Week 1 (Jan 16, 18):
Tuesday: Texts, Data, Images, and Arguments
Thursday: History and Methods: The Tang-Song Transition and the Digital Approaches
- Learning Objectives:
- Overview of the Tang-Song Transition
- Understand the two different approaches to analyzing historical and literary texts with the aid of digital tools
- Read:
- Watch:
- Paul Vierthaler, “Digital Approaches to Late Imperial Chinese Literature: Exploring Quasi-historical Texts”
- Donald Sturgeon, “Exploring Text Reuse in Pre-Qin and Han Corpus”
- Paul Vierthaler, “Digital Approaches to Late Imperial Chinese Literature: Exploring Quasi-historical Texts”
Module 1: Spatial Thinking and the Medieval Economic Revolution
Week 2 (Jan 23, 25):
Tuesday: From Chang’an to Kaifeng
- Learning Objectives:
- Explore economic changes from Tang to Song times using historical records and paintings
- Read:
- Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty, Chapter 3 (Cities and Urban Life)
- Map of Tang dynasty capital Chang’an (this is the city portrayed in the above reading)
- “The Attractions of the Capital”
- Multimedia: Interactive Qingming Scroll (this painting depicts the Northern Song capital of Kaifeng in the early twelfth century, the city described in “The Attractions of the Capital)
- Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty, Chapter 3 (Cities and Urban Life)
Thursday: The Medieval Economic Revolution in China
- Learning Objectives:
- Interpret spatial patterns in ArcGIS
- Explain China’s medieval economic revolution
- Interpret spatial patterns in ArcGIS
- Read:
- Richard von Glahn, “Economic Transformation in the Tang-Song Transition“
- Further Readings:
- Mark Elvin, The Pattern of the Chinese Past, pp.113-202
Week 3 (Jan 30, Feb 1):
Tuesday: Think Spatially: Why Does Space Matter?
- Learning Objectives:
- Why does space matter in the study of Chinese history? What does it mean to think spatially?
- Why does space matter in the study of Chinese history? What does it mean to think spatially?
- Read:
- G. William Skinner, “The Structure of Chinese History.” Journal of Asian Studies 44.2 (1985): 271-92.
- Peter K. Bol, “What is a Geographic Perspective on China’s History?” In Chinese History in Geographical Perspective (Lantham: Lexington Books, 2013), pp. 197-204.
Thursday: Introduction to the Geographical Information System (GIS)
- Learning Objectives:
- Understand basic concepts in GIS, such as raster and vector data, layers, points and polygons, and coordinate systems
- Explore GIS-based online projects and understand how GIS helps reveal spatial patterns
- Understand basic concepts in GIS, such as raster and vector data, layers, points and polygons, and coordinate systems
- Read:
- GIS Commons, Chapter 1 “Introduction”
- Peter K. Bol, “Creating a GIS for the History of China“
- GIS Commons, Chapter 1 “Introduction”
- Explore:
Week 4 (Feb 6, 8):
Tuesday: Creating Thematic Maps in ArcGIS: I
- Learning Objectives:
- Map point features in ArcGIS
- Use appropriate symbology for analysis and report
- Interpret spatial patterns in ArcGIS
- Map point features in ArcGIS
- Homework:
- Prepare social and economic data for GIS lab
- Prepare social and economic data for GIS lab
Thursday: Creating Thematic Maps in Desktop ArcGIS: II
- Learning Objectives:
- Use joins, calculations, and other features in ArcGIS
- Understand the issue of “rhetorical honesty”
- Preparing maps for publication
- Read:
- Mark Monmonier, “Lying with Maps,” Statistical Science 20.3(2005): 215-22.
- John Theibault, “Visualizations and Historical Arguments,” in Writing History in the Digital Age (final 2013 version)
- Mark Monmonier, “Lying with Maps,” Statistical Science 20.3(2005): 215-22.
Module 2: Spatial Thinking and the Chinese Political Elite
Week 5 (Feb 13, 15):
Tuesday: Education, Examination, and the Ruling Elite
- Learning Objectives:
- Explain the social and political consequences of the Tang-Song transition
- Read:
- Dieter Kuhn, “Education and Examination”
- John Chaffee, “The Geography of Success”
- Dieter Kuhn, “Education and Examination”
Thursday: The Changing Geography of Power
- Learning Objectives:
- Explain the social and political consequences of the Tang-Song transition
- Use modularized queries in CBDB, project them in ArcGIS, and interpret the maps
- Explain the social and political consequences of the Tang-Song transition
- Read:
- Nicholas Tackett, “The Geography of Power”
- Song Chen, “Governing a Multicentered Empire“
- Nicholas Tackett, “The Geography of Power”
Week 6 (Feb 20, 22):
Tuesday: Biography and Prosopography
- Learning Objectives:
- Understand the traditions of Chinese biographical writing
- Understand “prosopography” as an approach of historical research
- Understand the traditions of Chinese biographical writing
- Read:
- Denis C. Twitchett, “Chinese Biographical Writing.” Historians of China and Japan. Eds. W. G. Beasley and Edwin G. Pulleyblank. London: Oxford University Press, 1961. 95-114.
- “Biography of Lü Zuqian” in the dynastic history
- Lawrence Stone, “Prosopography.” In Historical Studies Today, edited by Felix Gilbert, E. J. Hobsbawm and Stephen Richards Graubard. New York: W. W. Norton, 1972.
- Peter K. Bol, “ Lü Zuqian (1137-1181) in Context: Bring Data into Intellectual History Using the China Biographical Database,” paper for the Middle Period History Conference, 2014
- Denis C. Twitchett, “Chinese Biographical Writing.” Historians of China and Japan. Eds. W. G. Beasley and Edwin G. Pulleyblank. London: Oxford University Press, 1961. 95-114.
- Further Readings:
- K. S. B. Keats-Rohan, ed. Prosopography Approaches and Applications: A Handbook (Oxford: Unit for Prosopographical Research University of Oxford, 2007): “Abstracts of Papers” (pp.xi-xix) and “Introduction” (pp.1-32).
Thursday: XML, RegEx and Data Mining
- Learning Objectives:
- Understand the basics of XML, RegEx, and data mining
- Understand the basics of XML, RegEx, and data mining
- Read:
- David J. Birnbaum, “What is XML and why should humanists care?”
- Peter K. Bol, et al, “Mining and Discovering Biographical Information in Difangzhi with a Language-Model-based Approach“
- David J. Birnbaum, “What is XML and why should humanists care?”
Week 7 (Feb 27, Mar 1):
Tuesday: From Spreadsheets to Relational Databases
- Learning Objectives:
- Understand the concept, strengths, and structure of relational databases
- Understand the concept, strengths, and structure of relational databases
- Read:
- Susan Schreibman, Ray Siemens, and John Unsworth ed., A Companion to Digital Humanities (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), Ch.15: “Databases” (only the sections before “Schema Design” are required).
- Michael A. Fuller, The China Biographical Database (CBDB) User’s Guide, Introduction and Chs.1-2.
- Susan Schreibman, Ray Siemens, and John Unsworth ed., A Companion to Digital Humanities (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004), Ch.15: “Databases” (only the sections before “Schema Design” are required).
Thursday: CBDB and Spatial Visualizations
- Learning Objectives:
- Build queries in CBDB
- Explore historical change using time-enabled GIS
- Explore:
Week 8 (Mar 6, 8):
Tuesday: Project 1 Tutorial
Thursday: Project 1 Presentations
Week 9 (Mar 13, 15): Spring Break — No Class
Module 3: Space and Structure of Elite Networks
Week 10 (Mar 20, 22):
Tuesday: The “Localist Turn”
- Learning Objectives:
- Understand the “localist turn,” its nature and historical significance
- Understand the “localist turn,” its nature and historical significance
- Read:
- Nicholas Tackett, “The Capital Elite Marriage Network”
- Robert P. Hymes, Statesmen and Gentlemen: the Elite of Fu-chou, Chiang-hsi, in Northern and Southern Sung, pp.82-123.
- Beverly J. Bossler, Powerful Relations: Kinship, Status, & the State in Sung China (960-1279) (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999), Chapter 4 (pp.78-94) and Chapter 8 (pp.156-175).
- Further Readings:
- Song Chen, “Local Society and the Region under a Decentralized Rule: The Case of Sichuan in Song Dynasty“
- Robert P. Hymes, “Elites, Locality, and the State” (Cambridge History of China, Vol. 5, Part 2, pp.621-61)
- Song Chen, “Local Society and the Region under a Decentralized Rule: The Case of Sichuan in Song Dynasty“
Thursday: Mapping Social Relationships
- Learning Objectives:
- Map line features in ArcGIS/Palladio
- Map line features in ArcGIS/Palladio
- Read:
- Hilde De Weerdt, Information, Territory, and Networks, Ch.7
- Hilde De Weerdt, Information, Territory, and Networks, Ch.7
- Tutorials:
- Miriam Posner, “Getting started with Palladio”
- Miriam Posner, “Getting started with Palladio”
Project # 1 and Short Paper #1 due at 5 p.m., Sunday, March 25.
Week 11 (Mar 27, 29):
Tuesday: Think Relationally: Introduction to Network Visualization
- Learning Objectives:
- Understand basic concepts in network analysis, such as nodes, and edges / ties
- Prepare data in appropriate formats for Gephi
- Use Gephi to create a simple network graph
- Understand the strengths and limits of network graphs for addressing research questions
- Understand basic concepts in network analysis, such as nodes, and edges / ties
- Read:
- Kieran Healy, “Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere”
- Scott B. Weingart, “Demystifying Networks,” Parts I and II
- Kieran Healy, “Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere”
Thursday: Ideology and Court Politics
- Learning Objectives:
- Interpret the different ideological positions of major 11th-century statesmen
- Read:
- Wang Anshi, “Memorial to Emperor Renzong”
- “Debate over Wang Anshi’s New Laws,” in Sources of Chinese Tradition, vol.1, pp. 631–34.
Week 12 (Apr 3, 5):
Tuesday:The Network Approach to Politics: Identifying Clusters
- Learning Objectives:
- Interpret the different ideological positions of major 11th-century statesmen Interpret the relationship between ideology and Song politics
- Use the network approach to explore Song politics
- Use Gephi to detect communities in a network
- Read:
- Peter K. Bol, “Government, Society, and State: On the Political Visions of Ssu-ma Kuang (1019-1086) and Wang An-shih (1021-1086),” in Ordering the World, pp.128-92.
- Yves Gingras, “Mapping the Structure of the Intellectual Field Using Citation and Co-Citation Analysis of Correspondences“
- [optional] Robert A. Hanneman and Mark Riddle. “Introduction to social network methods“. 2005. Published in digital format at
http://faculty.ucr.edu/~hanneman/nettext, Chapter 11.
- Further Readings:
- Song Chen, “Governing a Multicentered Empire”
Thursday: CBDB and Network Visualizations
- Learning Objectives:
- Formulate research questions about Song dynasty networks
- Query network data in CBDB
- Visualize CBDB network data outputs
- Read:
- John F. Padgett and Christopher K. Ansell. “Robust Action and the Rise of the Medici, 1400-1434.” American Journal of Sociology 98 (1993): 1259-1319.
- Mark Strange, “Factionalism and the formation of eleventh-century military policy: a study of Sima Guang’s political network”
- Michael A. Fuller, The China Biographical Database (CBDB) User’s Guide, Ch.3.
Week 13 (Apr 10, 12):
Tuesday: The Neo-Confucian Moral Philosophy and Social Program
- Learning Objectives:
- Interpret the intellectual and social positions of the Neo-Confucian thinkers
- Interpret the intellectual and social positions of the Neo-Confucian thinkers
- Read:
- Zhu Xi, “Preface to the Mean by Chapter and Phrase” (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 731-34)
- Zhu Xi, “Proposal for Community Granaries” (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 746) and “The Lü Family Community Compact, Amended and Emended” (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 751-54)
- Wang Anshi, “Memorial on the Crop Loans Measure” (Sources of Chinese Tradition, 616-18)
Thursday: Networks, Geography, and the Neo-Confucian Movement
- Learning Objectives:
- Explore how network analysis may be employed in studying intellectual and social movements
- Explore how network analysis may be employed in studying intellectual and social movements
- Read:
- Peter K. Bol, “GIS, Prosopography and History,” Annals of GIS 2012.18(1):3-15.
- Han Zhang, “State, Literati and Neo-Confucians: an Analysis of Literati Social Network, 1160-1241“
- Further Readings:
- Roger V. Gould, “Uses of Network Tools in Comparative Historical Research.” In Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences, pp.241-269.
- Charles Wetherhall, “Historical Social Network Analysis.” In New Methods for Social History (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 125-44.
Week 14 (Apr 17, 19):
Tuesday: Project 2 Tutorial
Thursday: Project 2 Tutorial
Week 15 (Apr 24, 26):
Tuesday: Project 2 Presentations
Thursday: Reflections on the Tang-Song Transition
- Learning Objectives:
- What was the Tang-Song Transition, and what was its historical significance?
- Readings:
- Hisayuki Miyakawa, “An Outline of the Naito Hypothesis and Its Effects on Japanese Studies of China,”
The Far Eastern Quarterly, 14.4 (1955), pp.533-52.
- Robert M. Hartwell, “Demographic, Political, and Social Transformation of China, 750-1550.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 42.2 (1982): 365-442.
- Song Chen, “The State, the Gentry, and Local Institutions: The Song Dynasty and Long-Term Trends from Tang to Qing,” Journal of Chinese History 1 (2017): pp.141-82.
- Hisayuki Miyakawa, “An Outline of the Naito Hypothesis and Its Effects on Japanese Studies of China,”
Project #2 and Short Paper #2 due at 5 p.m., Sunday, April 23.