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Dissertation Information for Ching-Sze Wang

NAME:
- Ching-Sze Wang

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Educational Leadership

SCHOOL:
- Indiana University (USA) (2005)

ADVISORS:
- Barry Bull

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Donald Warren
- Luise P. McCarty
- Jeffrey Wasserstrom

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: John Dewey in China: To teach and to learn

Abstract: John Dewey's two year visit to China (1919-1921) demarcates an important episode both in his own life and in the history of intellectual exchange between China and America. However, existing studies evaluating Dewey's influence on China have failed to take Dewey's own thoughts and experiences into account. This dissertation examines Dewey's visit from his own perspective as a teacher and a learner.

In chapter two, I explore Dewey's role as a teacher by examining the diverse images associated with him while he was in China and his own aspirations as a democratic and benevolent teacher. In chapter three, I look at the reception of Dewey's ideas, which fluctuated with major events of the time. I review left-wing accusations about Dewey's political thought and traditionalist challenges to his educational ideas. Some of these criticisms were ideological, while others resulted from underlying differences in cultural beliefs and practices.

In chapter four, I examine what Dewey learned from his experiences as a political commentator, a goodwill ambassador, and a cultural anthropologist. In his long sojourn, he came to question Eurocentric conceptions of the world and to understand China on its own terms, as evidenced in his evolving views about the May Fourth movement, about the responsibility of America in the Far East, and about Chinese ways of life.

In chapter five, I compare Dewey's political writings prior to and after his visit to show how Dewey's learning in China may have influenced the subsequent development of his political thought. His learning about Chinese history and politics seemed to have compelled him to reconsider the meaning of internationalism and to clarify the relations between the public and the state. Most importantly, Dewey's exposure to the communal culture of Chinese society enabled him to perceive the limitations of democracy understood solely as a form of government and to emphasize the idea of community life as a more secure foundation for democracy. My dissertation concludes with suggestions for a continuing dialogue on Dewey and China.

MPACT Scores for Ching-Sze Wang

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T = 0
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TA = 0
calculated 2010-12-13 17:21:37

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