whyte, Martin King. "Paradoxes of China's Economic Boom", Annual Review of Sociology. 35:18
(2009), 371-92.
Lee, Ching Kwan. Against the Law: Labour Protests in China’s Rustbelt and Sunbelt, 2007.
Tsai, Lily. "Solidary Groups, Informal Accountability, and Local Public Goods Provision in Rural China",
American Political Science Review, 101: 2 (May 2007), 355-72.
Zhao, Yuezhi. Communication in China: Political Economy, Power and Conflict, 2008.
Andreas, Joel. Rise of the Red Engineers: The Cultural Revolution and the Origins of China's New
Class, 2009.
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4.7 The International Relations of Contemporary China Dr Paul Irwin Crookes
Overview
This course option will explore China’s evolving role in the international political and economic system
and will examine the country’s external relations with key state, non-state, and institutional actors.
No prior knowledge of China or the East Asian region will be assumed. The programme will lay
emphasis on an empirically-led but theoretically informed analysis of the extent and character of
China’s interrelationships within international relations, so as to be able to better understand how
geopolitical interactions overlap with specific policy priorities to shape outcomes at the regional and
global levels.
Aims
1. To better understand the key issues that drive China’s decision-making in the country’s
international relations.
2. To provide a policy-led framework that can empower informed judgement on perceptions of
China’s engagement with the international system.
3. To enable a critical analysis of the literature to distinguish between different perspectives on
the character of China’s approach to foreign relations.
Content and Structure
The course will seek to explain how the overlaps between political and economic policy inform on
China’s external relations. It will closely examine a number of important regional and global
relationships with the aim of creating a balanced perspective in China’s contemporary position. The
course will address the following broad topic areas in a series of lectures and discussion seminars:
1. The theoretical context in international relations of China’s re-emergence.
2. China’s current economic structure and the pursuit of Market Economy Status.
3. The international relations of China’s multilateral engagement.
4. The salience of regional tensions in China’s relationships across East Asia.
5. Cross-Strait relations with Taiwan as a domestic and geopolitical issue.
6. China’s energy security as a driver of policy in relations with Africa.
7. Cooperation and conflict in China’s key bilateral relationship with the US.
8. China’s evolving dialogue with the EU as an international actor.
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Teaching Arrangements
There will be eight teaching sessions in the Hilary Term which will comprise of a one hour lecture
followed by a one hour discussion class. Each week, one / two students will make a 5-7 minute class
presentation to address key questions for consideration, whilst students not presenting are expected
to have reflected on these questions during their reading and to have formulated additional questions
for discussion in the seminar.
Students will also write and receive feedback on one unassessed essay of 1,500 words.
Course Assessment
There will be one three-hour unseen examination in the Trinity Term where students will be expected
to answer three questions, with each question carrying equal weight.
The following works provide useful background reading for the whole course:
Scott, David. 2007. China Stands Up. The PRC and the International System: Routledge.
Shirk, Susan. 2008. China: Fragile Superpower: Oxford University Press.
The following internet resources provide perspectives on Chinese thinking:
There are often interesting insights into China’s international relations reported on each, although
some of the commentary can be oriented towards domestic affairs. As with all internet resources,
opinions and perspectives put forward online should be treated with caution and used to trigger
thinking about a topic in broad terms. Websites are not substitutes for the use of books and peer-
reviewed journal articles.
China Digital Times: an interesting source of topical Chinese articles which are available to
read in English: http://www.chinadigitaltimes.net
China Economic Review: the online version of this magazine provides a useful synthesis of
international economics and trade reporting about China:
http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com
The China Daily: the Europe edition of the English language newspaper and worth regular
review for official opinions: http://www.chinadaily.com.CN
Indicative Course Readings
Buzan, Barry (2010) China in International Society: Is ‘Peaceful Rise’ Possible? The Chinese Journal of
International Politics, Vol. 3, pp5-36
Chow, Gregory (2010) Interpreting China's Economy. World Scientific Press. Chapter 1.
Cameron, F. (2010) The geopolitics of Asia – What role for the European Union? International
Politics, 47(3): 276-292.
Economy, E. C. (2011) China’s Energy Future: An Introductory Comment. Eurasian Geography and
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Economics, 52(4): 461-463.
Foot, R. & Walter, A. (2011) China, The United States and Global Order: Cambridge University Press.
Chapter 2.
Kaplan, R. (2010) The Geography of Chinese Power. Foreign Affairs, 89(3): 22-41.
Ross, Robert. (2009) Chinese Security Policy: Structure, Power and Politics. Routledge.
Su, Chi. (2009) Taiwan’s Relations with Mainland China: A tail wagging two dogs. Routledge. Chapter
1.
Wilkins, Thomas. 2010. The new “Pacific Century” and the rise of China: an international relations
perspective. Australian Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 64 No. 4, pp381 — 405
Zhang, F. (2012) Rethinking China’s Grand Strategy: Beijing’s evolving national interests and strategic
ideas in the reform era. International Politics, Vol. 49 No. 3.
4.8 Technology and Industrialisation in Developing Countries
Convenor: Prof Xiaolan Fu Lecturers: Prof Xiaolan Fu, Prof Diego Sanchez-Ancochea, Dr Giacomo Zanello Time: 1-3pm Tuesday TBC Venue: Meeting Room B, QEH Objective This course will examine technology and industrial development and policy in developing countries and their role in the development process, drawing upon the experience of a wide range of countries, particularly from East Asia and BRICS, to illustrate the analysis. It looks at the interrelations between transnational corporations, domestic firms and the state, the debate on industry policy, the functions of the national innovation system, the interactions between foreign and indigenous innovation efforts, the debate on appropriate technology, and the role of technology in inclusive and sustainable development. The course will be accessible to students without a prior background in economics. Teaching organisation The course will be taught over eight weeks in two-hour seminars in Hilary Term. Each seminar includes one hour lecture and one hour class. Each student is required to make one presentations during the term. Topics of the presentations will be given in a separate document. Student participation is important in the course. Students will be asked to lead class discussions and others will be expected to contribute to discussion based on the readings and other relevant sources of information. Students should contact Prof Fu (xiaolan.fu@qeh.ox.ac.uk) by Friday afternoon, Week 0 of Hilary Term indicating the topic and the week that he/she would like to present.
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Course outline The principal topics covered will include: 1. National innovation systems and technological capabilities of nations 2. Transfer of technology and role of trade, FDI, migration and global value chain 3. The debates on industrial policy (Lecturer: DSA) 4. Technological learning, indigenous versus foreign innovation efforts and catch-up: lessons from the Asian Tigers and the BRICS 5. MNEs from developing countries: motivations and impact 6. Appropriate technology, innovation and industrialisation in Africa 7. Bridging the digital divide: information technology and development (GZ) 8. Technology for inclusive and sustainable development Assessment: The option is assessed by means of a three-hour written examination in Trinity Term. Two formative essays (max 2,500 words) and one class presentation will be required in Hilary Term. Essay topics can be chosen from the given presentation and essay list. Essay 1 should be handed in by Monday week 6 and essay 2 should be handed in by Friday afternoon week 8 Hilary Term. Reading list: 1. National innovation systems and technological capabilities of nations Arthur, W.A. 2009. The Nature of Technology: What it is and How it Evolves, Free Press, New York. Freeman, C. (1995), “The National System of Innovation in Historical Perspective”, Cambridge Journal of Economics, No. 19, pp. 5–24 Nelson, R. 1992. National innovation systems: a retrospective of a study. Industrial and Corporate Change. 1 (2), 347-74. Lundvall, Bengt-Ake (eds) (1992). National Systems of innovation: Towards a theory of innovation and interactive learning, Pinter, London. Lall, S., 1992. ‘Technological capabilities and industrialization’, World Development, 20 (2), 165-186. Juma, C. and Lee, Y. (2005). Innovation: applying knowledge in development. UNDP. Patel, P. and K. Pavitt (1994), “The Nature and Economic Importance of National Innovation Systems”, STI Review, No. 14, OECD, Paris Cooke, P., Uranga, M. G., Etxebarria, G., 1997. ‘Regional innovation systems: Institutional and organizational dimensions’, Research Policy, Vol. 26 Issue 4/5, p475-91. Chen, K. and Kenney, M. 2007. ―Universities/Research Institutes and Regional Innovation Systems: The Cases of Beijing and Shenzhen, World Development, Vol. 35, No. 6, pp. 1056-1074. Fu, X. 2015. China’s Path to Innovation. Cambridge University Press. 2. Transfer of technology and role of trade, MNEs and migration
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Aitken, B. J., Harrison, A. E., (1999) “Do domestic firms benefit from direct foreign investment? Evidence from Venezuela”, American Economic Review, 89(3): 605–618. Ajay Agrawal, Devesh Kapur, John McHale, Alexander Oettl, (2001). Brain drain or brain bank? The impact of skilled emigration on poor-country innovation, Journal of Urban Economics, Volume 69, Issue 1, 43-55. Bell, M., and K. Pavitt (1993), Technological Accumulation and Industrial Growth: Contrasts between Developed and Developing Countries. Industrial and Corporate Change, 2:157 – 210. Carkovic, L.; R. Narula and J. Dunning (2000), “Industrial development, globalisation and multinational enterprises: new realities for developing countries”, Oxford Development Studies, 28/2: 141-67. Fagerberg, J. (1994). ‘Technology and international differences in growth rates’, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 32, pp. 1147–1175. Görg, H. and Strobl E. (2001): “Multinational Companies and Productivity Spillovers: A Meta-analysis”. Economic Journal, Vol. 111, pp. F723-F739. Grossman, G. and Helpman, E. (1991) Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy, Cambridge MIT Press. Javorcik, B. S. (2004): “Does foreign direct investment increase the productivity of domestic firms? In search of spillovers through backward linkages”, American Economic Review, 94 (3), 605-627. Javorcik, B. S. (2008) is ‘Can survey evidence shed light on spillovers from foreign direct investment?, World Bank Research Observer, 23/2: 139-59. Jennifer Hunt & Marjolaine Gauthier-Loiselle, 2010. "How Much Does Immigration Boost Innovation?," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(2), pages 31-56, April. Keller, W. (2004). “International technology diffusion”, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 42, pp. 752–782. Pietrobelli, C. & Saliola, F. 2008. Power relationships along the value chain: multinational firms, global buyers and performance of local suppliers. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 32 (6): 947-962. 3. Industrial policy debate Amsden, A. (2001) The Rise of “the Rest”. Challenge to the West from Late-industrializing Economies, Oxford: Oxford University Press, chapters 1 and 6-10. Chang, H-J and J. Lin (2009) “Should Industrial Policy in Developing Countries Conform to Comparative Advantages or Defy it? A Debate Between Justin Lin and Ha-Joon Chang”, Development Policy Review, 27(5): 483-502. Akyüz, Y. And C. Gore (1996) “The Investment-Profit Nexus in East Asian Industrialization”, World Development, 24(3): 461-470.
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Amsden, A. (1989) Asia’s Next Giant. South Korea and Late Industrialization, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Huff, W. (1994) The Economic Growth of Singapore. Trade and Development in the Twentieth Century, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Lall, S. (2000) “The Technological Structure and Performance of Developing Country Manufactured Exports, 1985-1998”, Oxford Development Studies, 28 (3): 337-369. Pack, H., and K. Saggi (2006) “Is There a Case for Industrial Policy? A Critical Survey,” The World Bank Research Observer, 21(2): 267-297. Rodrik, D. (2004) “Industrial Policy for the Twenty-first Century” at http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/drodrik/Research%20papers/UNIDOSep.pdf Wood, A. (ed) (2003) “Symposium on Infant Industries”, Oxford Development Studies, 31(1): 3-20. 4. Indigenous versus foreign innovation efforts and catch-up: lessons from the Asian Tigers and the BRICS Altenburg, Tilman, Hubert Schmitz, and Andreas Stamm. 2008. Breakthrough China's and India's Transition from Production to Innovation. World Development 36 (2):325–334. Cohen, W., and D. Levinthal, (1989) "Innovation and learning: Two faces of R&D", Economic Journal (99):569-596 Collins, S. and B.P. Bosworth. 1996. “Economic Growth in East Asia: Accumulation versus Assimilation.” Brookings Papers in Economic Activity 1996(2): 135-191 Dahlman, Carl (2007). “Innovation Capacity in China and India”. Issues in Science and Technology. (Journal of US National Academies of Science-April). Edquist, C. & Hommen, L. (2009) Small Country Innovation Systems: Globalization, Change and Policy in Asia and Europe, Edward Elgar. (Chapters 2, 3 and 4) Fu, X. (2015). China’s Path to Innovation. Cambridge University Press. Fu, X. and Soete, L. (2010). The Rise of Technological Power in the South, Palgrave Macmillan, London and New York. Fu, X., Pietrobelli, C., and Soete, L. (2010). 'The Role of Foreign Technology and Indigenous Innovation in the Emerging Economies', World Development, 39(7): 1203-12. Lall, S. (1996). Learning From the Asian Tigers – Studies in Technology and Industrial Policy. London: Macmillan. Nayyar, D. (2008). China, India, Brazil and South Africa in the world economy: engines of growth? WIDER working paper 5/2008. Stiglitz, J. and S. Yusuf (eds) (2001) Rethinking the East Asian Miracle. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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World Bank (1993) The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press for the World Bank Group. 5. MNEs from developing countries: motivations and impact Ademola, T., Bankole, A. & Adewuyi, A. 2009. China-Africa trade relations: insights from AERC scoping studies. European Journal of Development Research, 21(4): 485-505. Aykut, D. & Goldstein, A. 2007. Developing country multinationals: South-South investment comes of age. OECD Working Paper No 257, OECD, Paris. Ali, S. & Jafrani, N. 2012. China's growing role in Africa: Myths and facts. International Economic Bulletin. February 9. http://carnegieendowment.org/ieb/2012/02/09/china-s-growing-role-in-africa-myths-and-facts/9j5q. Accessed 1 August 2012. Brautigam, D. 2009. The Dragon's Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Buckley, P. & Hashai, N. 2014. Is competitive advantage a necessary condition for the emergence of the multinational enterprise? Global Strategy Journal, forthcoming. Buckley, P. 2007. The strategy of multinational enterprises in the light of the rise of China. Scandinavia Journal of Management. 23: 107-126. Dunning, J., Kim, C. and Park, D. (2008). “Old Wine in New Bottles: A Comparison of Emerging Market TNCs Today and Developed Country TNCs Thirty Years Ago”, SLPTMD working paper, University of Oxford, no.011. Fu, X. 2013. Multi-dimensional complementarities and the growth impact of direct investment from China, University of Oxford, TMCD Working Paper series no 50. Available at http://www.tmd-oxford.org/sites/www.tmd-oxford.org/files/publications/SLPTMD-WP-050.pdf Gu, J. 2009. China's private enterprises in Africa and the implications for African development. European Journal of Development Research, 21(4): 570-87. Kaplinsky, R. & Morris, M. 2009. Chinese FDI in Sub-Saharan Africa: engaging with large dragons. European Journal of Development Research, 21(4): 551-59. UNCTAD (2006) World Investment Report 2006: FDI from Developing and Transition Economies, Geneva: United Nations (available at www.unctad.org) 6. Appropriate technology and industrialisation in Africa Atkinson A.B., Stiglitz J.E., (1969) A new view of technological change. Economic Journal 79, 573– 578. Basu S., Weil D.N., (1998) Appropriate technology and growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics 113, 1025–1054. Acemoglu, D., (2002a), “Directed Technical Change”, Review of Economic Studies, Vol. 69, p781-810 .
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Kaplinsky, R. (2010) Schumacher meets Schumpeter: appropriate technology below the radar, Research Policy, doi: 10/1016/j.respol.2010.10.003. Stewart, F. (1983). Macro-policies for appropriate technology: An introductory classification, International Labour Review, 122(3), 279. Willoughby, K. W. (1990). Technology Choice: A Critique of the Appropriate Technology Movement (Book). Futurist, 24(4), 45. Veeraraghavan, R., Yasodhar, N. Toyama, K. (2009) Warana Unwired: replacing PCs with mobile phones in a rural sugarcane cooperative. Information technologies & international development. 5(1), 81-95. De Angoitia, A., Ramirez, F. (2009) Strategic use of mobile telephony at the Bottom of the Pyramid: the case of Mexico. Information technologies & international development, 5 (3): 35-53. 7. Information technology and development Aker, J. C., Ksoll, C. and Lybbert, T. J. (2012). “Can Mobile Phones Improve Learning? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Niger.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 4, 94-120. Aker, J. C. (2010) “Information from Markets Near and Far: The Impact of Mobile Phones on Grain Markets in Niger.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics. 2, 46-59. Aker, J. C., and Mbiti, I. M. (2010). Mobile phones and economic development in Africa. The Journal of Economic Perspectives 24, 207-232. Chowdhury, S. K. (2006). Investments in ICT-capital and economic performance of small and medium scale enterprises in East Africa. Journal of International Development 18, 533-552. Donner, J. and Mechael, P., (Eds.) (2012). Health in Practice: Mobile technology for health promotion in the developing world. London: Bloomsbury Academic. Open-access book Donner, J. and Tellez, C. A. (2008) “Mobile banking and economic development: Linking adoption, impact, and use.”. Asian Journal of Communication, 18(4): 318-332. Donner, J. (2006) “The Use of Mobile Phones by Microentrepreneurs in Kigali, Rwanda: Changes to Social and Business Networks.” Information Technologies and International Development, 3(2): 3-19. Duncombe, R. and Heeks, R. (2002) “Enterprise Across the Digital Divide: Information Systems and Rural Microenterprise in Botswana.” Journal of International Development, 14: 61-74. Goyal, A. (2010). Information, direct access to farmers, and rural market performance in Central India, American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 2(3): 22–45. Heeks, R. (2002) “i-Development not e-Development: Special Issue on ICTs and Development.” Journal of International Development, 14(1): 1-11. Heeks, R. (2009) “The ICT4D 2.0 Manifesto: Where Next for ICTs and International Development?”. Manchester: Centre for Development Informatics, Working Paper No. 42.
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Jack, W., and Suri, T. (2011). "Mobile money: The economics of M-PESA." Working Paper N. 16721. National Bureau of Economic Research. Jensen, R. (2007). The digital provide: Information (technology), market performance, and welfare in the South Indian fisheries sector. Quarterly Journal of Economics 122, 879-924 Muto, M. (2012). The Impacts of Mobile Phones and Personal Networks on Rural-to-Urban Migration: Evidence from Uganda. Journal of African Economies 21, 787-807. Svensson, J., and Yanagizawa, D. (2009). Getting prices right: the impact of the market information service in Uganda. Journal of the European Economic Association 7, 435-445. Unwin, T. (2009) Information and Communication Technology for Development. 2009. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Chapters 3,4,5,6) Ya’u, Y. Z. (2004) “The New Imperialism & Africa in the Global Electronic Village.” Review of African Political Economy, 31(99): 11–29. Zuckerman, E. (2010) “Decentralizing the Mobile Phone: A Second ICT4D Revolution?” Information Technologies and International Development, 6(SE): 99-103. 8. Technology for inclusive and sustainable development Commission on Growth and Development (2008) The Growth Report. Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development, World Bank. UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) (2001) Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work for Human Development. New York, Oxford University Press UN Millennium Project (2005) Innovation: Applying Knowledge in Development. Task Force on Science, Technology and Innovation, London, Earthscan. Bell, M. (2009), Innovation Capabilities and Directions of Development, Domain Paper for Innovation, Sustainability, Development: A New Manifesto, University of Sussex, UK, available at http://anewmanifesto.org/wp-content/uploads/bell-paper-33.pdf Brewer, T. (2008), Climate change technology transfer: a new paradigm and policy agenda, Climate Policy 8: 516–526. Dechezlepretre, A., M. Glachant, and Y. Meniere. 2009. Technology transfer by CDM projects: A comparison of Brazil, China, India and Mexico. Energy Policy 37 (2):703-711. Kristinsson, K., and R. Rao. 2008. Interactive Learning or Technology Transfer as a Way to Catch-Up? Analysing the Wind Energy Industry in Denmark and India. Industry and Innovation 15 (3):297-320. Lema, A., and K. Ruby. 2007. Between fragmented authoritarianism and policy coordination: Creating a Chinese market for wind energy. Energy Policy 35 (7):3879-3890.
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Lema, Adrian, and Kristian Ruby. 2006. Towards a policy model for climate change mitigation: China's experience with wind power development and lessons for developing countries. Energy for Sustainable Development 10 (4):5-13. Lewis, J. I. 2007. Technology acquisition and innovation in the developing world: Wind turbine development in China and India. Studies in Comparative International Development 42 (3-4):208-232. Ockwell, D. G., J. Watson, G. MacKerron, P. Pal, and F. Yamin. 2008. Key policy considerations for facilitating low carbon technology transfer to developing countries. Energy Policy 36 (11):4104-4115. Seres, S., E. Haites, and K. Murphy. 2009. Analysis of technology transfer in CDM projects: An update. Energy Policy 37 (11):4919-4926. Tan, X. M. 2010. Clean technology R&D and innovation in emerging countries-Experience from
China. Energy Policy 38 (6):2916-2926.
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5. CHINESE LANGUAGE
Mandarin Chinese will be studied throughout the two years to enable students to acquire a solid foundation of vocabulary and general language facility on which they can build to read and understand printed journalism, academic periodicals, government publications, personal communications, and the like (in both simplified and full-form scripts). A similar foundation in speaking and listening skills will also be taught, from which students will be able to develop the ability to listen to broadcast media and speeches, and generally to communicate with native speakers of Chinese. Writing will be taught to an introductory level using the simplified script.
Chinese language training will be offered at two levels:
• Level 1 will be for students who are complete beginners or are false beginners, but not up to the next level. Students are taught reading, writing and translation skills as well as speaking and listening.
• Level 2 will be for students who have excelled at the beginner level, are confident in daily communication and able to recognise and write about 500-550 Chinese characters. Students must have learnt most of the main grammar points to enter this level.
Placement test
An assessment will be held during the induction week for students who think they might be appropriate for level 2. Students must achive the required level in characters, translation between English and Chinese, and grammar analysis to be admitted to the level 2 course.
Web learning
In addition to their classes, students will be given the opportunity for language study using the website of the Oxford Centre for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (CTCFL) in the Institute for Chinese Studies (http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/). Oxford is at the forefront of developing website-assisted programmes to improve interactive Chinese language teaching and learning, and we encourage and expect students to make full use of this opportunity.
TV news
China television news programmes are recorded daily and made available in the Language Lab to all language students, every morning from 9.30 to 10.00, for language training purposes. Level 2 students are strongly encouraged to attend from the start of their course. Level 1 students will probably want to wait until the second year.
Textbook
Practical Chinese Reader Books I and II, Beijing, Commercial Press, 1986 or later editions
Collections
Collections are informal examinations held in 0th week before the beginning of each term to give
students feedback on their progress and ensure that they continue their regular studies over the
university vacations. You will have Chinese language collections at the beginning of every term
(except for that of your final examinations). This means that you will need to be in Oxford for the
week before the start of each full term, so please arrange your travel plans accordingly. The marks
do not count towards your final degree, but they are very important for you, your teachers, the
52
program director, and your colleges in assessing your progress on the degree and are often referred
to in references for future employers: take them seriously.
A warning: Any student who fails the collection at the beginning of the Hilary Term of their first year
should be very cautious about making plans to go to China in the summer, since failure in the
Qualifying exam in Trinity Term will mean taking a resit. Resit examinations are held in September
and you will have to be in Oxford for them.
Study in Beijing
The period between September and December of the second year (covering Michaelmas Term) will
be spent on full-time language study at Peking University. Attendance at classes is compulsory, and
the results of the collection before the start of term and of periodic tests will be forwarded to
Oxford.
Students continue to pay Oxford university fees and are expected to cover their own travel costs and
living expenses in China. However, these costs will normally be more than offset by the fact that
most Oxford colleges will not require students to keep their college room while in China. Students
are also eligible to apply for (modest) financial assistance from most colleges. The Faculty of Oriental
Studies will bear the cost of the fees charged by Peking University.
You can find out more about living in Beijing from The Oxford Undergraduate Handbook for Studying
Abroad in Beijing which is available on the CTCFL website
http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/Lang%20work/Study_in_China.htm
Further orientation for the term abroad will be provided in the Trinity Term of the first year.
Tips for Chinese language learning as part of the MPhil course
For many students on the MPhil learning Chinese will take up the majority of your study time.
Since few of you will have had experience learning a non-European language before, the amount
of memorisation required is likely to be a particular challenge. Generally speaking each hour of
language teaching will require at least three hours of self-study. Students starting Chinese from
scratch should expect to spend at least two hours each day memorising characters. This will be
in addition to homework on pronunciation, grammar etc. and of course it will also be in addition
to the reading and essay writing you are doing for your studies courses.
Effective memorisation requires frequent repetition of the same material. You will learn
more if you study the same material morning and evening every day. It is essential that you
continue this daily repetition over the vacations. Some students find the Anki software
(http://ankisrs.net/), which tests you regularly on flashcards, useful for this, but any regular
scheme for testing yourself will also work.
Organise essays and preparation for other classes so that it fits round the schedule of your
language learning. It is essential to continue studying characters according to a regular
pattern every day, even when you are writing an essay or preparing for an exam. A good
53
pattern might be to do an hour of character memorisation in the morning before you start
your other work and another hour in the evening after you finish.
Attend class and submit your homework on time. You are graduate students now and it is
your responsibility to do this without pressure from your teachers. Work submitted late will
not be marked.
As your Chinese improves you can look forward to a more flexible style of learning as you begin
to read in Chinese for your dissertation research and perhaps even your regular studies classes.
Further information
Centre for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/
This website provides language learning materials, timetables for language classes, and
much other useful material.
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6 DISSERTATION
6.1 Formal requirements:
The thesis must not exceed 20,000 words, including footnotes, but excluding the bibliography. (You
will be penalised for excessive length. Please be careful.)
It is submitted towards the beginning of the Trinity Term of your final year. Details of the date and
the submission requirements will be found in the Exam Conventions.
6.2 Timetable
First year Hilary Term Identify a topic
Class meeting with the Course Director to discuss dissertation
topics. For this meeting you will need
1. A dissertation proposal (1 page) including:
title, the question you want to examine, possible
sources you hope to used.
2. The name of your proposed supervisor
Trinity Term Meet with your supervisor to discuss your proposal. Ask for
help with identifying suitable Chinese reading materials.
Start reading English language materials, which will be more
easily available in Oxford libraries than in China.
Summer Start reading through your Chinese materials
Work to be submitted to supervisor by 1 September: Literature
review, report on the Chinese materials you have read so far
Second
year
Michaelmas
Term
Make use of your time in Beijing to conduct your research and
produce the first drafts of two chapters. .
Deadlines for drafts to reach supervisor:
30 October: 1st chapter due
15 December: second chapter due
Hilary Term Formally submit the title of your dissertation to the Oriental
Institute on Monday 0th Week
Monday of 0 week: draft of third chapter due
Meet with your supervisor to discuss your draft.
First rewriting of the dissertation
Easter
vacation
Second rewriting of the dissertation in response to your
supervisor’s comments
Trinity Term Submit final dissertation
Remember to leave yourself at least one week to proof-read,
print out and bind your dissertation. Your supervisor is not
responsible for proof-reading (including correcting spelling
etc.).
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It is your responsibility to identify a supervisor early in the process, to keep your supervisor informed
of your progress, and to seek meetings with your supervisor when help is needed.
6.3 Choosing a topic
A thesis may take a variety of forms, but it is more than a glorified essay: it must be based on solid
research in primary as well as secondary materials. You will be given credit for thoughtfulness in your
choice of topic, originality of approach, assembling a sound body of evidence, presenting the evidence
accurately, acknowledging your sources, ordering your argument logically, assessing the evidence
systematically, and forming a conclusion based on all the evidence.
There are four major factors to be considered in choosing a topic.
(1) The topic should be worthy of consideration and study; you may want to avoid overworked topics
where it is difficult to develop fresh and original lines of enquiry.
(2) You should choose a topic in line with your own interests and capabilities, so that your enthusiasm
for your topic can be sustained.
(3) There must be adequate materials available to pursue the topic. In your case this also requires
selecting a topic where there are Chinese language materials that will be available for you to read and
are not too difficult. All students should be able to read newspaper articles, websites and other
contemporary publications. Materials written before the 1920s, when the modern form of writing
Chinese was widely adopted, are likely to be a challenge for most of you.
(4) You should consider, with the help of your supervisor, whether a particular topic is feasible within
the limits of time and space; the regulations on the length of the dissertation and the deadline for
submission usually mean choosing an aspect of a subject, within a restricted period of time or
geographical area, rather than a complete and comprehensive treatment.
A dissertation is an enquiry into a topic. You set up a question (or a hypothesis), and assemble and
analyse the writings and evidence that help to answer the question (or test the hypothesis). Your
conclusion is your answer to the question on the basis of the information you have assembled,
interpreted and analysed.
6.4 Sources for research
It is expected that your work will be at least partly based on material in the Chinese language: written
sources (i.e. books, journals, newspapers and websites) and possibly films or interviews. You may
choose to translate some of this material as part of your thesis, to appear in short passages in the text
or in longer passages in one or more appendices. If you are translating longer passages, it is advisable
to provide the Chinese text in an appendix.
Since for many of you reading Chinese will be a slow process, you need to identify the sources as soon
as possible and work your way through them with a dictionary while you are in China. You will
probably not have time to do this after you return to Oxford. If you are working on literature you
should read the texts (at the very least the key passages) in the original and provide your own
56
translations in your dissertation, though you will probably also want to consult published translations
where they are available.
Secondary materials are books and articles by scholars about your topic, which may be in English,
Chinese or other languages. General background reading is essential to place your topic in context,
and you should make sure at the beginning of your research that you have in place the framework for
systematic background reading.
Basic bibliographical tools and links
Google & Solo (Oxford) books and part of the available articles, Google
will also lead you to useful as well as useless
websites (always look out for websites posting
specialist bibliographies)
BAS Online (only with the Oxford IP address
or with a VPN connection)
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bas/ (or through
the list of Databases
http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/oxlip_databases)
Chinese journal articles http://cnki.en.eastview.com/
Crucial books with extensive bibliographies Cambridge History of China-series
Science and Civilisation of China-series
Book review sections (for books and general
intros)
major academic journals devoted to China/Asia
(Journal of Asian Studies, T’oung Pao, The China
Quarterly, China Information have a lot) or
disciplinary journals (on history, political science
and so forth).
Library catalogues for Chinese and Japanese materials
Please note that you often need to be logged in as an Oxford user to utilize these resources.
Bodleian Use Solo at http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk in Pinyin, BUT much if
not most is only catalogued in Chinese characters (i.e. not in
transcription)
Allegro catalogue The real entry point: http://bodley24.bodley.ox.ac.uk/cgi-
bin/acwww25/maske.pl?db=oxchi
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United Kingdom Union Catalogue: http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/rslpchin/
Chinese e-resources at
Oxford
http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/dept/oriental/chier.htm
Note particularly:
China Academic Journals
China Core Newspapers Database
These provide the full text of all the main PRC journals and
newspapers for the last few years, and some for much longer.
Internet Increasing amounts of material can be found full-text on the
Internet
Sources for current events
Newspapers and magazines
Economist
Financial Times
Foreign Affairs
New York Times
South China Morning Post
Wall Street Journal Asia asia.wsj.com (See also its Chinese-language website cn.wsj.com )
Websites
Care has to be taken in selecting reliable online sources, partly because much online content does
not have to be edited or approved before it goes live (unlike traditional sources such as books,
magazines, journals, newspapers), and partly because information on the internet undergoes a
constant process of revision, modification, recreation and deletion. Key guidelines to reliability
include the inclusion of such details as the author’s name, title/position, and organisational
affiliation; the date of page creation; and standard indicators such as the use of bibliography and
citation of sources. By the same token, webpages which are anonymous, that display today’s date
automatically regardless of when the content on the page was created, and which are lacking in
scholarly apparatus may well be less academically trustworthy. The safest sources are probably
those which are online equivalents of reliable print media materials: JSTOR, Project Muse, online
newspapers, and so on. Blogs, opinion pieces, and other highly subjective accounts should be
approached more cautiously: they can constitute useful primary materials, but are less valid as
secondary sources.
Reuters News Agency http://www.reuters.com/places/china
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Good all-round news source for China at present, especially for business, economics and
politics. The articles headed “Insight” are particularly useful.
Boxun News http://en.boxun.com/
News about China by citizen journalists
China Digital Times http://chinadigitaltimes.net/
Resource for tracking online news and censored topics in the Chinese media, also publishes daily newsletter
China Policy Institute Blog: http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/chinapolicyinstitute/
hosted by the University of Nottingham but with external contributions The Diplomat http://thediplomat.com/
A current affairs magazine for the Asia Pacific region
Human Rights Watch (China and Tibet) http://www.hrw.org/asia/china
Good for all sorts of protest movements and people who get in trouble with the government
(environmental problems, Burmese refugees, religious sects, democracy activists etc etc).
Ministry of Tofu - http://www.ministryoftofu.com/
social topics/corruption scandals
中外对话China Dialogue http://www.chinadialogue.net/
Influential bilingual website focusing on environmental issues.
Tea Leaf Nation http://www.tealeafnation.com/
readable e-magazine collecting material from Chinese social media
China File http://www.chinafile.com
Online magazine run by the Center for US-China Relations and the Asia Society, edited by
Orville Schell, big-name analysts. Also includes good links to other major China stories on
the web.
NYT Sinosphere http://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/:
Up-to-date commentary and analysis
Sinostand http://sinostand.com :
Current affairs blog run by Eric Fish, who rights for the Economic Observer
Sinica Podcast http://popupchinese.com/lessons/sinica/
59
hosted by Jeremy Goldkorn from Danwei and Kaiser Kuo, who is head of international
communications for Baidu:
Sinocism www.sinocism.com
Email newsletter (compiled by Bill Bishop, links from Chinese & international media):
The latest academic research
China Journal
China Quarterly
These are the two leading academic journals for study of contemporary China. You will find them on
the periodicals display stand in the Chinese Studies Institute Library and online through the SOLO
catalogue.
Official websites
National Bureau of Statistics of China http://stats.gov.cn
Freely available database that is constantly updated.
6.5 Writing and Referencing
Taking notes
You should decide at an early stage how you are going to organise your notes; eg. according to subject
matter, period, source etc. Whichever method you use, make sure that the information is accurate
and complete, so that you will not have to return to the source.
Keep a full record of all your sources, including all the detail needed in your notes and bibliography:
the author’s full name, complete title, publisher, date and place of publication, total page numbers
for articles, and specific page numbers for references and citations. If you are using websites, keep a
record of both the address and the date on which you consulted them. Be exact when taking down
sentences which may be quoted later, but be careful not to use an author’s exact words in your own
work if not quoting them. (See section 11: Academic honesty and plagiarism). .
Writing up
Writing always takes longer than you think, and so you should start writing as soon as you begin to
develop your ideas. Research rarely goes at a steady rate, and you need to pace yourself. You should
plan realistic, intermediate goals so that you get a sense of achievement as you proceed. You may
find it easier to write the main chapters first, then the conclusion, and finally return to the
introduction. And you may well need to shuttle between these three in the process.
60
The introduction should present the topic, set out your specific aims, define your terms, and indicate
your main lines of enquiry. It should also give details of your methodology, an overview of the
historical and social context, literature review, or an account of your documentation (genesis,
reliability, audience).
The core chapters will present your evidence and/or main findings of your research. At the end of
each chapter, you may find it helpful to briefly sum up your main arguments, which will in turn be
summarized and placed in context in the conclusion.
The conclusion should weigh-up and summarise your findings. Check that you have answered any
questions raised in your introduction. You may need to look at differences as well as similarities in
the events, arguments, phenomena, or works you have discussed, and to attempt to account for
these.
Your dissertation is an exploration of an issue which seeks to address a specific question. Examiners
have considerable discretion, but both they and other readers are likely to be concerned with: an
interesting choice of topic; breadth of knowledge of the subject (including accurate background
knowledge about China); use of a range of sources; evidence of the ability to use Chinese for
research purposes (the aim of this MPhil); an argument that is clearly expressed, interesting and
convincing; a clear structure that supports the argument; and correct presentation. Avoid including
material (no matter how interesting) that is not directly relevant to your discussion.
Remember to leave sufficient time (at least one week!) to review your work and check for wrong
spellings or typos. A spell checker is useful but at the same time can be misleading. For example, it
may not show typing errors such as “it” for “if”. It is all the more awkward when you are dealing
with Chinese-language materials. This means that spell checks should not replace checking the
spelling yourself, but merely be used as an auxiliary tool.
Backing up your work
It is impossible to emphasise too strongly the importance of saving work frequently and of making
copies. It is extraordinarily easy to lose a lot of work with the touch of a key, and it is a matter of basic
common-sense always to have a current backup copy of any work that is in progress.
References and writing styles
All serious academic and non-academic publications have fairly rigid rules for the presentation of
information and annotations. Serious newspapers also have handbooks for their journals that are
sometimes even more detailed than guides for academic authors. The point of these conventions is
that we can trace back and verify information. One of the first crimes in writing is copying others,
either verbally or through excessive paraphrasing, without properly referencing the provenance of
your information. We call this plagiarism.
You must supply footnotes or endnotes and bibliography in a proper standardized format, such as The
Chicago Manual of Style (14th or 15th edition), Harvard Reference Style, Oxford Style, or any other
well established and widely used style. Whatever style you choose to adopt, you must be accurate
and consistent throughout. Do not invent a reference style of your own.
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Make sure you double check dates, other numbers, names and titles of historical figures, and other
factual data. When quoting, you also need to pay attention to the exact wording (including letter
case) and punctuation.
1 Annotations Proper annotations to indicate where quotations
come from and from which source information has
been taken are absolute crucial. They prevent
misunderstandings about plagiarism and allow the
reader to check your statements and information.
Very often people (and not just students!) have
misunderstood their sources, so checking is essential.
2 Models Always check with your teacher. Follow an existing
academic journal as a model (Harvard Journal of
Asiatic Studies for premodern China/Japan/Korea,
China Quarterly for modern China studies). Some
examples follow further below.
3 Layout Every page should have sufficient top, bottom, left
and right margins. When you start a section or
chapter on a new page, do so using hard return
(rather than inserting loads of manual empty spaces).
4 Footnotes/endnotes Which one to use is up to you or your teacher.
Generally speaking when there is a lot of textual
commentary, we use footnotes below the page.
Otherwise we use endnotes, because they distract
the reader. Abbreviated references to a
book/article/website are practical, as long as your
bibliography is arranged in such a way that
references can be retrieved from there
5 Glossary You must give the Chinese characters for any terms
that you use in hanyu pinyin. You may either
provide characters and translation in the text or
provide a glossary at the end of the dissertation.
6 Bibliography a. Arrange your list alphabetically b. Only include items you have actually used in your
essay or paper. It is not a reading list, but a reference tool for your reader.
There are scores of far more elaborate manuals and style sheets on the internet or in published
form. For instance, the “Guide to Referencing in the Harvard Style” written by library staff at Anglia
Ruskin University can be downloaded here: http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm. This
62
is the same style used in the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. Make sure you have one or more
such tools yourself, so you can consult them when in doubt. Acquiring good routines in matters of
style early on saves you much time later on. For Chinese language references we also refer to
citation practices as found in the Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies.
There are two main systems. You must pick one or the other. Don't mix them. Once you have
decided which to use you should follow the examples below exactly (down to the last comma).
1. The humanities, or footnote, style:
In this style, the details of a source you have used are provided in full in a numbered footnote at the
bottom of the page. In theory there is no need for a bibliography if you are using this style because
you have given all the publication details of the book in the note, but in practice a bibliography is
often included, and you should include one in your essays. This system is mostly used in humanities
subjects such as literature and history.
Bibliography
Books:
Name of author(s), initials, title of book (italicised), edition (only if not first edition). Place of
publication: name of publisher, year of publication.
Sansom, Sir G., Japan: A Short Cultural History. London: Cresset Library, 1987.
Articles in Academic Journals:
Name of author(s), initials. “Title of article.” (in inverted commas) name of journal (italicised),
volume number, month/season year of publication (in parentheses): pages of the article.
Nickerson, P. “The Meaning of Matrilocality: Kinship, Property and Politics in mid-Heian.”
Monumenta Nipponica 48:4 (Winter 1993): pp.429-467.
Chapters in books (where each chapter is in fact an article written by a different person):
Name of author(s) of the chapter, initials. “Title of chapter.” In Title of book, by Name of
author/editor. Place of publication: name of publisher, year of publication, info. re. Edition, pages of
the chapter. E.g.:
Shively, D. “Nishimura Shigeki: A Confucian View of Modernization”. In Changing Japanese Attitudes
Toward Modernization, edited by Marius B. Jansen. Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo: Tuttle, 1965,
pp.193-242.
Magazine or newspaper articles:
Name of author(s). “Title of the article.” Title of magazine or newspaper, date of publication, pages.
Gilley, Bruce. “Let 1,000 Casinos Wither.” Far Eastern Economic Review, October 18 2001, pp. 42-44.
Footnotes:
These can be either at the bottom of the page (footnotes) or at the end of the essay (endnotes).
63
Books
Footnote number. Name of author, Title (Place of publication: publisher, year of publication), p.
page number.
1. Sir G. Sansom, Japan: A Short Cultural History (London: Cresset Library, 1987), p. 8.
Articles in Academic Journals:
Footnote number. Name of author, “Title of article.” (in inverted commas) name of journal
(italicised), volume number, year of publication (in parentheses): pages of the article.
1. P. Nickerson, “The Meaning of Matrilocality: Kinship, Property and Politics in mid-Heian”
Monumenta Nipponica 48:4 (1993): pp.429-467.
If you then use the same source repeatedly you can abbreviate to:
Footnote number. Author's surname, Abbreviated Title, p. page number.
14. Sansom, Japan, p. 3.
2. The author-date, or MLA style:
In this style the basic information about your source (author, date, page no.) is inserted in
parentheses in the main text directly after the place where you have used that text; the full
bibliographical details are provided in the bibliography at the end of the article. This system is mostly
used in social sciences, linguistics, translation studies and the natural sciences.
Bibliography
Books:
Name of author(s), initials, (year of publication) title of book (italicised). Place of publication: name
of publisher, year of publication.
Sansom, Sir G., (1987) Japan: A Short Cultural History. London: Cresset Library.
Articles in Academic Journals:
Name of author(s), initials, (year of publication) “Title of article.” (in inverted commas) name of
journal (italicised), volume number, month/season year of publication: pages of the article.
Nickerson, P. (1993) “The Meaning of Matrilocality: Kinship, Property and Politics in mid-Heian.”
Monumenta Nipponica 48:4: pp.429-467.
Chapters in books (where each chapter is in fact an article written by a different person):
Name of author(s) of the chapter, initials (year of publication), “Title of chapter.” In Title of book, by
Name of author/editor. Place of publication: name of publisher: pages of the chapter.
64
Shively, D. (1965) “Nishimura Shigeki: A Confucian View of Modernization”. In Changing Japanese
Attitudes Toward Modernization, edited by Marius B. Jansen. Rutland, Vermont and Tokyo: Tuttle:
pp.193-242.
This is a really troublesome system to use if you have a lot of magazine or newspaper articles, so I
am not going to suggest that you do so.
References
These come in the text of your essay in the form:
author’s name, date of publication: page no(s). E.g.
Sansom argues x, y and z (Sansom 1987:123).
If you have two different sources whose authors have the same surname you should include their
initials.
For both systems:
1. Books in Chinese or Japanese:
If you are citing books written in Chinese or Japanese, the format is basically the same except for the
author and title:
Author(s) in romanisation (space then) names in Chinese or Japanese script. Title of book in
romanisation (space then) title in Chinese or Japanese script (translation of title, in parentheses, no
italics). The rest as for English – no need to provide original script. E.g.:
Qian, Mu 钱穆. Zhongguo jin sanbai nian xueshu shi 中国近三百年学术史 (A history of Chinese
scholarship over the last 300 years). Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1986.
2. Electronic sources
When citing electronic sources (any page from the WWW), you need to include the following
information, in the following order:
The author's name, last name first (if known); the full title of the work; the title of the complete
work (if applicable); any version or file numbers; and the date of the document or last revision (if
available). The URL, date of access in parentheses.
Benedict XVI. Letter to the Bishops, Priests, Consecrated Persons and the Lay Faithful in the People’s
Republic of China, 27 May 2007. Papal Encyclicals Online, www.papalencyclicals.net (accessed 10
March 2012).
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6.6 Academic honesty and plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as one’s own. Examples include:
direct duplication of the thoughts or work of another, including by copying material, ideas or
concepts from a book, article, report or other written document (whether published or
unpublished), composition, artwork, design, drawing, circuitry, computer program or software,
web site, Internet, other electronic resource, or another person’s assignment without appropriate
acknowledgement;
paraphrasing another person’s work with very minor changes keeping the meaning, form and/or
progression of ideas of the original, without acknowledgement.
piecing together sections of the work of others into a new whole, without acknowledgement.
presenting an assessment item as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part
in collusion with other people, for example, another student or a tutor, without
acknowledgement.
claiming credit for a proportion a work contributed to a group assessment item that is greater
than that actually contributed.
The University website is the main repository for resources for staff and students on plagiarism and
academic honesty: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/epsc/plagiarism/index.shtml
The University Educational Policy and Standards website:
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/epsc/plagiarism/electrores.shtml also provides substantial educational
written materials, workshops, and tutorials to aid students.
You are also reminded that careful time management is an important part of study and one of the
identified causes of plagiarism is poor time management.
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7. EXAMINATIONS The Examination Regulations
These lay down the formal rules for the structure and examination of the course. Copies are
available in college libraries. The full text is available online at
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/examregs/contents.shtml
The Examination Conventions
All the information about how your exams are organised, what the questions will be like and what
marks are given is in the exam conventions. They are available on the MPhil Modern Chinese
Studies page of the Oriental Studies website
(http://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ea/chinese/mph_modchst.html) This year’s conventions will be
available by the end of the Michaelmas Term.
Read the exam conventions carefully before you take the exam!
Exam Organisation
What follows is a summary of the most important facts which relate to the examinations process.
(Further information can be found in the Examination Regulations)
The proper conduct of all examinations in the University comes under the jurisdiction of the Proctors
(two senior academics appointed for a one-year term of office and who, during their time in post, are
relieved of all normal university activities). The Junior Proctor normally handles matters relating to
graduate students and it is to the Proctors that all applications for dispensation, complaints and
appeals must be made, with the advice and support of the student’s college.
Where deadlines are imposed, it is essential that they are strictly complied with. Penalties can be
imposed for non-observance. At their most severe, these can amount to students being deemed to
have failed part of their course.
Requests for extension of time to hand in papers due to illness or other matters of an urgent nature
must be made before a deadline has passed only through your College Tutor to the Office of the
Proctors. A fee may be charged.
Candidate numbers
In order to anonymise your work the university allocates you a ‘candidate number’. You will be
issued with this number before your exam, but you can also find it through the Student Self Service
Website http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/studentselfservice/. You must use this number on all
examinations and assessed work. Do not write your student number or the number of your library
barcode on your examinations.
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Submitting your work at the Examination Schools
Submission procedure:
(a) go to the reception desk in the Exam Schools' main hall, and obtain a receipt form (candidates
with any Specific Learning Difficulty, for example dyslexia, should also obtain a cover sheet)
(b) complete the receipt form (and any cover sheet) with details as specified
(c) hand the work (in its envelope) and the receipt form to Schools staff at the desk
(d) Schools staff will add date and time to the receipt form and sign it to confirm receipt
(e) Schools staff will give a copy of the receipt form to the student
The core opening hours of the Examination Schools building are 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday;
the reception desk is staffed throughout this period. Outside these hours work cannot be receipted,
since staff will not be present.
Submission deadlines are always set between these hours, so that the hand-in and receipt procedure
can be followed (most submission deadlines are set for 12 noon, but you must check).
Written examinations
Written examinations are usually held in the Examination Schools on High Street - a nineteenth
century building purpose-built for the holding of examinations.
Academic Dress
All members of the University are required to wear academic dress with subfusc clothing when
attending any university examination, i.e.:
Men: A dark suit and socks, black shoes, a white bow tie, and plain white shirt and collar.
Women: A dark skirt or trousers, a white blouse, black tie, black stockings and shoes, and
dark coat if desired.
Please refer to the Proctors’ and Assessor’s Memorandum for further information. You should receive
a copy of this from your college and it is also available on the web at:
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/proctors/
Bilingual dictionaries
Bilingual dictionaries are no longer allowed for non-native English speakers in University examinations,
with the exception of examinations where bilingual dictionaries are permitted as a resource for all
candidates regardless of their native tongue, and which are specified in Examination Regulations.
Pens
You may only use blue or black pens. The Examination Regulations state that work written in pencil
or using coloured pens will not be marked.
For formal regulations and information on course requirements, examinations, thesis submission,
supervision and other issues, students should consult the following in the University of Oxford,
Examination Regulations, 2012.
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/examregs/
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Graduation Ceremonies
The final examiners meeting usually takes place at the start of July. Students should be available in
Oxford up until this date in case there is some problem with their exam paper and they are required
to attend a viva. For more information on Graduation you can visit
http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/matriculation_graduation/.
Prizes
The following prizes are awarded for graduates. The prize money shown below is the total prize
money for the fund. The Faculty reserves the right to split the prize money should there be more
than one outstanding candidate for the prize.
Humphrey Ko Prize
£100
For best thesis for the M.Phil. Modern Chinese Studies.
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8 . ORGANISATION
8.1 Degree Administration Teaching Rooms
Most teaching takes place in the China Centre. Please refer to the timetable for details.
Website
Information on the MPhil in Modern Chinese Studies is on the Oriental Institute website:
http://www.orinst.ox.ac.uk/ea/chinese/mph_modchst.html
WebLearn
WebLearn is Oxford’s centralised Virtual Learning Environment. Here you will find the course
schedules, reading lists and notices for courses shared with the MSc in Modern Chinese Studies and
for Chinese language.
WebLearn Beta is part of a Single Single-on system provided by Computing Services – the username
and password are the same as for a number of other systems such as herald email. To set up your
WebLearn Beta account please go to https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal Select ‘Oxford Account’ at the
top right of the page and enter your Single Sign on username and password.
8.2 Student Administration
The student pages of the University website hold a wealth of information about Oxford – please see
http://www.ox.ac.uk/current_students/index.html
Here you will find information on arriving as a new student, registration, complaints and appeals,
study, skills and employment, equality, health and welfare, facilities and services and disciplinary
codes and procedures.
In addition, please see the information below:
Overseas Students
Advice for overseas students on a wide range of matters is available from the International Office
within the University Offices. Some useful University websites include -
International Student Guide
http://www.ox.ac.uk/international/international_support_services/index.html
Information about the International Student Office, the University and the city of Oxford. Also,
medical care, personal safety, bringing your family, employment and travel
International Office
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http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/io/index.shtml
Information about visa renewal and immigration procedures, student funding and the
international graduates’ scheme
Oxford University Student Union (OUSU)
www.ousu.org
Pages of special interest to Graduates
Welfare: http://www.ousu.org/welfare
International Students’ Campaign: http://www.ousu.org/news/international-students
Student Self Service
Student self service provides web access to important information that you will need throughout your
academic career. You are able to view and update your personal and academic information
throughout your studies at Oxford. This is where you check your examination entries, find out your
candidate number and ultimately view your results. See
http://www.ox.ac.uk/students/studentselfservice/.
Registration
An essential part of being a student of the University is the annual completion of registration. This is
the process by which we check that we have all the necessary information about you.
You will use Student Self Service to carry out your registration. In addition, Student Self Service
provides web access to important information that you will need throughout your academic career.
You need to be a 'registered' student in order to:
Attend your course (programme of study)
Release your loan from the UK Student Loans Company (SLC) or your sponsor/awarding
body (where appropriate)
Use your University email account
Obtain your University Card/keep your University Card valid
Be eligible to take University examinations
Gain access to other Student Self Service facilities
You must complete your registration by the end of the first week of term in order to confirm your
status as a member of the University. Ideally you should complete registration before you arrive.
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NOTE: the examination regulations relating to all Oriental Studies courses are available at
https://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/examregs/ . If there is a conflict between information in any of the faculty
handbooks and the exam regulations, you should always follow the exam regulations. If you have any concerns
please contact academic@administrator.ox.ac.uk. The information in this handbook is accurate as at 1st
October 2016, however it may be necessary for changes to be made in certain circumstances, as explained at
www.graduate.ox.ac.uk/coursechanges . If such changes are made the department will publish a new version
of this handbook together with a list of the changes. Students will also be informed.
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