Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

This will be a core course for the PCC China Focus Award (soon to be proposed) and as an 
elective course for an International Studies Focus Award (also soon to be proposed). Credits from this course will also able to count towards PCC Focus Awards in Asian Studies and in the PCC Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) Program. Students should consult with a PCC Academic 
Advisor and/or other institutions regarding transfer and application of credits to other institutions. 

Upon successful completion students should be able to:

1. Communicate how Chinese political history and Confucian culture have impacted both the 
Maoist revolutionary period and the post-Mao reform period after 1976, including impacts ranging from economic policies to aesthetic and artistic values. 
2. Analyze party/state relations and the policymaking processes in China as these relate to 
economic development, national security, human social behavior, and other issues of concern including gender roles, the treatment of ethnic minorities, and migrant labor. 
3. Reason qualitatively while examining and assessing the effects of economic liberalization and globalization upon Chinese life as well as on environmental, cultural, and other factors of concern worldwide. 
4. Evaluate political and economic systems in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and North and South Korea, while showing the ability to conceptually organize experience and discern its meaning by analyzing policy effects on human, environmental, and international realities. 
5. Examine the changing technological environment, social movements, and urbanization in East Asia with regards to their different impacts on the mass media, income disparity, and sustainability in relation to the natural environment. 
6. Think critically about the ethical and social requirements of responsible citizenship, while 
showing respect for disagreement, by evaluating how political systems and the policies produced by them affect the diverse social world in which we live. 

This course will be taught in the disciplines of Political Science and Economics by instructors in 
their respective fields independently. It may be conducted through combinations of methods and 
tools which may include lectures, classroom discussions, group presentations, texts and 
supplementary readings, films, guest speakers, and other classroom aids at the discretion of the 
each individual instructor. 

Different techniques may be used for assessment which will be determined by the individual 
instructor. They may include: 
*Written essays. 
*Term papers. 
*Group projects. 
*Student demonstrations or presentations. 
*Research projects or other projects with specified rating criteria. 

Six weeks on China (including Hong Kong & Taiwan) 
• Chinese Political History Overview & Confucius 
• The Rise of the CCP, Maoism, The Cultural Revolution, & China up to 1976 
• Party/State Relations & Government Policy Making Structures 
• Post-1976 Economic Reforms, Tiananmen Square, & “Democracy” 
• Economic Liberalization, Globalization, & “Red Capitalism” 
• Economic Development: Positive & Negative Consequences 
• Human Rights, National Security, & Foreign Policy Issues 
• Tibet, Ethnic Minorities, & Internal Security Mechanisms 
• Hong Kong: From Colony to “One China, Two Systems” Policy 
• Taiwan: From the Cold War to an Uncertain Future 
 
One Week on North & South Korea 
• North Korea: “Hermit Kingdom”, Stalinism, & Security Challenges 
• South Korea: an “Asian Tiger”, Liberal Democracy Emerging, & Social Challenges 
 
One Week on Japan: 
• Japanese Political History, Government Structure, & Political Parties 
• Japanese Economic Developments since 1945 & Policy Impacts 
 
One Week on Vietnam & Other S.E. Asian Countries 
• Vietnam: Government, Communist Party, & Economic Development 
• Legacies of the War: Cambodia & Laos 
 
One Week on Historical Implications 
* The Chinese diaspora throughout East Asia and the World 
* Globalization and how Chinese Policies have Global Impacts 
 
 Note: As a means of helping to integrate this course with other courses associated with 
 Chinese Studies at Portland Community College, papers and other assignments will seek 
 to pedagogically make use of the following Three THEMES: 
 
 1) “Order & Disorder”, 2) “Preserving & Innovating”, and 3) “Unity & Diversity”.