April 4 and 6
We have encountered artisans before- from the people who were killed following the death of the First Emperor of Qin (Week 4) or who helped to build what we know as the Great Wall (Week 3), to the excellent carving skills of Gu Erniang in the inkstone business (Week 9), (and the people who created the woodblock prints) and the laborers involved in the porcelain production at Jingdezhen (Week 10). This week’s material looks in more detail at artisans specifically, so we can connect the dots.
- Slides
- Readings and class details
- Assignments
- Extra Credit Tasks
- Where to Get Assistance?
Slides
Readings and class details
Tuesday
Meeting in Ettinger 212, 3.30PM
- Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. Artisans in Early Imperial China. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2007.
- Chapter 2: “Artisans in Society” (sections marked in red brackets: pp. 36-66) (PDF)
- Guiding questions: What was the social position of the artisan in early China? What different types of view were there, and who held them? Depending on the options you chose earlier in the course, you can compare with what you learned there (often that was about much later time periods and things do change!).
- Note: The book is also available in the library, should you want to work more on this topic.
Optional extras
- Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. Artisans in Early Imperial China. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2007.
- Chapter 6: “Artisans in Irons” (PDF)
- Since many of you were fascinated by the idea of the convict laborers and craftsmen creating the tomb complex of the First Emperor, and the “Great Wall” (or “walls”) under the Qin, I thought you might be interested in this chapter which looks specifically at the involuntary labor force of the Early Empire.
- Li, Chen. Han Dynasty (206bc-Ad220) Stone Carved Tombs in Central and Eastern China. Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing, 2018.
- Brief excerpt from chapter 1, section 1.3.2 on the artisans who created and carved the tombs of early China. This is a so-called “state of the field”, and shows you what research is available on this topic, and what the shortcomings and strong points are of each of those publications. (PDF)
Thursday
No class meeting, all these readings are optional extras
- Moll-Murata, Christine. State and Crafts in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Social Histories of Work in Asia. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018.
- Chapter 9: “The Artisans Place: The ‘Four Occupational Groups’ and the Social Position of Craftspeople” (ebook Trexler)
- This chapter provides an overview which does include Early Imperial China (but not in as much detail as Tuesday’s text), and shows the historical evolution through the centuries, as well as the historiography (that is: how historians have written about this topic), before looking at what happened to society and the position of the artisan/craftsperson in the late nineteenth century when ideas from the West and the pressure to reform Qing society began to proliferate. What changed, and was it for the better? Includes some information about female artisans, too.
- Sennett, Richard. The Craftsman. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.
- This is a more philosophical approach to the idea of craftsmanship and the artisan, and in this brief selection the author focuses on the process of learning a new skill, developing concentration, and mastering a craft.
- How does an account like this make you look anew at the objects we have covered so far in this course? What is it like to try and describe in detail how an object is made, step by step? (PDF)
- The book is also available as an e-book in Trexler library, and I highly recommend it.
- Ruitenbeek, Klaas, and Ban Lu. Carpentry and Building in Late Imperial China : A Study of the Fifteenth-Century Carpenter’s Manual, Lu Ban Jing. 2nd rev. ed. Sinica Leidensia, V. 23. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996.
- A short excerpt that focuses on “carpenters, and other building workers” (so it ties in with what we saw in week 8). This is from a study of the Lu ban jing, a fifteenth-century manual for carpentry, but this study also includes information about the social and legal status of carpenters and builders in Late Imperial China (i.e. Ming [1368-1644] and Qing [1644-1911] period) in general. (PDF, 25 mins)
Assignments
1. Reminder: Blog post (content week 10)
5 points, due Sun. April 2, 11:59PM
Write a blog post exploring themes or ideas based on your reading. You do not need to have all the answers. In fact, learning to ask good analytical or research questions is a skill you can develop during the semester. Remember the description of the assignment from the syllabus.
- Length: approx. 400 words. excl. list of materials consulted.
- Add the list of materials consulted at the end of the post, in Chicago notes and bibliography style.
- TOP TIP: Just copy the bibliography information from the Reading list on this webpage, do not add the descriptive notes I provide for your information.
- Add the words “Week 10” in the title.
- Please use this exact phrase, so your post will show up in the blog stream.
- Indicate which Exploration Pack you chose.
- Include a relevant image, and add a caption with the source/credit, and an Alt text description
- Post on your website, and add to the category hst137.
When you’re done, read this declaration carefully and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.
| Declaration |
|---|
| – I wrote a post of approximately 400 words in response to the readings. |
| – I included the bibliographic references for the materials I used for my post. |
| – I indicated which Exploration Pack I chose. |
| – I included an image, and I provided a caption and credit (source), and an Alt text description for the image. |
| – I use the words Week 10 in the title, and added the post to category hst137 |
2. Larger reflection 2
8 points, due Tue April 4, 11:59pm
Find all the details on the dedicated webpage (this helps me to keep the weekly schedule a bit more clutter-free).
3. Feedback with Hypothes.is
3 points, due Tue April 4, 11:59PM
Below you find links to three blog posts from your fellow students. If one of the websites is your own, or it is twice the same person’s, refresh the page, and you should get new sites. There may be a post from an earlier week: that means it came in after I created last week’s randomizer, but still before the built-in extension of the blog post assignment.
- Post 1:
- Post 2:
- Post 3:
Leave feedback, questions, thoughts, insights about the contents of the posts of your fellow students using Hypothes.is group HST137. You can ask for clarifications, point out similarities and differences with the material you covered, or with your interpretation. This should encourage you to nose around in the other materials you did not read originally, too.
Use tags in Hypothes.is: question: If you have a question (obvious); answered: if you gave an answer to a question; info: if you provide more information, looking up additional facts, drawing on knowledge from other classes; and other tags you can think of. This will help us to navigate more quickly to the questions that still need answering.
Use the “Architect’s Model” of giving feedback, and engage with concrete issues. Go beyond “Yeah, I agree,” “I like” or “I think the same”, and instead explain why you have that reaction, or if you disagree, you can try to persuade the original poster of your idea or interpretation.
Remember that Hypothes.is allows for hyperlinks, e.g. to materials that support your argument, or you can include pictures (memes! [yes, there she is again]), videos etc. that help the original poster to learn more.
When you’re done, read this declaration carefully, and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.
| Declaration |
|---|
| – I commented on three fellow students’ weekly blog post on Week 10 materials, using the Hypothes.is group HST137. |
| – I made sure to leave substantial comments that help the writer to improve the post, or to identify their strengths. |
| – I left comments that I would like to receive myself: thoughtful, helpful, kind, but also pointing out errors so they can be fixed. |
4. Blog post (content week 11)
5 points, due Mon. April 10, 11:59PM
Write a blog post exploring themes or ideas based on your reading. You do not need to have all the answers. In fact, learning to ask good analytical or research questions is a skill you can develop during the semester. Remember the description of the assignment from the syllabus.
- Length: approx. 400 words. excl. list of materials consulted.
- Add the list of materials consulted at the end of the post, in Chicago notes and bibliography style.
- TOP TIP: Just copy the bibliography information from the Reading list on this webpage, do not add the descriptive notes I provide for your information.
- Add the words “Week 11” in the title.
- Please use this exact phrase, so your post will show up in the blog stream.
- Indicate which Exploration Pack you chose.
- Include a relevant image, and add a caption with the source/credit, and an Alt text description
- Post on your website, and add to the category hst137.
When you’re done, read this declaration carefully and then fill out the Canvas quiz to collect your points.
| Declaration |
|---|
| – I wrote a post of approximately 400 words in response to the readings. |
| – I included the bibliographic references for the materials I used for my post. |
| – I indicated which Exploration Pack I chose. |
| – I included an image, and I provided a caption and credit (source), and an Alt text description for the image. |
| – I use the words Week 11 in the title, and added the post to category hst137 |
Extra Credit assignments
EC11-1: Extra commenting
3 points, due by Sunday April. 9, 11.59pm
Do you like reading your colleagues’ work? Do you like helping them out by identifying ways to make their posts better? Here’s some good news! You can earn extra credit by doing extra commenting! This assignment will be available regularly throughout the semester.
- Go to the Blog Stream of the Class
- Pick a post that piques your curiosity and that you have not yet commented on
- Use Hypothes.is group HST137, and leave feedback as we practiced with the Architects’s model
- Pick 2 other posts: they can come from other students in the blog stream, or if you like the writer, you can stay with them and comment more.
- The only conditions are
- that you do not comment on blog posts you already commented on before, as part of your regular weekly “sourdough starter” tasks.
- that the post is actually written for HST137, and not some other class. Check the category, and the content :upside down smiley:
- Add the tag extra to the comment (this helps me to keep track of how many people use this option.)
When you’re done, please read this declaration carefully and then collect your points on Canvas with the Declaration Quiz.
| Declaration |
|---|
| I selected three blogs I have not yet commented on before, from our class’s blog stream, and I used the Hypothes.is group HST137. |
| I made sure to leave substantial comments that help the writer to improve the post, or to identify their strengths. |
| I added the tag extra to my Hypothes.is comments. |
| I left comments that I would like to receive myself: thoughtful, helpful, kind, but also pointing out errors so they can be fixed. |
EC11-2: Down the Rabbit hole
3 points, due by Sunday April 9, 11.59pm
Are you curious? Can you spend hours on internet following one link after another trying to get to the bottom of something? Did you know you can now also get some extra credit for this?
Pick a topic, placename, object, book or person connected to our readings from this week, and follow your curiosity “down the rabbit hole”, like Alice in Wonderland. Then share in a blog post with us where you went, and what you found. Your post does not have to be very long: 250 words should work; more is fine if you went on a deep dive, of course. Here’s what to include:
- What in the course materials this week got you inspired to go down the rabbit hole?
- Include as hyperlinked text the websites you visited, and what you learned there.
- Include an image, with caption giving credit for the image.
- You may also critique the sources you find, in particular if you have your doubts about their reliability, or you come across conflicting interpretations. Which one did you side with, and why?
- Add the post to category hst137, use the title template “Down the rabbit hole: [insert subject]”, and add the tag extra.
Read the following Declaration carefully, and then head on over to Canvas to collect your points in the Declaration Quiz:
| Declaration |
|---|
| I wrote a post about additional materials on the internet I found, starting from a topic connected to course materials from this week. |
| I included the sites I visited as hyperlinked text, and explained what I learned on these pages. |
| I included an image, with a caption and credit for the image, and added Alt Text. |
| I added the post to the category hst137, used the tag extra, and used the title template “Down the rabbit hole:” for my post. |
Where to get assistance?
- Tea Room on Discord:
- open anytime for you
- I will be hosting Tue 2PM-3PM; Wed. 1PM-2PM, or at other times by appointment via Google Calendar (usually a 15-20min appointment is enough). You can also find me in my office during Tea Room times.
- Private room for confidential chat available on request.
- Discord Text Channel #hst137
- DLAs: Digital Learning Assistants: check the schedule!
- Writing Center: Sunday – Wednesday 3:30 – 5:30 & 7 – 11 PM; Thursday 3:30 – 5:30 PM & 7 – 9 PM
- Trexler Library Course Subject Guide: our own dedicated subject guide for the course
- Safety on/around campus: report an incident
