THE INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY ON CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA

ASSIGNMENT

Submit for instructor evaluation (as early as Wednesday, Janaury 31, 2001 but no later than Friday, February 16, 2001) a FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY on a topic selected from the list below; the essay must meet the established criteria listed as part of the assignment without exception to be deemed acceptable by the instructor

TOPICS

THE INFLUENCE OF GEOGRAPHY AND/OR CLIMATE ON (CHOOSE ONE) -- ·

SUBMITTED ESSAYS MUST CONTAIN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS USING THE APPROPRIATE FORMAT:

• a COVERSHEET
• a minimum of FIVE PARAGRAPHS, including -
  • an INTRODUCTION incorporating a THESIS STATEMENT (use bold typeface)
  • a series of individual PARAGRAPHS constituting the BODY of the essay, each containing a TOPIC SENTENCE (underlined)
  • a CONCLUSION restating the THESIS STATEMENT and the major support for it found in the BODY of the essay
• ANNOTATION crediting the sources of the ideas and quotations included in the essay (as FOOTNOTES, ENDNOTES or IN -TEXT NOTES)
• a properly prepared BIBLIOGRAPHY of sources cited in the annotation, including at least one example each of a BOOK, an ARTICLE from a periodical or journal and an INTERNET WEB SITE; include as well a bibliographic reference to the STYLE MANUAL used to provide guidance in the ppreparation of your essay.

ESSAYS WHICH FAIL TO MEET THE ESTABLISHED CRITERIA WILL BE RETURNED FOR REVISION(S) (PRIOR TO THE FINAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE) UNTIL ALL HAVE BEEN SATISFIED.

STUDENTS MUST MEET ALL THE ESTABLISHED WRITING SKILL REQUIREMENTS TO CONTINUE IN THE COURSE; FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN STUDENTS BEING DROPPED FROM THE COURSE AT THE INSTRUCTOR'S DISCRETION

RESOURCES

An appropriate place to begin this project is with the assigned reading for the class session on GEOGRAPHY included in the COURSE SCHEDULE.

A great specialized site on Chinese geography, simply entitled GEOGRAPHY, has been developed by Ronald G. Knapp (PhD, University of Pittsburgh, 1968), chairman of the Department of Geography at SUNY New Paltz -- it's well worth a look!

Professor Knapp teaches Understanding China, Physical Geography, and Contemporary China. His field-based research, too, focuses on China and involves a study of Chinese vernacular architecture. His two newest books-- China's Living Houses: Folk Beliefs, Symbols and Household Ornamentation and China's Old Dwellings--were published by the University of Hawaii Press in 1999 and 2000

Another perspective is discussed in an illustrated online lecture by Bret Wallach (Department of Geography, Oklahoma State University) entitled "The Human Geography of Classical China"; additional information can be found in an extended web discussion of the Geography of China and in the statistical data found on the China Today web site.

The following maps provide visual information:

• a satellite image of China from space illustrating patterns of terrain and transportation
• a map of contemporary political divisions by prefecture
• a National Geographic Society map illustrating population centers and other geographical information
• a map showing relative population densities
• a map illustrating the distribution of agricultural production
• a brief discussion and map divided by language groups
• a map showing the distribution of national minority groups within China
• a guide to maps of China compiled by the Council on East Asian Libraries at the University of Oregon
• and a resource list by Thomas H. Hahn (University of Wisconsin Library, Madison, Wisconsin) of other maps you might find useful

Other web sources to consider:

• an article on Culture and Geography discussing elements of geography, defining culture and important Chinese cultural characteristics
• an article by Jack Scarborough (from the November 1998 issue of Business Horizons) on "Comparing Chinese and Western Cultural Roots: Why 'East is East and ...'"
• a series of responses from the East Asian Studies Center at Inidana University to the question "What Makes Chinese Chinese?"
• a consideration of regional cuisine, part of a larger web site on Chinese food entitled The Edible Journey through China.

EXAMPLE ESSAY