Workshop “How to write a People’s History of Maoist China” (Vienna October 5-7 2012) Friday October 5, 6-8 pm The Karl-Renner-Institute and the Institute for East Asian Studies/Sinology of the University of Vienna invite you to a Panel discussion BEYOND GREAT LEADERS: HOW TO WRITE THE HISTORY OF ORDINARY PEOPLE? Venue Karl-Renner-Institut, Europasaal - Hotel 2 entrance: Gartenhotel Altmannsdorf Hoffingergasse 33, 1120 Wien (public transport: U6, Station "Am Schöpfwerk") Panelists NEIL DIAMANT Associate Professor of Asian Law and Society, Dickinson College, USA ROBERT FOLTIN Author, Vienna ANDREA KOMLOSY Social Scientist, University of Vienna PATRICIA M. THORNTON Political Scientist, University of Oxford Moderator FELIX WEMHEUER Sinologist, University of Vienna Contents “The young Alexander conquered India. Was he alone?/ Caesar beat the Gauls. Did he not have even a cook with him?/ Philip of Spain wept when his armada went down. Was he the only one to weep?” 1 (Brecht/“Questions from a Worker who Reads”). Even today, popular science and mainstream historians focus rather on “great leaders” than on the experiences of ordinary people such as peasants, workers, maids, foot soldiers, migrants or ethnic minorities. We like to discuss the question of how can we discover the “voice of the voicelessness” in historical accounts and archives. How can we write national or global history that is focused on ordinary people and not on political elites? Are categories such as “class” or “the people” useful? Scholars who are specialized on Maoist China, Global and Austrian history will compare the experiences and the role of ordinary people in the historical development of their countries. 8 pm reception at the Renner Institute Saturday October 6 Workshop, Place: University of Vienna, Campus, Spitalgasse 2, 1090 Vienna, Courtyard 2, Sinology, Room: Sin 1 10.00 Welcome and Introduction to the Project Panel One: Is People’s History Possible? Narratives and Categories (Chair: Agnes SchickChen, University of Vienna) 10.15-10.35 Felix Wemheuer (University of Vienna): How to Write a People’s History of Maoist China: A Thought Experiment 10.35-11.00 Susanne Weigelin-Schwiedrzik (University of Vienna): Comment on the Challenges 11.00-11.30 Discussion 11.30-11.45 Coffee Break Panel Two: Is People’s History Possible? Research Methods, Sources and Language (Chair: Lena Springer, University of Vienna) 11.45-12.05 Neil J. Diamant (Dickinson College): Is a People's History Possible in an Authoritarian State? 12.05-12.25 Sascha Klotzbücher (University of Vienna): Beyond “Data Grabbing“: Is Participative Research on Chinese Modern History Necessary and Possible? 12.25-12.55 Discussion 13.00-14.00 Lunch Break 2 Panel Three “People’s Cultural Revolution” (Chair: Jiagu Richter, University of Vienna) 14.00-14.20 Patricia M. Thornton (Oxford University): “Learning how to Swim by Swimming”: The Possibilities, Contradictions, and Dangers of the People’s Cultural Revolution 14.20-14.40 Yiching Wu (University of Toronto): The “Great Retreat” and Its Discontent: Reexamining the Shengwulian Episode in the Cultural Revolution 14.40-15.10 Discussion 15.10-15.20 Break Panel Four: Creating the Maoist Self: Diaries, Confessions Letters and Memory (Chair: Felix Wemheuer, University of Vienna) 15.20-15.40 Jacob Eyferth (University of Chicago): Writing the Self in Maoist China 15.40-16.00 Daniel Leese (Freiburg University): Confessions of a Rebel: Narratives and History in Flux at Beijing Capital Steel Factory 16.00-16.20 Hauke Neddermann (FU Berlin): Yesterday’s Tomorrows: Understanding the Mao Era through Past Visions of the Future 16.20-17.00 Discussion 18.00-20.00 Dinner Sunday, October 7 Workshop, Place: University of Vienna, Campus, Spitalgasse 2, Courtyard 2, Sinology, Room: Sin 1 Panel Five: Local People and Local Practices 10.00-10.20 Brian James DeMare (Tulane University): The Perils of “Peasant Culture”: Investigating Village Drama in the PRC 10.20-10.40 Lena Springer (University of Vienna): Practitioners and Substances behind the Myth of Maoist Medicines 10.40-11.00 Hou Xiaojia (University of Colorado–Denver): Agents between People and Elite Politics: Seeing Mao’s China through Narratives of Government Cadres of Intermediate Rank 11.00-11.45 Discussion 3 11.45-13.00 Lunch Break 13.00-14.00 Closing Discussion (Chair: Felix Wemheuer) What did we learn? Are there new questions? How do we continue with the project? Who will write the book? 4