Town and Country in China and the West

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2015:

Taught on site in Nanjing

340 hours

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 the University of Melbourne, with involvement where feasible by staff at Nanjing University.

NOTE: There are a limited number of places available in this subject, and students will be selected through an application process. Financial support may be available for students taking this subject. The application process is available from the subject coordinator. Itinerary and travel arrangements available from the subject coordinator in the March preceding the subject dates. 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

• describe the patterns and trends in urban development, Chinese and Westers, historically and in contemporary times;
• demonstrate an ability to identify and analyse primary and secondary materials, textual and visual, in reflecting on historical change in urban contexts;
• reflect critically on spatial, political, social and economic aspects of urban life in different hisotrical contexts;
• demonstrate competence in researching a problem in Chinese urban history, especially in comparative perspective;
• through oral and written work, in collaborative class presentations and individual projects, demonstrate familiarity with urban forms in China and the West and describe how they have changed over time;
• inquire into, analyse and evaluate accounts of urban hisotry with reference in particular to conventional differentiation of Eastern and Western patterns of economic and political change;
• evaluate meanings attributed to town and country in different cultural-historical contexts, and how these have changed over time.

Comparative urban histories book review 1000 words, 10% (due 29 October 2015 ), site reports equivalent to 2000 words, 25% (due 13 December 2015), comparative history reflective essay 2000 words, 25% (due 15 Janaury 2016) and a research essay or project 3000 words, 40% (due 15 February, 2016)

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 potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

• Bachelor of Biomedicine
• Bachelor of Music
• Bachelor of Science

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

There are a limited number of places available in this subject, and students will be selected through an application process. Students wishing to take the subject should send an expression of interest to the subject coordinator with a statement of academic results, by email. Itinerary and travel arrangements will be made available to students at a briefing meeting following the selection process. 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.