150064 SE Fachspezifisches Seminar PR (Politik und Recht) (M3) (2016W)

Doing Things with Words
Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik and Li Ling
The title of this seminar is taken from a book by Michael Schoenhals who presented the special art of writing and reading CCP documents during the last phase of the Cultural Revolution when the language of the CCP leadership was so esoteric that only people who had learned how to read them were able to decipher them. Although the situation might not be as difficult today as it was between 1972 and 1976, the art of reading CCP documents has recently become more and more important after it had been nearly forgotten for quite some time. This seminar is dedicated to developing the skills necessary to read CCP documents, analyse them and interpret them. The two lecturers each have their own way of reading CCP documents, not only because Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik acquired these skills during the early 1970s and Li Ling was born and raised in the PRC. Thus the perspectives of outside and inside readers, as well as of reading experiences from the 1970’s and from more recent times will be introduced to the students.
In the first phase pf the seminar, students will be introduced to reading CCP documents by the lecturers. Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik will use the 1981 party resolution “On Some Questions Regarding the History of the Party since the Founding of the PRC” which has recently been debated quite strongly in the PRC to show how the interpretation of this document in the context of the discourse on the Cultural Revolution has changed over the years and how the understanding of this changing interpretation helps to gain a better understanding of why the document was designed to cater to the special needs of the Party back in 1981. Li Ling will then introduce her reading of documents from the 18th Party Congress focusing on questions related to the rule of law as a more or less important source of legitimacy for the CCP.
Discussion is an important part of reading, analyzing and interpreting CCP documents. Therefore, three groups of students will be organized to jointly prepare the presentations of CCP documents of their own choice by preparative discussions during the month of October and early November. Starting from mid-November students will suggest their readings of CCP documents.