Submitted by: Submitted by creamy
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Category: World History
Date Submitted: 07/10/2012 07:44 AM
Notes on FANSHEN
This book is a classic on the land reform campaign of China, how the Chinese Communists mobilized the peasants and harnessed their energy in rebuilding a country from the bottom up. It was, of course, a tortuous and nasty process, filled with ironies, contradictions, unexpected issues, and, of course, violence.
There are any number of issues that one can pursue, given Hinton's thick description technique and participatory observations. After reading the book, you can take on any issue you wish to address, or bother you enough to explore further, but WITHOUT resorting to further research or use of other books (except the textbook which gives you an overall picture of the period and the lectures which provide you with the historical context). In other words, the book should contain enough material for you to draw on as evidence to solve the question you want to tackle.
The following are some of the possible issues:
How was the "Mass Line" articulated in Long Bow? Is this "democracy" or "mobocracy"?
What role did landlords/catholic church/middle peasants/ rich peasants play in the village before/during/after the land reform campaign. Were they tackled as a block? Why? Why not? (Note: each category is a paper by itself.)
How effective was class analysis as a tool for mobilization?
Any problems with such a blunt instrument?
How was the peasantry mobilized?
Is violence inevitable, even necessary, in a revolution / mobilization process?
How could demands for absolute equality be met? How would agricultural production be affected?
What were the theoretical basis of the Land Reform campaign? How was the theory translated into practice? Did you detect any difference between theory and practice?
What were the roles of women in Fanshen?
Which was stronger: class consciousness or nationalization in
peasant mobilization?
Outline of Fanshen
Part I Background...