This paper revolves around the reading of Liao Yiwu’s The Corpse Walker. This book introduces the reader, in a journalistic manner, to the life stories of contemporary Chinese of various backgrounds. Many of these stories revolve around the connection between the person’s present conditions and their history. What I would like you to do in this paper is to choose a contemporary issue or problem dealt with in this book, do some additional research about this issue in contemporary China, and write a paper analyzing how this contemporary issue or problem should be understood, and how it connects to historical themes that we have dealt with in this course. You have a great deal of flexibility in what you focus on and how you structure your argument, but all papers need to be solidly supported with examples from the book, articles, and our readings in class.

Expectations:

1. Your paper should include references to reputable academic or journalistic sources. DO NOT cite random web pages that you discover in the process of running a google search. Do some research on whatever issue you choose.

2. To find outside sources, make use of the online databases available through the Roesch library website. Several will be of particular use: JSTOR, Academic Search Complete, LexisNexis Academic.
3. Final Paper, 5-7 pages. All papers should be double-spaced and typed in Times-New Roman font size 12.