Most standard curricula related to Chinese socialist culture in the United States relied on popular memoirs and films that reflected upon the horrors of the Chinese socialist period in retrospect. Many of these materials were written originally in English, primarily targeted a Western audience, and tended to affirm a lingering Cold War paradigm that regarded Chinese people as victimized sufferers oppressed by a totalitarian government, or as \u201cbrainwashed\u201d subjects incapable of critical thinking in contrast with the free, democratic, and creative citizens of the Western world. But what were cultural texts from the Mao era actually like? What kind of films did people watch, and what did they like about them? What was actually inside Mao\u2019s famous \u201cLittle Red Book\u201d?<\/p>\n
In this online two-part workshop, we examined primary sources from the Mao era (1949\u20131976)<\/strong> to investigate what policies, ideas, and values attracted millions of people to the socialist project. We explored the rise of communism in China, examined the mechanisms by which Maoist propaganda operated, and interrogated our own biases in approaching this complex historical period while acknowledging the tragedies that occurred.<\/p>\n During the first half of the program, Dr. Huerta lectured on major historical events from the Chinese socialist period and offered context on socialist cultural production. Participants were provided with discussion questions in advance and invited to share their own questions and insights during the second half of the workshop. At the end of the program, participants were expected to submit a short project that included creating a lesson plan around a text of their choice.<\/p>\n All texts for this workshop were freely available online \u2013 socialist culture belongs to the people!<\/p>\n Participants were expected to view and read the following materials in advance of each session:<\/p>\n Before the October 6 session:<\/strong> Before the October 13 session:<\/strong> Monday, October 6, 2025; 4:00 – 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)<\/strong><\/p>\n Monday, October 13, 2025; 4:00 – 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)<\/strong><\/p>\n All sessions tookplace online on Zoom.<\/em><\/p>\n Elise Huerta<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is a cultural studies scholar and educator who specializes in modern and contemporary China. Her research explores the cultural politics of touch in modern Chinese literature, film, and visual culture. She holds a PhD in East Asian Languages & Cultures from Stanford University and a BA in Asian Languages & Cultures from the University of Michigan.<\/p>\n This program was sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most standard curricula related to Chinese socialist culture in the United States relied on popular memoirs and films that reflected upon the horrors of the Chinese socialist period in retrospect. Many of these materials were written originally in English, primarily targeted a Western audience, and tended to affirm a lingering Cold War paradigm that regarded<\/p>\nProgram expectations<\/h3>\n
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Watch The Red Detachment of Women (1962 film)<\/a><\/em> and read Mao Zedong\u2019s Talks at the Yan\u2019an Forum on Literature and Art (1942)<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
Read the following sections from Quotations of Chairman Mao (Little Red Book)<\/a><\/em>: (2) Classes and Class Struggle, (3) War and Peace, (4) Women, and (5) Culture and Art.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\nProgram details<\/h3>\n
Program Benefits<\/h3>\n
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Program Leader<\/strong><\/h3>\n