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| Project Proposal - 10/22/03 |
In today's globalizing economy and with the emerging market of China it is no longer acceptable to ignore its history. One of the best ways to begin interpreting and understanding our Western attitudes towards a country like China is to study what people in the West have written about it through the centuries. Though they cannot be definitive, comparing what people have said over time can get at the cultural assumptions and stereotypes that have changed or not changed. It seems that China is often neglected in the classroom today or briefly mentioned at times when studying "world" history. I believe this is due to lack of knowledge on the part of and resources available to the average teacher or professor. I propose to make a site that explores the cultural assumptions, stereotypes, and experiences through primarily first-person accounts of China over the years. Particularly I would like to cover the following: Westerners have been traveling to China for centuries. The earliest accounts date back to around the time of Marco Polo, who is well known but controversial. Who else traveled and what did they have to say about China? What kind of information can be gained from these accounts? What kind of attitudes, assumptions, and stereotypes did the people writing them have? What were their backgrounds? What did they write and not write about? How did/does their interpretation of history affect views of China at the present and in the future? The site will be centered around a timeline with several travelers listed and include primary source readings, some secondary source materials, some images and maps, a small database and interactive exercises. The focus will be on offering material appropriate for World Civilization courses at both the high school and college survey level. The setup will be as follows: An interactive timeline - Traces Chinese history and dynasties by time periods with the travelers who visited listed and what was generally going on in Europe at the time. This will provide the student with the context necessary for understanding the material and give the teachers a mode of comparison. Comparison of traveler's accounts - Current sites seem mostly limited to one traveler’s accounts. Here, students can compare what one traveler said to another during the same and different time periods based on primary sources (the writings of both the travelers themselves as well as other relevant documents). Scholars will prepare essays with insights for interpretation. At least 8-10 travelers will have background, writings, maps and possibly an image or two associated with them. Interactive exercises will ask questions and give answers to help students think about the material they are reading. A database containing the primary and secondary source materials will also be available with a search by time period, author, and keyword. Suggested lesson plans will include ways the materials can be incorporated into a class lecture format for professors and teachers. A links page will offer web links to other relevant materials with short annotations and will also include a form to submit web links as people find them (and also if a link is dead people can submit that here). See the final project! | |||