Topic 6 Reading Guide

Topic Six Reading Guide

Edicts of the Guangxu Emperor
1) What aspect of reform is the Guangxu Emperor most concerned with? Why do you think this is so?
2) Why does the emperor also state that “Keeping in mind the morals of the sages and wise men, we must make them the basis on which to build newer and better structures.”? How does this have to do with the idea of looking both “Forward” and “Backward”?

Sun Yat-sen

1) Why does Sun say that the task of the revolution has yet to be completed?
2) Why does Sun try and locate revolutionary antecedents in both European and Chinese history?
3) Why does Sun choose democracy? How does he think China can improve upon the democratic model?
4) Why is Sun concerned about uneven economic development?
5) What are the stages of government Sun foresees for China?

Port Arthur
What inspired the Japanese soldiers to risk their lives like this?

Teddy Roosevelt
1) What are the potential difficulties that could harm relationships between the United States and the Japan?
2) How does TR (Teddy Roosevelt) characterize the Japanese?
3) Why is race such an important issue? How does it relate to economics?

Supplemental Reading
Textbook: 319-343, 367-385

Extension for Assignment 2

omHello everyone! I have returned safely from Japan. My conference went well. Unfortunately I have a cold and am a bit jet lagged, but all things considered, am doing well.

Upon my return I found out that other TAs had decided to extend the deadline of the paper to Tuesday, April 10th. As several students who I have been working closely with (and who have been working hard) on this paper are having some difficulties and because I will be participating in religious services during Holy Week (and will therefore not have the opportunity to look at papers) I have decided to also offer this extension.

Therefore, the new deadline is Tuesday, April 10th at 3:30 pm in the Asian Studies Office (Located in the Asian Centre). I will be in my office Wednesday, April 4th from 9am to 2:00 pm.

Topic 5 Reading Guide

Topic 5 Reading Guide

Course Notes Introduction
1) What is Social Darwinism?
2) How does Kidd legitimize imperialism?

Headhunters of Borneo
1) How does the author describe the village?
2) How does his description contrast with the practice of headhunting?
3) How does Aban Avit defend the practice of headhunting?

Letter of King Chulalongkorn
1) What kind of person does the King seem to be?
2) Why do you think he is so careful about details?

The Real Malay
1) What does Sir Frank say we must do in order to understand Malays?
2) How does Sir Frank describe Malay men? How does this compare to his descriptions of Malay women?

Supplemental Reading
314-317
357-364

Assignment 2: More

Here are some other things that should be considered in regards to assignment 2:
1) On page 3 of the assignment number 6 it says “The presence, quality, appropriateness and use of outside sources will be evaluated.” To get a high score in this category you will want to use print sources (as in books or journals—online journals count as print journals and should be cited as such). If you only use internet sources, especially if they are of low quality, you will get a low score in this area.
2) The guidelines I handed out for the first paper still apply. Please also add Professor Harlow’s name and the course title (A101).
3) If you have trouble finding sources browsing the stacks (especially the reserve section) in the library or searching online journals can be a great help. If you find one useful source you can check that source’s bibliography which should lead you to more.
4) Here is a link to e-journals: http://toby.library.ubc.ca/ejournals/publisherlist.cfm
5) Here is a link to encyclopedias and dictionaries which you can use (since wikipedia is not allowed for our course): http://www.library.ubc.ca/chapmanlearningcommons/reference.html
6) If you have any urgent questions while I am in Japan please email Marie O’Conner (one of the other TAs) and cc your email to me. You can find her email address on the syllabus (which is online if you have misplaced yours).

Classes on April 9th

Monday April 9th is a holiday and so there will be no class. Unfortunately, two of my sections meet on this day.

Here is my plan for dealing with this. Instead of holding a make-up session I would invite students from my Monday sections who want to attend discussion to come to my discussion class on Tuesday (1-2pm Buchanan B325). I would also type up the discussion notes (basically I would type out my presentation) and post them on the blog for people who aren't able to make discussion. This would give you all the information you need.

I think this might be the best approach as people are most likely going to be rather busy and it would be hard to find a time for a makeup class when many people could attend. However, if there are people who really want a make up class just email me, and if enough people email me, I will try and arrange a makeup (probably from 10-10:50 on Tuesday April 10th).

Mistakes in Discussion

I made two mistakes in discussion section that I need to address:

1) Assignment 2 is due Thursday, April 5th by 3:30 pm in the Asian studies center.
2) I will be in my office to look at papers on Wednesday April 4th from 9am to 2pm.

I also make a mistake in talking about Tibet. I had said that the Qing intervened in Tibet because of a civil war. In fact, Mongolia was also involved. It's a rather complicated situation. Basically, for our class, all you need to know is that there was a power dispute in Tibet that led to Qing intervention. The Qing emperor was recognized as a sort of overlord of Tibet but was not considered a part of China at the time by the Tibetans or the Qing. This is an example of Qing expansion into the West.

Assignment 2 Common Mistakes

15 students have taken advantage of the bonus opportunity thus far and so I've had the chance to get an idea of some of the common problems people are having with assignment 2. Here are some suggestions:

1) Make sure that you have picked a topic from page 2 of the assignment sheet.

2) Make sure that your comparison is from another region of Asia. If you pick a topic under East Asia on page 2 of the assignment sheet than you need to do something from Southeast Asia or South Asia for your comparison.

3) When you make your comparison, make sure that you are comparing similar things. For example, you don't want to focus on a person for the first part of your essay and then on an event for the second part of your essay. Make sure you compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges.

Good luck!

nihonni ikimasu (Going to Japan)

I will be leaving for Japan for a conference this Friday and will not return until March 29th. I will most likely be unable to answer email at that time. There will still be discussion sections. Wai Lam Cheung (one of the other TAs) will be teaching my Monday sections (March 26th) for me and Sinae Park (who was a TA with us last semester) will be teaching my class on Tuesday (March 27th). Since they have not taught my classes before they might be a little late from difficulties finding the room, so if they aren't right on time, please wait. If you have any questions about your papers, please direct them to me before I go.

Sarojini Naidu Reading Guide

Sarojini Naidu
1) What movement was she connected to?
2) What does she think India needs in order to achieve her nationalist goals?
3) Why does Sarojini not trust the British?
4) How does Sarojini link the Indian nation, freedom, and a woman’s behavior?

Paper Due Dates

Assignment 2 will be due by 3:30 pm, Thursday, April 5th in the Asian Studies Office. Friday is a holiday.

I will be in my office on April 4th from 9am to 2pm to look at papers. I saw about ten people last time. I hope to see more this time!

Laptops

I was very happy with how this week's discussion sections went in regards to the use of laptops in class. Thanks!

Opportunity for Bonus Points on Assignment 2

Well, not really a bonus point, but half a bonus point:)

One of the other TAs had a really good idea which I am copying. This assignment is a little difficult in terms of picking a topic and I'm worried that people might have difficulties with it. So, if you send me your topic by 8 pm Wednesday, March 21st, you will receive an extra half point on assignment two. After receiving your topic I will check it and see if it looks like it will work. If it doesn't, I will email you back and make suggestions on any necessary changes I think you should make.

Here is the format you should use (if you don't use this format you might not get the .5 point)

1)Topic (the one you will be using from page 2)
2) Specific Topic (for example, if you chose Mughal Emperors as your topic your specific topic could be Akbar)
3) Purpose (what you are trying to accomplish. Your point. You are trying to make an arguement, so for example, here you could say, "Akbar's liberal policies towards religion helped keep peace in India". Remember, when writing your paper you would want to identify what these policies were and provide evidence showing that they did indeed help keep the peace.
4) Comparitive Example (the topic you would compare this with, for example, if you did Akbar you could compare him to the Kangxi emperor).

I hope many of you will take advantage of this opportunity. Good luck on your papers!

4A Reading Guide

Topic 4 Reading Guide

Themes
1) How did the British legitimize their rule in India?
2) What forms of resistance did the Indians use against the British? What were the different beliefs behind them?
3) What were the divisions in Indian society that hampered independence movements?
4) How did the British react to Indian resistance?

Webct Readings
Outbreak of Mutiny
1) What role did the servants play?
2) Why would the story of the servants be appealing to the English? What does it say about English rule?
3) In the last paragraph, how do the English react to their suffering? How would this appeal to the English?

Bal Gangadhar Tilak
1) What does it mean to be a moderate or an extremist? How do these labels change?
2) What is the British government’s key weakness in India?
3) How does Tilak think this weakness can be exploited?

Gandhi
1) What did Gandhi learn from jail?
2) How did Gandhi’s self-sacrifice help his life? What political lessons does it have?
3) What does self denial do in Gandhi’s view?

Supplementary Reading
302-314
343-354

Laptops

There has been a growing problem of people bringing laptops to class and then sharing them. Since people doing this are chatting, pointing at the screen, and laughing it is obvious that they are looking at material unrelated to the course. As this is distracting, please refrain from sharing laptops in class.

I will put up a new reading guide later tonight.

Readings for Week 8

If you haven't done the readings for Week 6, please do them to prepare for next week's discussion section. In addition to discussing Qing China, assignment 2 will be distributed.