China since 1949
China News Project Guidelines
The China news project grows out of a conviction that learning is an active (not a passive) process and that history helps us understand the present. This assignment asks you to follow recent news reports on China in mainstream North American media (newspapers, TV shows, and social media, such as The Globe and Mail, CBC, CNN, Fox News, Twitter, etc.), focus on a particular topic (see topic choices below), and use your knowledge gained from the course to develop both a critical perspective on the present and a new appreciation for the value of historical learning and analysis.
Your final paper on China news reading should address the following issues:
Content:
What have you learned about your topic from news reading? In what ways does this knowledge help you understand contemporary China?
Context:
Put your topic in historical context, in what ways do your findings on the topic resonate with or contradict historical events/themes covered by the course? How does that resonance or contradiction help you understand the history of China since 1949?
Critique:
Focus on one or two articles to analyze the kinds of images of China the author tries to portray. Has the author provided enough information for general North American readers to understand the current issue? If so, how so? If not, what’s the key information missing? Is the article misleading or confusing without such information?
Does the article re-enforce or trouble certain stereotypes of China? If re-enforcing stereotypes, what historical context could have complicated the simplistic understanding of China? If debunking stereotypes, how successful is the author?
Give your essay a title that captures your main argument. Pay particular attention to your first and last paragraphs. Make sure to include a statement of your argument and some indication of how you intend to discuss it in the thesis paragraph; the final paragraph should let the reader know what she or he should have learned. Refer to the writing guidelines on Blackboard for essay writing and grading criteria for this class.
Attach the news articles you analyze and critique to your paper. The paper itself should be about 1800 words.
Selected NEWS:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/shanghai-lockdown-mass-testing-covid-19-1.6399546
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60761107
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59610019
