Christopher Leighton, Assistant Professor, History
| Jan/30 | Thu | 06:00PM-08:00PM | E51-095 |
Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/27
Prereq: None
The dream of a democratic China excites its champions and frightens its critics, but for some it already exists. When the eight-year old students at Wuhan’s Evergreen Primary School were allowed to elect their class monitor, a camera crew captured the experiment. The documented result was democracy in its most raw form, complete with character assassination, bribes, and demagoguery.
What can we learn about the promise or peril of democracy in contemporary China from this case? How have China’s values (whether traditional ethics or Maoist morals), social polices (e.g. the one child policy), or burgeoning economy of consumer capitalism shaped its prospects? To what extent are the problems we see universal, and to what extent do they seem particular and Chinese?
Participants will watch a documentary film, share a meal of Chinese food, and discuss these questions. No prerequisites; all welcome.
Sponsor(s): History
Contact: Christopher Leighton, E51-288, 617 324-0541, CLEIGHT@MIT.EDU