OBJECTIVES

This course introduces and examines the historical development of over Chinese communities in different parts of the world, including Northeast and Southeast Asia, Americas, Europe, and Oceania since the nineteenth century. It looks into the political, economic, social and cultural factors that shaping the evolution of Chinese diaspora in these continents, and also synthesizes major characteristics of these overseas Chinese communities so as to enable students to go for comparative historical research.

1. Research on Chinese Diaspora: An Overview

No required readings, but you can refer to:

Tan, C. Chinese Overseas: Comparative Cultural Issues. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2004, pp. 9-29.

Wang, G. “The Study of Chinese Identities in Southeast Asia.” In Cushman, J. & Wang, G. (Eds.). Changing Identities of the Southeast Asian Chinese since World War II. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1988, pp. 1-21.

Wang, G. Don’t Leave Home: Migration and the Chinese. Singapore: Eastern Universities Press, 2003, pp. 277-295.

2. The Making of Chinese Diaspora

Amrith, S. Migration and Diaspora in Modern Asia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, pp. 18-57.

Skeldon, R. “The Chinese Diaspora or the Migration of Chinese Peoples?” In Ma, L. & Carftier, C. (Eds.). The Chinese Diaspora: Space, Place, Mobility, and Identity. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003, pp. 51-66.

Kuhn, P. “Towards an Historical Ecology of Chinese Migration.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 1). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 67-97.

3. Policies towards Overseas Chinese

Zhuang, G. “China’s Policies on Chinese Overseas: Past and Present.” In Tan, C. (Ed.). Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Diaspora. London: Routledge, 2013, pp. 31-41.

Leo, S. “Southeast Asian Government Policies toward the Ethnic Chinese: A Revisit.” In Tan, C. (Ed.). Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Diaspora. London: Routledge, 2013, pp. 274-289.

Lien P. & Chen, D. “The Evolution of Taiwan’s Politics toward the Political Participation of Citizens Abroad in Homeland Governance.” In Tan, C. (Ed.). Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Diaspora. London: Routledge, 2013, pp. 42-58.

4. Maritime Southeast Asia: Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia

Cartier, C. “Diaspora and Social Restructuring in Postcolonial Malaysia.” In Ma, L. & Carftier, C. (Eds.). The Chinese Diaspora: Space, Place, Mobility, and Identity. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003, pp. 69-96.

Kong, L. & Yeoh, B. “Nation, Ethnicity, and Identity: Singapore and the Dynamics and Discourses of Chinese Migration.” In Ma, L. & Carftier, C. (Eds.). The Chinese Diaspora: Space, Place, Mobility, and Identity. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003, pp. 193-219.

Mackie, J. & Coppel, C. “A Prelimiary Survey.” In Mackie, J. (Ed.). The Chinese in Indonesia. Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1976, pp. 1-18.

5. Mainland Southeast Asia: Thailand and Vietnam

Callahan, W. “Beyond Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism: Diasporic Chinese and Neo-nationalism in China and Thailand.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 4). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 212-250.

Rigg, J. “Exclusion and Embeddedness: The Chinese in Thailand and Vietnam.” In Ma, L. & Carftier, C. (Eds.). The Chinese Diaspora: Space, Place, Mobility, and Identity. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003, pp. 97-115.

Skinner, G. “Chinese Assimilation and Thai Politics.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 1). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 219-233.

6. Northeast Asia: Japan and Korea

Choi, S. “Politics, Commerce and Construction of Chinese ‘Otherness’ in Korea: Open Port Period (1876-1910).” In Kuah-Pearce, K. & Davidson, A. (Eds.). At Home in the Chinese Diaspora: Memories, Identities and Belongings. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, pp. 128-145.

Clammer, J. “Imagination, Memory and Misunderstanding: The Chinese in Japan and Japanese Perceptions of China.” In Kuah-Pearce, K. & Davidson, A. (Eds.). At Home in the Chinese Diaspora: Memories, Identities and Belongings. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008, pp. 146-163.

Friman, H. “Evading the Divine Wind through the Side Door: The Transformation of Chinese Migration to Japan.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 3). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 347-369.

7. Oceania: Australia and New Zealand

Chan, H. “Qiaoxiang and the Diversity of Chinese Settlement in Australia and New Zealand.” In Tan, C. (Eds.). Chinese Transnational Networks. London: Routledge, 2007, pp. 153-171.

Choi, C. “Chinese Migration 1901-47: Under the Commonwealth Immigration Restriction Act 1901.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 3). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 264-280.

Ip, M. “Chinese Immigrants and Transnationals in New Zealand: A Fortress Opened.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 3). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 302-321.

8. Americas: US, Canada and Cuba

Hearn, A. “Chinatown Havana: One Hundred and Sixty Years below the Surface.” In Wong, B. & Tan, C. (Eds.). Chinatowns around the World: Gilded Ghetto, Ethnopolis, and Cultural Diaspora. Leiden: Brills, 2013, pp. 163-186.

Li, P. “A Historical Approach to Ethnic Stratification: The Case of the Chinese in Canada, 1858-1930.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 3). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 171-190.

Yang, P. “From Sojourning to Settlement to Transnationalism: Transformations of the Chinese Immigrant Community in America.” In Tan, C. (Ed.). Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Diaspora. London: Routledge, pp. 122-140.

9. Europe: Britain and Germany

Benton, G. “Chinese Transnationalism in Britain: A Longer History.” Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 3). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 232-263.

Christiansen, F. Chinatown, Europe: An Exploration of Overseas Chinese Identity in the 1990s. London: Routledge, 2003, pp. 37-66.

Leung, M. “Notions of Home among Diaspora Chinese in Germany.” In Ma, L. & Carftier, C. (Eds.). The Chinese Diaspora: Space, Place, Mobility, and Identity. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003, pp. 237-258.

10. Overseas Chinese and Local Politics

Fujio, H. “Chinese Overseas and Communist Movements in Southeast Asia.” In Tan, C. (Ed.). Routledge Handbook of the Chinese Diaspora. London: Routledge, pp. 323-341.

Wang, G, “Political Chinese: Their Contribution to Modern Southeast Asia.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 4). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 163-176.

Yen, C. “Overseas Chinese Nationalism in Singapore and Malaya 1877-1912.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 4). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 137-162.

11. Diasporic Chinese Entrepreneurship

Dieleman, M. & Scahs, W. “Reluctant Internationalization: The Case of the Salim Group.” In Leo, S. (Ed.). Ethnic Chinese in Contemporary Indonesia. Singapore: ISEAS, 2008, pp. 154-176.

Mackie, J. “Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurship.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 2). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 185-217.

Trocki, C. “Boundaries and Transgressions: Chinese Enterprise in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Southeast Asia.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 3). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 45-68.

12. Chinese Education and Socio-cultural Heritage

Lee, G. “Singapore Chinese Society in Transition: Reflections on the Cultural Implications of Modern Education.” In Charney, M., Yeoh, B. & Tong, C. (Eds.). Chinese Migrants Abroad: Cultural, Educational and Social Dimensions of the Chinese Diaspora. Singapore: Singapore University Press & World Scientific, 2003, pp. 229-251.

Skinner, G. “Creolized Chinese Societies in Southeast Asia.” In In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 3). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 3-44.

Tan, L. “Chinese Schools in Malaysia: A Case of Cultural Resilience.” In Liu, H. (Ed.). The Chinese Overseas (Vol. 2). London: Routledge, 2006, pp. 310-337.

Tutorial: 25 Marks
Students will be divided into groups to make a presentation on critically reviewing one of the four books assigned for the four tutorials. The mark distribution of this component is: Presentation Performance: 17 Marks & Participation (including Comments and Discussion): 8 Marks. Please note that 6 Marks will be deducted for being absent from one tutorial session (i.e. 12 Marks to be deducted for being absent from two tutorial sessions, and so on).

Tutorial Topics (Tentative)

Tutorial 1: The Chinese Overseas – 14 Feb
Tutorial 2: Ethnic Chinese as Southeast Asians – 21 Feb
Tutorial 3: Chinatowns around the World – 28 Feb
Tutorial 4: Contemporary Chinese Diasporas – 7 Mar

Mid-Term Review Essay: 25 Marks
Submit a 2,000-word review article based on the readings assigned for tutorial presentation. The submission deadline is two weeks after tutorial presentation.

Take-Home Exam: 50 Marks
Students will be allowed around two weeks to write an essay in English with 4,000-5,000 words in response to one of a few questions to be announced in the second last lecture, when more details (including submission date and requirements) about this assignment will be given.

The course information is tentative and subject to change and confirmation when the semester begins in early January 2021.

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at here.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment. 
• Students are fully aware that their work may be investigated by AI content detection software to determine originality.
• Students are fully aware of the AI approach(es) adopted in the course. In the case where some AI tools are allowed, students have made proper acknowledgment and citations as instructed by the course teacher.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.

The copyright of the teaching materials, including lecture notes, assignments and examination questions etc., produced by staff members/ teachers of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) belongs to CUHK. Students may download the teaching materials produced by the staff members/ teachers from the Learning Management Systems, e.g. Blackboard adopted by CUHK for their own educational use, but shall not distribute/ share/ copy the materials to a third-party without seeking prior permission from the staff members/ teachers concerned.