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More than half a century after its launching, the Cultural Revolution is still haunting China. What do we know about this extraordinary period, its causes, sequence of events and consequences? And how is it collectively remembered (or not remembered)?

This course will present the different sources, many of them unofficial and recent, which are the basis of our historical knowledge of this period. These sources will include primary sources, secondary scholarship and a substantive amount of audio-visual materials (photos included in the PPT presentations and extracts of documentary and fiction videos). A list of links to other audio-visual materials and useful websites will also be provided. For sources in Chinese language, an English translation will always be available. The course will discuss the complexity of the causes of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, linked to Mao Zedong’s own personality and experience, and the paradoxical influence it had on the minds of a whole generation and on the later fate of the country. Its impact outside China will also be presented, as well as its obvious traces in the present collective memory, in spite of the oblivion encouraged officially. Finally, we shall discuss the legacy of this period and wonder if a new Cultural Revolution could happen in a foreseeable future.

Detailed Course Outline is available on Blackboard.

Week 1: Historical Roots of the Chinese Cultural Revolution / The main sources of our knowledge on the Cultural Revolution

Week 2: Causes of the Cultural Revolution (1)

Week 3: Causes of the Cultural Revolution (2)

Week 4: The “Revolutionary” Period of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1969) 1:The Purge at the Top.

Week 5: The “Revolutionary”Period of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1969). 2: Militarization as the Only Way Out of Chaos?

Week 6: Manipulated Youth: The Turbulent Movement of the Red Guards

Week 7: Different Types of Violence during the Cultural Revolution

Week 8: The Cult of Mao: different rituals and meaning of this extraordinary wave of political religion.

Week 9: The Rustication Movement of Chinese Educated Youth: End and Continuation of the Cultural Revolution

Week 10: Fin de Règne in Zhongnanhai: A Deeply Fractured Leadership

Week 11: A Dissatisfied and Derelict Society, Emergence of Unorthodox Thoughts and Spontaneous Rebellion in the Young Generation

Week 12: The Cultural Revolution between Oblivion, Distortion and Memory (1)

Week 13: The Cultural Revolution between Oblivion, Distortion and Memory (2)

Week 14: Conclusion: What Does the Cultural Revolution Reveal of the Maoist Political Regime? Could it Happen Again?

Attendance and participation (30%)

Reading review 1 (15%)

Reading review 2 (15%)

Final Paper (40%)

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