Town and Country in China and the West

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2014:

Taught on site in Nanjing

220 hours

None

None

General historical knowledge of China will be an advantage.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

This subject involves the study of urbanisation and urban phenomena in history from a comparative perspective, with a focus on similarities and contrasts between China and the West, and attention to changing urban-rural relations and contrasts over time. The subject will be taught over a period of three weeks at Nanjing University, with the possible exception of three to four days spent at other urban sites. Lectures and discussion informed by reading will be accompanied by visits to historical sites, museums, and theme parks, allowing students to develop a first-hand acquaintance with Chinese history in practice, particularly in respect of the attention paid to town and country, past and present. The subject will be team-taught by staff from Nanjing University and the University of Melbourne, and the class will include where possible students from Nanjing University.

NOTE: There are a limited number of places available in this subject, and students will be selected through an application process. The application process is available from the subject coordinator. Itinerary and travel arrangements available from the subject coordinator in March 2014. The subject dates and HECS/course fee census date for this subject change each year. Check your enrolment records for the correct census date for this subject.

Students who successfully complete this subject should be able to

• demonstrate familiarity with urban forms in China and the West and describe how they have changed over time
• reflect critically on spatial, political, social and economic aspects of urban life in different historical contexts
• demonstrate an ability to analyse primary and secondary materials, textual and visual, in reflecting on historical change In urban contexts
• show a knowledge and understanding of major historical sites included among the built structures of the city or cities being studied.

Site reports totalling 2000 words 25% (continuous within teaching period ), class presentation (PPT) 100 words, 15% (during teaching period), essay in comparative urban history, 25% (due ) and a research project (report, documentary, or essay form) 3000 words or equivalent, 35% (due 13 February 2015)

Hurdle requirement: students must attend a minimum of 75% of classes in order to pass this subject. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day; after five working days, no late assessment will be marked. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

Subject readings will be available online

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students completing this subject should be able to:

• Describe the major patterns of and trends in urban development, East and West, historically and in contemporary times
• Understand the relationship between town and country in different historical contexts
• Analyse and evaluate accounts of urban history with reference in particular to conventional differentiation of Eastern and Western patterns of economic and political change.
• Critically appreciate the sites of memory and memorializing that characterize contemporary cities.