Week 5

Changing China, Fall, 2008
Second Integrative Essay Assignment

An integrative essay is an academic exercise to help you develop critical thinking and close reading.  It is also the chance for you to hone your academic writing skills.  Please observe the academic requirements in scholarly citation and documentation.  We will accept both APA and MLA styles.  If you have any questions on these styles, please check online manuals or consult tutors in the writing center.  

The integrative essay for this program should be 3-5 pages long.  Please choose one of the following topics for your integrative essay:

1.    What is the relationship between the social foundations of China as described in Fei, Xiaotong's book From the Soil and the dominance of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism in the Chinese value system?
2.    From studying From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society, we learn that Chinese have a very different sense of “land” and “space” from Westerners.  This sense of “space” is clearly reflected in our program materials, be it a psychological tie to the soil and village life through generations as in The Good Earth and The Old Well, or as a poetic metaphor and emotional projection of gentry eroticism as in The Peony Pavilion, the very dominance of “location” in Chinese consciousness is evident (even the titles of these artistic works refer to a place!).  Using evidence and examples from these materials we have encountered so far, discuss how the concept of “land” or “attachment to land” is treated or transcribed in each of them, and how they represent, with distinct and recognizable variations, a “constant value” in Chinese culture.
3.    How do you define Chinese “Love”?  For right now, let’s look at heterosexual love only, as explored in our program materials so far (or, if you can already identify some hidden homoerotic sentiments in the materials—go for it too!).  For example, how is the love between Wang Lung and O-Lan different from that between Bridal Du and Liu Mengmei, aside from (or due to) the differences in historical period and social status?  How are they similar?  How is love expressed in Chinese man-woman relationship?  Do Confucianism, Daoism (or Taoism), and Buddhism come to support, regulate or ritualize that expression?  What is the conflict between social sanction and individual need for that expression?  How Chinese lovers strive for and achieve a solution for their love expression?  As long as you stay with the theme of “love” in Chinese context and refer to Fei, Xiaotong’s theoretical foundation once a while, you may choose to create and explore any set of questions for this essay.
4.    In historical terms, China has maintained a unique relationship with other countries and other cultures, as well as with individuals from elsewhere. Discuss (1) why China has been consistent or inconsistent in its relationship with the rest of the world, and/or (2) why China and the Chinese people have been relatively “open” or “closed” to contact with non-Chinese individuals and their cultures.

5. In the Brooks Peterson reading, "What is Culture?" the author recommends that the reader do some research and come up with their own definition of the term. For this question, go ahead and do your own research on creating a workable dictionary-style definition of the word "culture" (preferably in English), using exclusively resources that were NOT assigned for reading in our program. Then, once you have your working definition of the term "culture", discuss how well your definition can be applied in discussing or interpreting specific readings we have made so far in the program regarding the idea of "Chinese culture". (Be sure to use at least three examples from different readings in our program.) Finally, make several practical suggestions (based on applying your definition of "culture" to the program readings above) on where the weaknesses in your definition might be, and what practical steps you might make in order to improve the definition. (Hint: do all you can to make your essay interesting and not so dry and boring that no one will want to use your definition of the term.)

The second integrative essay is due Thursday, Nov. 20, five minutes to Midnight.