Asia in AP , IB , and Undergraduate Honors Courses
you have posted on social media ? What are the potential consequences to posting political commentary or criticism online ?
Osnos , Evan . “ The Han Dynasty .” The New Yorker . July 4 2011 . http :// tinyurl . com / hjbqv9s .
“ CNN : China ’ s Rebel Blogger Hanhan ½ .” YouTube video , 10:55 . Posted by “ Schwanegans .” June 2 , 2010 . http :// tinyurl . com / zwh8vy2 .
Women and Democracy in China
Left to right : Poster of a woman welder with the caption , “ We are proud of participating in the founding of our country ’ s industrialization .” Designer : Ning Hao 1954 . Source : The Iron Women and Foxy Ladies gallery at chinaposters . net .
Rosie the Riveter : “ We Can Do It !” poster for Westinghouse by J . Howard Miller . Source : Wikimedia Commons at http :// tinyurl . com / hzohyyf .
Qiu Jin , feminist revolutionary and martyr . Source : http :// tinyurl . com / jupp9c5 .
Five feminist advocators who were arrested in 2015 . Left to right : Li Tingting , Zheng Churan , Wei Tingting , Wang Man , and Wu Rongrung . Source : GirltalkHQ website at http :// tinyurl . com / m55p7a4 .
To give students an idea of how women ’ s rights have evolved in China , have them first read He-yin Zhen ’ s “ On the Question of Women ’ s Liberation ,” which provides background on patriarchy and the role of women in traditional China . 8 Then , point them toward a website on communist propaganda posters featuring analysis of the dual portrayal of China ’ s “ Iron Women , Foxy Ladies .” To what extent did the campaign liberate China ’ s female population to enjoy equal social , economic , and political agency , and to what extend did it merely serve the agenda of a male-dominated party state ?
Have students compare the Iron Girls of China to Rosie the Riveter of WWII America . How were these images used to change the view of women and their role in society ? What were the lasting consequences of these campaigns ? This can lead into a discussion of recent events , including the spring 2015 incarceration of five feminist advocators . How does this contradict propaganda and the Communist Party ’ s stated goals ? How are women ’ s rights and democracy intertwined ? This question is also prompted by the film The Story of Qiu Ju ( 1992 ), which portrays a woman in contemporary China facing a very unfair and apathetic authoritarian state , available online through Amazon and iTunes .
“ Iron Women , Foxy Ladies .” Chineseposters . net . Accessed March 7 , 2016 . http :// tinyurl . com / go92jx7 .
Chinese Democracies : Taiwan , Singapore , and Prospects for Hong Kong Taiwan , Singapore , and Hong Kong all purport to be Chinese democracies . What is the current state of democracy in each , according to Freedom House ? How do they compare to China , and what does this suggest about the argument in the Bangkok Declaration about the incompatibility of Western-style democracy and Chinese culture ?
Taiwan has been called a “ hyper-democracy ” due to its ( overly ?) active student movements . After watching the following video segments , see if you agree . Start with a video of the 1990 Wild Lily Student Movement , which succeeded in initiating the first popular election in Taiwan . How is this similar to the development of democracy in South Korea and elsewhere at the same time ? How does it compare to the Tiananmen protests , and why did it succeed in Taiwan but not China ?
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