Hist 466 Syllabus
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Syllabus
Spring 2017
History 466
U.S.-China Relations since 1800 John Israel and Tao Xie
3 Semester Credit Hours
Pre-requisites: None
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course seeks to convey an understanding of the interaction of two nations that occupy center
stage at the beginning of the 21st century. One is the world’s sole surviving super-power, the
other the world’s most populous state, now in the fourth decade of the longest sustained period of
rapid economic development of any contemporary nation. In spite of profound political and
cultural differences, as the world’s first and second largest economies, the two are interlinked
and interdependent.
In addition to exploring diplomatic, military, and economic relations between China and the
United States, we will take a close look at the more diffuse but equally important cultural, social,
academic, and psychological interactions between their people. Through the dynamic interplay of
Chinese-American team teaching and with first-hand onshore exposure to China and related
Asian cultures, students should emerge from this course better able to understand the common
interests and complexities that characterize Sino-US relations in an age of globalization.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Following a comparative analysis of sharply contrasting historical and cultural
configuration of the two countries, we will take a bird’s eye look at the Sino-American tableau
from 1784, when the first American ship dropped anchor off Guangzhou, to the Second World
War, which set the stage for a closer – and more complicated – relationship. After Pearl Harbor,
as the American presence in China assumes a more critical role, our historical analysis will
become more detailed.
This course will seek to illuminate multifold dimensions of the current era in Sino-US
relations. The seminal event was the Nixon-Zhou Enlai communiqué of 1972 that broke the Cold
War impasse and ushered in the era of intense engagement that continues to the present. Finally,
we will address current challenges to the Sino-American relationship, including strategic
tensions in the Western Pacific and South China Sea; economic interdependence and
competition; human rights; cyber-security; ideological and cultural differences; and the impact of
domestic politics on both sides.
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GRADING
The following Grading Scale is utilized for student evaluation. Pass/Fail is not an option for
Semester at Sea coursework. Note that C-, D+ and D- grades are also not assigned on
Semester at Sea in accordance with the grading system at Colorado State University (the SAS
partner institution).
Pluses and minuses are awarded as follows on a 100% scale:
Excellent Good Satisfactory/Poor Failing
97-100%: A+
93-97%: A
90-93%: A-
87-90%: B+
83-87%: B
80-83%: B-
77-80%: C+
70-77%: C
60-70%: D
Less than 60%: F
U.S.-China Relations course grades will be calculated according to grades in quizzes, (20%),
Field Class essay (20%), Independent Field Assignment (20%), and final examination (40%).
Grades may be adjusted upward or downward reflecting the frequency and quality of
participation in classroom discussions
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS
AUTHOR: Michael Schaller
TITLE: The United States and China
PUBLISHER: Oxford
ISBN #:978-0-19-20006-0 (pbk)
DATE/EDITION: 2015. 4th edition
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TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE
Depart Ensenada—January 5
A1—January 7:
Introduction
Reading: Michael Schaller, xii-xiii
Film: PBS: China: A Century of Revolution –Battle for Survival –1911-1936
A2— January 9:
Americans in China: 1784-1937
Reading: Schaller, 1-14, 18-23, 25-43
A3— January 11:
Images and Stereotypes
Reading: R. David Arkush and Leo O. Lee, eds., Land without Ghosts “Afterward" 299-303;
Liang Qichao, 81-83, 89-95; “Gongwang, 145-150; “Jiejun” 227-233
Film: Misunderstanding China, part 1
Honolulu—January 12
A4—January 14:
Chinese in the US:I
Reading: Schaller, 14-18
Film: Becoming American: The Chinese Experience 1,2
A5—January 17:
Chinese in the US:II
Reading: Carolyn Chen, “Asians: Too Smart for their Own Good”
Film: Becoming American: The Chinese Experience 3
A6—January 20:
Same Bed, Different Dreams: Uneasy Allies in the Second World War
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Reading, Schaller, pp. 45-75
Film: PBS: China: A Century of Revolution –Fighting for the Future –1936-1949
A7—January 22:
The Japan Connection
Reading: Marcus Jacques, When China Rules the World, 46-69, 306-313; Susan L. Shirk, China: Fragile
Superpower, How China’s Internal Politics Could Derail Its Peaceful Rise, Chapter 6, 140-180.
Yokohama – January 24-25
January 25: Field Class: A Day with the Anamis
Some 50 years ago, Ginny Stibbs, a New Orleans debutante studying at Scripps College
in Claremont, California, enrolled in a modern Chinese history course taught by John
Israel, a fledgling assistant professor at neighboring Claremont Men’s College. After
graduation, Ginny went to Taiwan for advanced Chinese language training. There she
met Koreshige Anami, a young Japanese foreign service officer. Ginny married Anami
and became a citizen of Japan, with Japanese name (Fumiyo), Japanese mother-in-law,
and, eventually, Japanese language fluency.
Fast forward to the early 1990s. Professor Israel, now at the University of Virginia,
receives a call from Ginny Anami. She and her husband, Japan’s Consulate-General in
Atlanta, would like to invite Professor Israel and his wife to join them for dinner during
an official visit to Charlottesville. Forward ahead another decade: Would Professor and
Mrs. Israel care to join Ambassador and Mrs. Anami for dinner at the Japanese Embassy
in Beijing?
The Anamis, now officially retired remain stalwarts of Sino-Japanese intercultural
relations and friendship activities. Ginny, a prominent scholar, author, and
photographer, frequently travels to China to trace the origins of Japanese Buddhism or
pursue her interest in Liao Dynasty history. Koreshige Anami is an iconic figure in the
diplomatic community. The Anami home is a microcosm of a tri-national, tri-lingual,
tri-cultural world.
In 2010 and, again, in 2013, the faculty and students of Semester at Sea’s Chinese-
American Relations course have enjoyed the generous hospitality of the Anamis in their
Tokyo suburban home. Photographs on the wall document 40 years of Chinese-
Japanese-American relations, a story brought to life in conversation. The Anamis have
once again opened their doors for the spring 2017 voyage. A day with the Anamis
promises to be a memorable experience.
“Reflections on a Day with the Anamis” –Following the field lab, students will submit via
email a 400-800-word essay, “Reflections on a Day with the Anamis”, which will count for
20% of the course grade. The essay will be graded upon its originality and thoughtfulness.
The essay must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. January 30.
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Transit – January 26
Kobe – January 27-28
A8—January 29:
Discussion: Preparing for China
Reading: Cowboys and Dragons, chs. 1-3 (pp. 5-35)
Quiz 1
Shanghai – January 31 – February 1
Transit – Feburary 2 – 3
Hong Kong – February 4-5
A9—February 6:
Vietnam, China, and the US: Friends and Enemies Near and Far
Reading: “The Indochina Tragedy” in James C.Thomson, Jr., & others, Sentimental
Imperialists, 253-267; John Ernst, “Tutoring Democracy” in Philip West & others, America’s Wars
in Asia,pp. 233-241. Simon Denver, “China’s assertiveness pushes Vietnam toward an old foe, the
United States” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-assertiveness-pushes-vietnam-
toward-an-old-foe-the-united-states/2015/12/28/15392522-97aa-11e5-b499-
76cbec161973_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines
Film: Cold War, episode11: Vietnam
Film (recommended): Hearts and Minds
Ho Chi Minh City – February 8-12
A10—February 13:
Rude Awakening: Civil War, Liberation
Reading: Schaller, 77-102
Films: Misunderstanding China, part 2;
A11— February 15:
Cold War Struggles: Korea and Southeast Asia
Schaller, 104-120
Film: Cold War, episode 5: Korea
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A12— February 17:
Burma: Domestic Struggles and Big Power Politics
Doug Bandow, “Playing the Great Game between U.S. and China in Burma” China-US
Focus December 1, 2015”; http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/playing-great-game-between-us-china-burma Jane Perletz, “With Aung San Suu Kyi’s Rise, China and
Myanmar Face New Relationship” http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/13/world/asia/aung-san-
suu-kyis-china-and-myanmar-relations.html?_r=0
Rangoon – February 17-22
A13— February 24:
Images & Realities 1953-1960
Readings: Schaller, 122-135; Theodore E.H.Chen, Thought Reform of the Chnese
Intellectuals, 24-29, 56-58, 62-65. Land without Ghosts: “Cold War
Denunciation”, 243-257; E.J. Kahn, The China Hands, ch. 1 (“How Do You Say That
in Chinese?”), pp. 1-27
Films: China: A Century of Revolution –The Mao Years –1949-1960
Cold War, episode 6: Reds, first 25 minutes.
A14—February 26:
India: Competing Model or Secondary Sideshow?
Amartya Sen, “Why India Trails China”, New York Times, June 19, 2013,
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/opinion/why-india-trails-china.html?_r=1
The Opinion Pages ; Arvind Virmani, “Tracking Two Growth Stories, The Hindu, April 29,
2015, http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/india-and-china-tracking-two-growth-
stories/article7151377.ece; Keith Bradsher, “A Chinese Company in India”, New York Times,
December 30, 2015 http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/31/business/international/a-chinese-
company-in-india-stumbling-over-a-
culture.html?emc=edit_ae_20151230&nl=todaysheadlines-asia&nlid=47353583
Cochin – February 27 – March 4
A15— March 6:
Kennedy & Johnson’s America & Mao’s China: Politics and Ideology in the 1960s
Reading: Schaller, 137-147
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Quiz 2
A16—March 8:
Nixon in China
Reading: Schaller 149-169
Film, Nixon’s China Game
No Class – March 10
A17—March 11:
Getting to Know You: Official and Unofficial Interactions from Nixon/Mao to Reagan/Deng
Reading: Schaller, 170-183
(Chinese impressions of the US): Land without Ghosts: Fei Xiaotong, 271-279; Liu
Binyan, 287-291; Li Shaomin, 295-298
(US impressions of China): J. Israel, Yunnan Journal (1980), excerpts, pp. 1-15
Film: China: A Century of Revolution –Born Under the Red Flag—Surviving Mao
A18—March 13:
The Shadow of Tiananmen
Reading: Schaller, 183-204
Film: Koppel, Nightline: Tragedy at Tiananmen
Film: China: A Century of Revolution –Born Under the Red Flag—The Next Generation
A19—March 15:
The US, China, and Africa
Reading: Howard W. French, “The Next Empire, The Atlantic, May 2010
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/05/the-next-empire/308018/; Conor Gaffey, “China in
Africa”, Newsweek, December 3, 2015 http://www.newsweek.com/china-africa-five-things-president-xi-
looking-400617 ; Deborah Brautigam, The Dragon’s Gift, chapter 11: “Rogue Donor? Myths and
Realities, pp. 273-306.
Cape Town—March 16-21
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A20—March 23:
Sino-US Relations in the 21stst Century: Legacies of the Past
Reading: Chinese Images of the United States: Wang Jiasi, “From Paper Tiger to Real Leviathan”,
9-22; Feng Changhong, “How to View U.S. Strategic Thinking”, 33-42; Michael Pillsbury, The
Hundred-Year Marathon, pp. 99-114; Richard Bernstein and Ross H. Munro, The
Coming Conflict with China,”Introduction” (3-21), “Conclusion: Coping with China”
(203-222); Greg Jaffe, “U.S. model for a future war fans tensions with China”, Washington Post,
August 1, 2012, all. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-model-for-a-
future-war-fans-tensions-with-china-and-inside-pentagon/2012/08/01/gJQAC6F8PX_story.html
No Class – March 25
A21—March 26:
Sino-US Relations in the 21st Century: Challenges of the Present
Reading: Schaller, 205-218
Tema – March 28-30
Takoradi – March 31-April 1
A22—April 2:
Sino-US Relations in the 21stCentury: Prospects for the Future
Reading: Chinese Images of the United States: “Foreword”, vii-x, “Preface”, xi-xvi; Terrill
E. Lautz, “The Mirror and the Wall”, 127-132; Anne E. Thurston, “Political
Democracy in the American Political Imagination”, in China in the American
Political Imagination, pp. 93-101. Jessica Meyers, “An American-Politics Junkie in China,” The Atlantic, January 13, 2016 http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/01/china-united-states-election-2016/423924/
A23—April 4:
When China Rules the World?
Reading: Martin Jacques, When China Rules the World, pp. 363-413. Daniel Lynch, “The End of China’s
Rise”, Foreign Affairs, January 11, 2016, https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/china/2016-01-
11/end-chinas-rise
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A24—April 7:
The US, China, and the Islamic World
Reading: Lilian Greg Harris, “Xinjiang, Central Asia and the Implications for China’s Policy in the Islamic
World,” China Quarterly, March, 1993, No.133, pp.111-29; Joshua Kurlautzick, “China Lacks Focus in the
Arab World,” The National. April 1,2011; ;Bill Callen “China Just Made these Huge Moves to Ban Islam”,
Top Right News, August 6, 2015 http://toprightnews.com/china-just-made-these-huge-moves-to-ban-islam/
Casablanca – April 9-April 13
Study Day – April 14
A25– April 15: Final Examination
Arrive Southampton—April 19
FIELD CLASS AND ASSIGNMENT:
See: January 25: “A Day with the Anamis”
INDEPENDENT FIELD ASSIGNMENT:
Before disembarking in each port of call, students should think about topics to explore
on relations with the United States and China in that locality. In Myanmar, for example, you
might want to look into interactions with China and the United States during the transition
from military dictatorship to democracy. In China and India, you might want to juxtapose
impressions of these nations as models of development in 21st century Asia. In Africa, you
might solicit views on the United States and China as sources of aid and partners in trade.
Wherever you go, you should be on the lookout for Americans and Chinese living and working
there, keeping an open ear for their impressions of the host country and the locals’
impressions of them. Information and impressions you have gathered – supplemented by
photos if you wish – should be distilled into an essay of approximately 1000 words, to be
submitted electronically, no later than 5 p.m. April 7.
RESERVE BOOKS AND FILMS FOR THE LIBRARY
AUTHOR: David Arkush & Leo O. Lee
TITLE: Land without Ghosts
PUBLISHER: U. of California Press
ISBN #: 0-520-08424-1
DATE/EDITION: 1989, first edition
AUTHOR: Carola McGifford
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TITLE: Chinese Images of the United States
PUBLISHER: Center for Strategic & International Studies
ISBN #: 13 9780892064656
DATE/EDITION: 2005, first
AUTHOR: Charles Lee
TITLE: Cowboys and Dragons
PUBLISHER: Kaplan
ISBN #: 13 9781607146742
DATE/EDITION: 2003/first
AUTHOR: Richard Bernstein & Ross H. Munro
TITLE: The Coming Conflict with China
PUBLISHER: Vintage Books
ISBN #: 0679776621, 9780679776628, 978-0679776628
DATE/EDITION: 1998
AUTHOR: Martin Jacques
TITLE: When China Rules the World
PUBLISHER: Penguin
ISBN #: 978-1-59420-185-1
DATE/EDITION: 2009/first
Films
DVD - Misunderstanding China
DVD - Becoming American: The Chinese Experience
DVD - Why Vietnam
DVD - Cold War: The Complete Series
DVD - Hearts and Minds
DVD - Nixon's China Game
DVD - Nightline: Tragedy at Tiananmen
"Silent Contest" http://chinascope.org/main/content/view/6168/92/ (personal copy)
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ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS
AUTHOR: Theodore E.H. Chen
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE:
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE:Thought Reform of the Chinese Intellectuals
VOLUME:
DATE:1960
PAGES:24-29, 56-58, 62-65
AUTHOR:E. H. Kahn
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE:”How Do You Say That in Chinese?”
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: The China Hands
VOLUME:
DATE:1976
PAGES:1-27
AUTHOR: John Israel : NB: Personal manuscript of course instructor. Send email for faxing
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE:
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: John Israel’s Yunnan Journal
VOLUME:
DATE:
PAGES:unpaginated
AUTHOR: John Garver
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE “The [former] Coming War with America”:
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE:Journal of Contemporary China
VOLUME: 12, no. 36
DATE: August 2003
PAGES:575-585
AUTHOR: Anne E. Thurston
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: “Political Democracy in the American Political Imagination
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: China in the American Political Imagination
VOLUME:
DATE:
PAGES:93-101
AUTHOR: Kenneth B. Pyle
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: “Japan and the Rise of China”
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Japan Rising
VOLUME:
DATE:2007
PAGES:310-339
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AUTHOR:James C. Thomson, Jr., and others
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE:”The Indochina Tragedy”
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Sentimental Imperialists
VOLUME:
DATE:1981
PAGES:253-267
AUTHOR:Philip West & Others
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: John Ernst, “Tutoring Democracy”
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE:
VOLUME:
DATE:1998
PAGES:233-241
AUTHOR: Martin Jacques
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Ch. 11, “When China Rules the World”
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: When China Rules the World
VOLUME:
DATE: 2009
PAGES: 363-413
AUTHOR Carlyl A. Thayer
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: The United States, China, and Southeast Asia
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE Southeast Asian Affairs:
VOLUME: 2011
DATE: 2011
PAGES: 16-25
AUTHOR: Joshua Kurlantzick
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: China’s Charm Offensive in Southeast Asia
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Current History
VOLUME:2006
DATE: September 2006
PAGES: 270-276
AUTHOR: Lisa Curtis
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: U.S.-India Relations: The China Factor:
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE Backgrounder:
VOLUME: No.2209
DATE:November 25, 2008
PAGES: all
AUTHOR: Paul Kapur & Sumit Ganguly
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: The Transformation of US-India Relations
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Asian Survey
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VOLUME: 2007
DATE: 47:4
PAGES: 642-656
AUTHOR: Xu, Yi-chong
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE:China and the United States in Africa
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: Australian Journal of International Relations
VOLUME: 62:1
DATE:2008
PAGES:16-37
AUTHOR: Bates Gill, Chin-hao Huang, and J. Stephen Morrison
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Assessing China’s Growing Influence in Africa
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: China Security
VOLUME: 2007
DATE: 3:3
PAGES: 3-21
AUTHOR: Anne Hagood and Marc Ginsberg
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE: Disconnected Narratives between the United States and Global
Muslim Communities
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE:2011 U.S.-Islamic World Forum Papers, The Saban Center at the
Brookings Institution
VOLUME: 2011
DATE: August 2011
PAGES: entire article
AUTHOR:Lilian Greg Harris
ARTICLE/CHAPTER TITLE:Xinjiang, Central Asia and the Implications for China’s Policy in
the Islamic World
JOURNAL/BOOK TITLE: The China Quarterly
VOLUME:1993, no. 133
DATE:March 1993
PAGES: 111-129
Simon Denver, “China’s assertiveness pushes Vietnam toward an old foe, the United States”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-assertiveness-pushes-vietnam-toward-an-old-
foe-the-united-states/2015/12/28/15392522-97aa-11e5-b499-
76cbec161973_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines
Doug Bandow, “Playing the Great Game between U.S. and China in Burma” China-US
Focus December 1, 2015”; http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/playing-great-game-between-us-china-burma Jane Perletz, “With Aung San Suu Kyi’s Rise, China and Myanmar Face New Relationship”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/13/world/asia/aung-san-suu-kyis-china-and-myanmar-
relations.html?_r=0
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Amartya Sen, “Why India Trails China”, New York Times, June 19, 2013,
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/20/opinion/why-india-trails-china.html?_r=1The Opinion Pages
Arvind Virmani, “Tracking Two Growth Stories, The Hindu, April 29, 2015,
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/india-and-china-tracking-two-growth-
stories/article7151377.ece
Keith Bradsher, “A Chinese Company in India”, New York Times, December 30, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/31/business/international/a-chinese-company-in-india-
stumbling-over-a-culture.html?emc=edit_ae_20151230&nl=todaysheadlines-asia&nlid=47353583
Howard W. French, “The Next Empire, The Atlantic, May 2010
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/05/the-next-empire/308018/
Conor Gaffey, “China in Africa”, Newsweek, December 3, 2015 http://www.newsweek.com/china-africa-
five-things-president-xi-looking-400617
;Bill Callen “China Just Made these Huge Moves to Ban Islam”, Top Right News, August 6, 2015
http://toprightnews.com/china-just-made-these-huge-moves-to-ban-islam/
); Greg Jaffe, “U.S. model for a future war fans tensions with China”, Washington Post, August 1,
2012, all. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-model-for-a-future-war-fans-
tensions-with-china-and-inside-pentagon/2012/08/01/gJQAC6F8PX_story.html
. Jessica Meyers, “An American-Politics Junkie in China,” The Atlantic, January 13, 2016 http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/01/china-united-states-election-
2016/423924/
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