John Dewey in China, livre ebook

Shows how John Dewey's visit to China from 1919 to 1921 influenced his social and political thought.

Shows how John Dewey's visit to China from 1919 to 1921 influenced his social and political thought.

Combining biography with philosophy, this book explores John Dewey's two-year trip to China (1919–1921) and its legacy for him as a teacher and a learner. Jessica Ching-Sze Wang looks at how Dewey was received in China, what he learned, and how he was changed as a result. She examines the intriguing dynamics shaping China's reactions to Dewey and Dewey's interpretations of China, and details the evolving process in which Dewey came to understand China on its own terms, rather than from Eurocentric perspectives. Tracing China's influence on Dewey, Wang considers how his visit contributed to the subsequent development of his social and political philosophy. China provided a unique vantage point for Dewey to observe international politics, which led him to reconsider the meaning of internationalism. Also, his exposure to Chinese communal culture enabled him to reject the Western preoccupation with democracy in politics and to emphasize democracy as all-encompassing culture. Finally, Wang discusses how Dewey's own observations and appraisals of Chinese society can give credence to the notion of Confucian democracy for China.

Acknowledgments
1. Dewey and May Fourth China
Enacting a Historical Drama
Rethinking Dewey’s Visit in China
The Encounter between Dewey and China: Then and Now
Overview of Upcoming Chapters
2. Dewey as a Teacher
Dewey as a Modern Confucius
Dewey as "Mr. Science"
Dewey as "Mr. Democracy"
Dewey as the Common People’s Educator
Dewey as a Democratic Teacher
Whose Teaching? Or Hu’s Teaching?
3. The Reception of Dewey in China
The Dewey Fad
Marxist Challenges to Dewey’s Social and Political Philosophy
Traditionalist Responses to Dewey’s Educational Philosophy
Reconsidering "The Dewey Experiment"
4. Dewey as a Learner
Dewey as a Political Commentator
Dewey as a Goodwill Ambassador
Dewey as a Cultural Anthropologist
A Fruitful Journey to the East
5. The Influence of China on Dewey’s Social and Political Philosophy
Rethinking Internationalism
Replacing the State with the Public
Reconstructing Democracy
Mapping Out a Future for Confucian Democracy
6. Continuing the Dialogue on Dewey and China
Notes
Bibliography
Index