Course and Examination Fact Sheet: Spring Semester 2016
4,743: Chinese Leaders, Elites, Masses and Citizens
ECTS credits: 4
Overview examination/s
(binding regulations see below)
Decentral ‑ examination paper written at home (individual) (100%)
Attached courses
Timetable ‑‑ Language ‑‑ Lecturer
4,743,1.00 Chinese Leaders, Elites, Masses and Citizens ‑‑ English ‑‑ Strafella Giorgio Course information
Course prerequisites
None
Course content
How do the political, intellectual and business elites of China view themselves and the rest of Chinese society? What are the
cultural and ideological foundations of elite/mass relations in contemporary Chinese society? How do traditional models of
conduct and leadership influence today’s elites and citizenry? How has China’s socio‑economic transformation in the 20th and
21st centuries challenged and subverted such relations? How has the popularisation of the Internet, cultural diversification and
consumerism challenged the Confucian and Maoist legacies?
This course will investigate these questions by examining the evolution of China’s political, intellectual and economic elites
through crucial historical phases, such as the fall of the empire, the establishment of the People’s Republic, the Cultural
Revolution and the economic reforms. It will focus on political, intellectual and literary discourse.
The course aims to enhance the students’ understanding of critical approaches to the subject and their awareness of the rapid
cultural, economic and social transformation of modern China. The course will practise and develop studentsʹ intellectual and
transferable skills, including teamwork.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, students will have become familiar with the history and development of China’s political, cultural and
economic elite in relation to the wider cultural, political, social and economic contexts. Students will be able to demonstrate a
detailed understanding of cultural transformations and key events in relation to Chinese economic and political history, and to
critically evaluate and employ relevant sources.
Course structure
The course is held in one four‑hour session weekly. Contextual Studies are considered part of Contact Learning; thus, taking part
properly implies regular attendance. It is the studentsʹ own responsibility to ensure that there is no timetable clash between the
courses they have chosen.
The course is structured into the following parts:
Introductory session: aims, structure, readings and evaluation;
Ten sessions, each including: a lecture, a student presentation, workshop activities and discussion. Students will find the
detailed list of topics on StudyNet by the start of the course;
Conclusion, revision, Q&A and wrap‑up session.
Fact sheet version: 3.0 as of 01/26/2016, valid for Spring Semester 2016
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Contextual Studies are considered part of Contact Learning; thus, taking part properly implies regular attendance. It is the
studentsʹ own responsibility to ensure that there is no timetable clash between the courses they have chosen.
Course literature
Online Reader on Studynet, including but not limited to extracts from the following:
Barmé, Geremie R. 1999. In the Red. On Contemporary Chinese Culture. New York: Columbia University Press.
Bo, Zhiyue. 2007. China’s Elite Politics: Political Transition and Power Balancing. Singapore: World Scientific.
Brady, Anne‑Marie. 2008. Marketing Dictatorship. Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China. Lanham: Rowman &
Littlefield.
Dickson, Bruce J. 2003. Red Capitalists in China: The Party, Private Entrepreneurs, and Prospects for Political Change. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Fewsmith, Joseph. 2008. China since Tiananmen. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Goldman, Merle. 2005. From Comrade to Citizen. The Struggle for Political Rights in China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Wasserstrom, Jeffrey N. and Elizabeth J. Perry, eds. 1994. Popular Protest and Political Culture in Modern China. Boulder:
Westview
Additional course information
For any queries, please contact Dr Giorgio Strafella.
Examination information
Examination sub part/s
1. Examination sub part (1/1)
Examination time and form
Decentral ‑ examination paper written at home (individual) (100%)
Remark
100% Portfolio
Examination­aid rule
Term papers
Term papers must be written without anyone elseʹs help and in accordance with the known quotation standards, and
they must contain a declaration of authorship.
The documentation of sources (quotations, bibliography) has to be done throughout and consistently in accordance with
the APA or MLA standards. The indications of the sources of information taken over verbatim or in paraphrase
(quotations) must be integrated into the text in accordance with the precepts of the applicable quotation standard, while
informative and bibliographical notes must be added as footnotes (recommendations and standards can be found, for
example, in METZGER, C. (2013), Lern‑ und Arbeitsstrategien (11th ed., 3rd printing). Aarau: Sauerländer).
For any work written at the HSG, the indication of the page numbers both according to the MLA and the APA standard is
never optional.
Where there are no page numbers in sources, precise references must be provided in a different way: titles of chapters or
sections, section numbers, acts, scenes, verses, etc.
For papers in law, the legal standard is recommended (by way of example, cf. FORSTMOSER, P., OGOREK R. et
SCHINDLER B. (2014, Juristisches Arbeiten: Eine Anleitung für Studierende (5. Auflage), Zürich: Schulthess, or the
recommendations of the Law School).
Fact sheet version: 3.0 as of 01/26/2016, valid for Spring Semester 2016
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Supplementary aids
——
Examination languages
Question language: English
Answer language: English
Examination content
The portfolio (100%) will include:
(1) Written evidence of individual contributions (weighted 50% in total) to three group tasks in the form of:
(1.a) a print‑out of the contributions to the online discussion forum (weighted 10%)
(1.b) a print‑out of two PowerPoint presentations on two selected topics (weighted 25% for the one presentation
presented in class and 15% for the presentation not presented in class)
(2) one individual essay (2,000 words; weighted 50%);
(3) self‑reflection on the course and your learning experience (marked for inclusion; contents not marked, but a deduction of 0.2
points from the overall mark will apply if it is missing).
Examination relevant literature
An online reader with key readings and further reading materials will be available on StudyNet 2.0 at the latest by the end of
teaching week 1. Students will be required to read one article‑length text (academic article or book chapter) for each of the ten
lecture‑sessions.
Please note
We would like to point out to you that this fact sheet has absolute priority over other information such as StudyNet,
faculty members’ personal databases, information provided in lectures, etc.
When will the fact sheets become binding?
Information about courses and examination time (central/decentral and grading form): from the start of the bidding
process on 28 January 2016
Information about decentral examinations (examination‑aid rule, examination content, examination relevant
literature): after the 4th semester week on 21 March 2016
Information about central examinations (examination‑aid rule, examination content, examination relevant
literature): from the start of the enrolment period for the examinations on 11 April 2016
Please look at the fact sheet once more after these deadlines have expired.
Fact sheet version: 3.0 as of 01/26/2016, valid for Spring Semester 2016
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