This is a regional course for students interested in China. It focuses on key social and cultural topics essential to understanding both traditional society and its influence modern and contemporary China. The course is structured around such themes as conceptions of time and space, the written and spoken word, the past and its records, traditional thought and belief, society, government and bureaucracy, cultural pursuits and literary products, inventions and technical advances, or Western interlocutors. The course intends to provide students with in-depth knowledge about core aspects of traditional Chinese culture necessary for any serious occupation with present day China and Chinese communities all over the world.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Understand and reproduce key features of traditional Chinese culture and thought and modern discourses about such traditions.
2. Take on a different cultural perspective from which to view oneself, one’s culture and one’s society.
3. Compare and critique theoretical knowledge of this field in light of empirical examples.
4. Locate and analyse new information from a wide variety of Western sources.

Recommended Resources

China: Empire and Civilization

Author: Edward L. Shaughnessy (ed.)

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Edition: 2000

There are a flurry of introductions to Chinese culture to choose from. One very useful and informative example is mentioned above.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• Written comments on tutorial papers.
• Verbal comments during tutorials.
• Feedback to the whole class, to groups, to individuals, focus groups during class or in meetings with the convenor.

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Course Orientation; Crash course 1: What is culture and how would you define it? Crash course 2: History of China digest
2	Ideas of space and time as a cultural expressions	TQ1 (tutorial questions)
3	Is Chinese script a mnemonic device? Orality, memory, and Chinese characters	TQ2 & Tutorial Paper topic lottery
4	The importance of the clan: family and society	TQ3
5	Myths of creation and the creation of myths	TQ4
6	Creating a historical canon: Chinese ideas of history and historical writing	TQ5 & Tutorial paper 1 due
7	Enacting culture? Roles of government	TQ6
8	Conceiving culture: Early Chinese thought	TQ7
9	Creating a cultural canon: Classics and Commentaries	TQ8
10	Systems of belief: Religious ideas and their cultural manifestation	TQ9 & Tutorial paper 2 due
11	Refined culture: Calligraphy and painting	TQ10
12	Material culture: Creation and discovery	Final exam date tba

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Learning Outcomes
Participation	10 %	1,2,3
Weekly tutorial questions	20 %	1,2,3
1st tutorial paper	15 %	1,3,4
2nd tutorial paper	20 %	1,3,4
Final Exam	35 %	1,2,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website Students may choose not to submit assessment items through Turnitin. In this instance you will be required to submit, alongside the assessment item itself, hard copies of all references included in the assessment item.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

see above under assessment task 1

Examination(s)

see above under assessment task 5

Assessment Task 1

Participation

Regular class attendance and active participation will be key to your takeaway from this course and the assessments you receive. Since this course essentially covers all basic cultural areas of China stretching over a time of more than 2000 years, the amount of factual information provided is huge. While you cannot be expected to learn and remember every detail, you need to follow and understand the greater picture which is a combination of cultural traditions and their development from the beginnings until today. And, as experience with this course shows, it is much easier to achieve this by regular attendance.

Note that the aim of the workshops is a hands-on engagement with the weekly topic designed for your immersion, meaning it is designed to spare you some of the post-processing homework.

Assessment Task 2

Weekly tutorial questions

Each tutorial presupposes the reading or viewing of two materials (articles, videos, etc.) on the topic of each week. Course participants will be required upon preparation of these materials to formulate 3 questions in writing that focus on the relation between the materials as such, the respective arguments of their authors, and the materials' relation to the topic of the week. The task of posing tutorial questions related to the readings aims, first, at engaging course participants meaningfully in the topics of each week, and second, to improve their way of reading an analysing research materials more efficiently.

Participants will be required to provide these questions in a Word document each week for 10 weeks (Week 2 – Week 11) and to send these to the course convenor before the beginning of each tutorial. Questions will be marked. A list on Wattle will indicate the marks achieved by each participant in each week.

Assessment Task 3

1st tutorial paper

For the first tutorial paper course participants will be asked to prepare a bibliography, a structure, and a brief outline for their coming second tutorial paper. In their first tutorial paper course participants are required to demonstrate their bibliographical skills, both in regard to materials available online and in print at ANU libraries. Based on their bibliographical findings and initial readings/surveys of those materials they are asked to design a meaningful structure for a tutorial paper topic they have previously selected via a lottery in class or online.

The thought behind the topic lottery is to put each course participant in the same position of a "China expert" who is suddenly required to say something meaningful about an unknown or hardly known topic, and, who as an expert is required to base his findings on verifiable evidence from respectable and recent scientific sources (not Wikipedia or broad China info sites!)

The idea to at first prepare a structure only is to require the course participants to reflect on a meaningful arrangement of their arguments and sources before delving into writing an entire paper. Individual feedback by the course convener is supposed to help participants improve on their second fully formulated tutorial paper.

Assessment Task 4

2nd tutorial paper

This second tutorial paper will be written on the same topic as tutorial paper 1. It will be based on the structure developed for the first tutorial paper and possible modifications and additions required due to the course convener's comments and suggestions on the outline and structure of tutorial paper 1.

Assessment Task 5

Final Exam

With 35% of the entire grade for the course it should be evident that the emphasis of the course aside from learning how to write a research-based tutorial paper lies on immersing yourself into the information and data provided during the lectures, tutorials, and workshops. Course participants should be aware that they need to follow the lectures, to be able to summarize their main points, and to learn these main points as a roster for the information they will be asked to reproduce during the final exam.

The reason for ending the course with a final exam instead of a final essay is precisely to make course participants aware from the beginning of the need to acquire substantial parts of information provided in this course's lectures, tutorials, and workshops. As future professionals in the area of China, students cannot do without actively acquiring knowledge to be able to reproduce and apply certain information including recent research insights that challenge established convictions regarding Chinese culture.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of our culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically. This means that all members of the community commit to honest and responsible scholarly practice and to upholding these values with respect and fairness. The Australian National University commits to embedding the values of academic integrity in our teaching and learning. We ensure that all members of our community understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with. The University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Visit the following Academic honesty & plagiarism website for more information about academic integrity and what the ANU considers academic misconduct. The ANU offers a number of services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. The Academic Skills and Learning Centre offers a number of workshops and seminars that you may find useful for your studies.

Online Submission

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

The dates given above are indicative only.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure The Course Convener may grant extensions for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

Not possible unless permission is given by the course convenor.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information. In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service — including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy. If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes. Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students