One Nation: Two Futures?

Author:

Melvin Maskin

Subject:

Humanities, Social Sciences

Institution Name:

Thirteen/WNET New York

Collection:

WIDE ANGLE: Window into Global History

Grade Level:

Secondary

Abstract:

Since the mid-l970s, economic reforms have transformed China from one of the most egalitarian societies into one of the most unequal in the world. Wide disparities currently exist between the income levels of a relatively few rich and middle-class Chinese and their fellow citizens who number in the hundreds of millions. This "wealth gap" is particularly acute when one compares the incomes of urban and rural residents, between Chinese living in the interior of the country and those living in the rapidly developing cities on China's eastern coast.

The causes of the growing income gap include previous governmental policies that favored city dwellers over farmers, the uneven regional patterns of foreign investment, and the massive outflow of displaced farmers to China's already overcrowded cities in pursuit of manufacturing jobs.

Recently, the Chinese government, in recognition of the potential for social instability, and in the face of growing unrest amongst China's poor, has made the elimination of economic and social inequalities a top priority. Plans are in motion to build a more "harmonious society" through the delivery of improved educational and health services to those who appear to have been left behind in China's rush to modernize its economy.

This lesson, using clips from the WIDE ANGLE film "To Have and Have Not" (2002), can be used after a lesson on the Communist Revolution and Mao's rule. A basic knowledge of China's geography, of the tenets of Chinese Communism, and of Mao's efforts to redirect the course of China's future by means of the Cultural Revolution, is required for the successful completion of the lesson.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Languages:

English

Material Type:

Activities and Labs, Curriculum Standards, Lesson Plans, Teaching and Learning Strategies

Media Format:

Text/HTML, Video

Technical Requirements:

RealPlayer

Conditions of Use:

Custom Permissions
WIDE ANGLE: WINDOW INTO GLOBAL HISTORY is an outreach initiative produced by the LAB@Thirteen, Thirteen/WNET New York's Educational and Community Outreach department. The project is designed to support the teaching and learning of Global History in high school classrooms. Our goal is that these resources will enrich the study of Global History in a variety of ways: For teachers, we hope these materials provide a flexible resource to facilitate the integration of quality media elements into standards-based classroom instruction.