25/SP Politics of East Asia-POL386-A

Spring 2025 - Political Science 386 / East Asia

Things to worry about now  

  • The literature review was due last Friday (March 28).  
  • The next two things are:
  • I have regular and extra office hours coming up this week:
    • Thursday, April 3, by video call, any time: by appointment
    • Friday, April 4, in person, Rowley G142: 11:30 am to 1 pm
    • Monday, April 7, in person, Ballston 3010: : 10 am to 11 am and 1:45 pm to 3 pm
    • Tuesday, April 8, in person, Rowley G142: 11:30 am to 4:30 pm
  • You should start thinking about the group project.
  • The second exam is an oral exam, which you have some leeway in scheduling. I am extending the deadline - I advise you not to schedule this until you complete revisions on your literature review. 

Just for fun:

Summary

Professor Chad Rector

Wednesdays
2:00 PM - 4:45 PM
Ballston 4034

Syllabus Links to an external site.

I have regular drop-in hours for most of the day on most Tuesdays in my office on main campus (Rowley G124), and after class in Ballston for as long as anyone wants to talk, but it is always best to email in advance if possible to confirm. 

 

Course Assignments and Grades

Course grades will be based on:

  • Exam 1. 15%. An in-class exam with two parts. The first part is a simulation exercise in which students apply basic concepts from the course to a collective problem; this will take about 1 hour. The second part is a traditional written, in-class, closed-book exam with three short essay questions.

  • Exam 2. 10%. An oral exam, scheduled outside of class.

  • Group project. 25%. Students will work in assigned groups of 4 to 6 members to address, in a creative but realistic way, a political coordination problem related to East Asia. Graded output includes an extensive group presentation. Details about this assignment will be posted in early March.  

  • Term paper. 50%. A series of assignments leading up to a 12-15 page analytic paper, written in several steps:

    • Annotated bibliography (10%). Due February 21. 

    • Literature review (15%). Due March 21.

    • Literature review presentation (5%). No later than April 30.

    • Research design (5%). Due April 4.

    • Complete draft (15%). Due April 25. 

Extra credit:

  • Class participation.  This is a seminar-style course in which I expect regular class participation. Students may earn up to 5% for constructive contributions to class discussions. There is no specific grade for "attendance," beyond the minimum attendance requirement. Students earn participation grades for sharing ideas with the class, not simply for showing up. 

  • DC event. 5% for a first event and 3% for a second. Attend an informative, professional lecture, seminar, or hearing in the DC area on the subject of public affairs and write a summary of your experience and give a brief summary presentation to the class. These must be submitted before the last meeting of the semester.

Assignments will be marked down for being late. Students will not be penalized for missing a class assignment for a recognized religious holiday. 

I expect students to attend class regularly. Any student who misses 4 or more course sessions will automatically fail the course unless they have an unprecedentedly good reason. Students who create distractions in class, e.g. by sleeping, watching videos, shopping online, etc., will be given up to two warnings in the form of derisive mockery and then, if it continues, be marked as absent. 

Any assignment related to the term paper that is turned in on time may be revised for up to 3 additional points (4 for the complete draft) any time up to three weeks after the original due date.  

I may, at my discretion, check any written assignments for plagiarism at any time during or after the semester, using electronic or other means. Plagiarism includes presenting text or presentation materials as your own that were written by another person or by an LLM (such as GPT). Students found violating the Marymount principles of Academic Integrity will fail the course and be formally charged through the University’s Academic Integrity process. I have failed students in prior semesters for cheating. By enrolling in the course you acknowledge that you have reviewed the University’s standards of academic integrity.

This course requires students to be attentive to lectures and class discussion. Please take notes on paper. Do not have a laptop or tablet out during class. If you have an urgent need to check your phone for an important message, please keep your phone on the table (rather than "hiding" on your lap) so you can check it quickly and then set it back down. 

 

Readings

Two books are required for the course:

  • Kastner, Scott L. War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait. Columbia University Press, 2022.

  • Shirk, Susan L. Overreach: How China derailed its peaceful rise. Oxford University Press, 2023.

Course Schedule

The coursework during the semester is divided into several segments.  Assigned readings will be linked under the class time you should have them read by. Starting in mid-semester, many class sessions will also have time devoted to working on term papers.  

 

Part 1: China and regional and global security


January 15
Chinese history, Confucianism, institutions, research design (slides Links to an external site.)


January 22
Xi Jinping rolls us the system; also, China’s growth model and foreign policy (slides Links to an external site.)
Read: Shirk, prologue and chapters 1-4


January 29
U.S.-China relations (slides Links to an external site., paper Download paper, paper Download paper, paper Download paper, paper Download paper)
Read: Shirk, chapters 5-7


February 5
China-Taiwan relations (slides Links to an external site.)
Read: Kastner, chapters 1-4


Part 2: Gender 


February 12
Patriarchal institutions and state structure (slides Links to an external site.)
Reading: Becker, Anke. "On the economic origins of concerns over women’s chastity." Review of Economic Studies (2024). Download Becker, Anke. "On the economic origins of concerns over women’s chastity." Review of Economic Studies (2024).


February 19
Special Guest: Maria Delgado Links to an external site., American University. Panama, the United States, China, and The Canal (slides Download slides)
Also: Democratization and Urbanization in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (slides Links to an external site.)
Also: Fall registration (slide Links to an external site.)


February 26
Special guest: Paulina Ibarra Links to an external site., Marymount political science alum and director of Fundación Multitudes Links to an external site..
Also: Demographics and family policy; also, gender norms and lgbtq+ identities (slides Links to an external site.)
Reading: As Japan's Population Shrinks... Links to an external site., As 4b Takes the World by Storm... Links to an external site., and Towards and More Equal Equality... Links to an external site.


March 5
Exam #1


Part 3: Resisting autocracy


March 19
Democracy in South Korea and Mongolia (slides Links to an external site.) (alum visit Links to an external site.)
Suggested K-Movie to watch: 1987: When the Day Comes

 

Tuesday, March 25, 11 am, Reinsch Hall, Lunch provided
Against Exclusion: Disrupting Anti-Chinese Violence in the 19th Century


March 26
Taiwan and Hong Kong
Reading: Is Taiwan Next? Links to an external site.
Suggested HK action movie to watch: Bullet in the Head


April 2
Representation and immigration in South Korea and Japan |  slides: Hong Kong Links to an external site., Anna Links to an external site., 
Reading: Tragic Factory Fire... Links to an external site.
Suggested Japanese documentary to watch: Hafu


Part 4: Research projects


Wednesday, April 9
Project samples and workshop


Wednesday, April 16 - individual meetings (no in-person class this week)
Project development


April 23
Any remaining literature review presentations, project workshop


April 30
Any remaining literature review presentations, project workshop


May 7
Team project presentations