Course Details
The Chinese Communist Party Turns 90
Dates will be avalible shortly
Personal Interest
Culture
Victoria University Community Continuing Education
Level 2, Rutherford House, 23 Lambton Quay, Wellington City
After Hours
6:00pm - 8:00pm
6:00pm - 8:00pm
$70.00
Early Bird Payment Fee 08/06/11 $63.00
Early Bird Payment Fee 08/06/11 $63.00
The Chinese Communist Party turns 90 this year. Will it still be in government when it celebrates its centenary? Analysts predict that an aged and decrepit Party will soon lose its political grip in a China that is booming economically and in which an emerging civil society is issuing challenges to the one-Party state.
This course explores the question of Party legitimacy today by examining its 90-year history. Founded in July 1921, the Communist Party built its power in the 1930s and 1940s by means of popular movements. We need, however, to interrogate the Party's relationship with the people. Was it ever really a "people's party"? Did Marxist ideology ever have popular appeal? Should the big mass mobilisations of the Maoist era be seen as evidence of popular support for the Party? And how connected with "the people" is the post-Mao Party?
Target Audience:
This course will appeal to anyone with a special interest in China or who wishes to learn more about China's political history.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, students will have:
* gained an appreciation of the way in which the Chinese Communist Party has changed through its 90-year history
* developed an understanding of the "populist" roots of the Party and the ways in which Maoist populism was used to strengthen the Party, not democracy
* assessed the nature of China's Party-government in 2011 and its capacity to manage the complex problems thrown up by the post-Mao revolution.
Course Outline:
Topics for this seminar series include the following.
* Session 1: The early years, from 1921 to 1949, when the Communists developed their techniques of mass mobilisation
* Session 2: The Maoist period, from 1949 to 1976, particularly the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution "mass movements"
* Session 3: The Reform Era, from 1978 to 2011, with a focus on the tension between "development" and "democracy"
Schedule:
Wednesday, 22 June 2011 6:00pm - 8:00pm Lecture
Wednesday, 29 June 2011 6:00pm - 8:00pm Lecture
Wednesday, 6 July 2011 6:00pm - 8:00pm Lecture
This course explores the question of Party legitimacy today by examining its 90-year history. Founded in July 1921, the Communist Party built its power in the 1930s and 1940s by means of popular movements. We need, however, to interrogate the Party's relationship with the people. Was it ever really a "people's party"? Did Marxist ideology ever have popular appeal? Should the big mass mobilisations of the Maoist era be seen as evidence of popular support for the Party? And how connected with "the people" is the post-Mao Party?
Target Audience:
This course will appeal to anyone with a special interest in China or who wishes to learn more about China's political history.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this course, students will have:
* gained an appreciation of the way in which the Chinese Communist Party has changed through its 90-year history
* developed an understanding of the "populist" roots of the Party and the ways in which Maoist populism was used to strengthen the Party, not democracy
* assessed the nature of China's Party-government in 2011 and its capacity to manage the complex problems thrown up by the post-Mao revolution.
Course Outline:
Topics for this seminar series include the following.
* Session 1: The early years, from 1921 to 1949, when the Communists developed their techniques of mass mobilisation
* Session 2: The Maoist period, from 1949 to 1976, particularly the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution "mass movements"
* Session 3: The Reform Era, from 1978 to 2011, with a focus on the tension between "development" and "democracy"
Schedule:
Wednesday, 22 June 2011 6:00pm - 8:00pm Lecture
Wednesday, 29 June 2011 6:00pm - 8:00pm Lecture
Wednesday, 6 July 2011 6:00pm - 8:00pm Lecture
Dr Pauline Keating is a Senior Lecturer in History at Victoria University of Wellington and has been teaching Chinese history for 20 years. Her research focuses on Chinese rural co-operatives in the 20th century and in "grassroots democracy" in China.