In 1966 Mao Zedong launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in an attempt to restore revolutionary purity to the Chinese Communist Party and society. The Cultural Revolution decade (1966-1976) is remembered most often as a period of political violence and intense struggle, over which Mao reigned as supreme leader. In this course, we will complicate this standard interpretation by examining the Cultural Revolution in a variety of ways: as an elite political struggle, an attempt to proletarianize culture and the arts, a social movement, and a youth movement. The course will address themes of participation and complicity, new gender roles, impact on different social groups, and differences between rural and urban experience. In addition to relevant historiographical works, the course will use memoirs, fiction, films, and ethnographies. Format: seminar. Evaluation will be based on class participation, several short papers, and a final research paper. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). Preference given to first year students. Group C

Hour: A. REINHARDT