Intended Date of Award
2016
Degree Name
Doctorate in Public Administration (DPA)
Chair
Jim Scheibel
Vice-Chair
Harry Boyte
Committee Member
Peter Levine
Abstract
This dissertation reconfigures Chinese democracy and the purpose of higher education through a conversation of its tradition, culture, and modern challenges in the context of civic studies, a new academic discipline focusing on civic renewal and citizens’ role as co-creators for a better society. Through analyzing the affinities between the Confucian tradition, Dewey’s communitarian form of democracy, the Chinese socialist tradition and public work, this dissertation explores the civic foundation for constructing Chinese democracy as collective agency. Recasting the "China Dream” as a collective work, it highlights important possibilities of developing civic professionals as the transformative force in modern China and the urgency for restoring the democratic role of higher education. Using a case study of the Experiential English reform at the International School of Business, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics, this dissertation examines feasibility of creating free spaces as experiments of new democratic thinking and practices in a centralized education system.
Recommended Citation
Yang, Honglian, "Reconfiguring Democracy and the Purpose of Higher Education in China" (2016). School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations. 6.
https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/hsb_all/6
dc_type
text
dc_publisher
DigitalCommons@Hamline
dc_format
application/pdf
dc_source
School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations
Included in
International and Comparative Education Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons