Assignment: China

HONORS JUNIOR SEMINAR: MISSIONS IN THEORY AND PRACTICE
Fall 2002

Case Study: Christians in China

Assignment: Your group will be responsible for researching the history of the mission effort by Catholics (especially the Society of Jesus) in China, from its origins to the present day. You will present your research in a well-organized presentation to teach the class what you have learned.

Research topics:

Primary: the Jesuit mission in China and the response of the Chinese people at an official and unofficial level. Your guide to the primary task should be what the class needs in terms of historical background to the book The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci.
Secondary: the context of Christian missions in China overall, including other groups and denominations, and the present-day mission situation. Here you may let your particular interests be your guide.

Presentation guidelines:

Group work: Divide the labor of research among members of the group. Meet often outside of class to report your findings, and keep in touch via e-mail. Your presentation will be shaped by how your research is going, so frequent contact will give you a good idea of what the presentation will be like long before the details need to be planned.
Preparation and rehearsal: You will be teaching the class. Therefore, prepare to be informative above all. I will be happy to copy and distribute any handouts you’d like to make, and/or make arrangements for audiovisual equipment. Not all members of the group need speak; your guide should be how the material can be presented most effectively. You have one class period (75 minutes). You must rehearse your complete presentation ahead of time. Failure to do so will be obvious to the class and will detract from the effectiveness of your teaching.
Evaluation: After the presentation, each member of the group will anonymously evaluate the work of all members of the group (including him/herself). Your grade will be determined by the instructor’s evaluation of the group’s presentation, combined with your peers’ evaluation of your individual work in the group.

Select Bibliography:

The following resources in print and on the web are starting points for your research. Please include a bibliography of works actually cited in your presentation, either as a handout or on an overhead or slide. Thorough research means consulting both print and online resources. Websites are best consulted as you would an encyclopedia: to discover historical facts that are generally accepted, and to provide bibliographic information on journals and books to be consulted in print. Both websites and books may come with an interpretive agenda, especially if they are produced by people or groups with a religious or anti-religious mission. Such materials can still be useful if you are aware of potential bias and take them as spokestexts for particular sides in an ongoing debate.

Jacques Gernet, China and the Christian Impact. A history of the arrival of Christianity from the Chinese point of view.

Jessie Lutz, ed., Christian Missions in China: Evangelists of What? Valuable interdisciplinary anthology of approaches to Chinese missions.

Society of St. Pius X, “History of Asian Missions” (http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Catholic_History/For-The-Missions-Of-Asia-4.htm). Pious narrative from a missionary newsletter.

Andrew Gosling, “Religion and Rebellion in China” (http://www.nla.gov.au/asian/pub/aglms1.html). Presentation about the National Library of Australia’s holdings on Anglican mission efforts in China.

Charles Horner, “China’s Christian History” (http://www.leaderu.com/ftissues/ft9708/articles/horner.html). From the Catholic journal First Things, an article-length history emphasizing cultural and political difficulties.