The Dean of Shandong
Confessions of a Minor Bureaucrat at a Chinese University
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3.7 • 3 Ratings
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
An inside view of Chinese academia and what it reveals about China’s political system
On January 1, 2017, Daniel Bell was appointed dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University—the first foreign dean of a political science faculty in mainland China’s history. In The Dean of Shandong, Bell chronicles his experiences as what he calls “a minor bureaucrat,” offering an inside account of the workings of Chinese academia and what they reveal about China’s political system. It wasn’t all smooth sailing—Bell wryly recounts sporadic bungles and misunderstandings—but Bell’s post as dean provides a unique vantage point on China today.
Bell, neither a Chinese citizen nor a member of the Chinese Communist Party, was appointed as dean because of his scholarly work on Confucianism—but soon found himself coping with a variety of issues having little to do with scholarship or Confucius. These include the importance of hair color and the prevalence of hair-dyeing among university administrators, both male and female; Shandong’s drinking culture, with endless toasts at every shared meal; and some unintended consequences of an intensely competitive academic meritocracy. As dean, he also confronts weightier matters: the role at the university of the Party secretary, the national anticorruption campaign and its effect on academia (Bell asks provocatively, “What’s wrong with corruption?”), and formal and informal modes of censorship. Considering both the revival of Confucianism in China over the last three decades and what he calls “the Communist comeback” since 2008, Bell predicts that China’s political future is likely to be determined by both Confucianism and Communism.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bell (The China Model) delivers an intriguing if uneven essay collection documenting his tenure from 2017 to 2022 as dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University in Shandong Province, birthplace of Confucius. A native Canadian and a scholar of Confucian thought, Bell was appointed dean to help internationalize the school and promote Confucianism at a time when it was being revived as a model for the Chinese Communist Party. Blending discourses on Chinese culture and politics with accounts of faculty rivalries, the government's response to Covid-19, and his own "bungles and misunderstandings," Bell expresses concern over the West's "demonization of China and especially its political system" and highlights the "independent thinking" that occurs even in periods of increased censorship. He also sheds light on the lasting influence of Confucian thought, touting programs that teach Confucian classics to public officials "as part of an effort to reduce corruption and inculcate a public-spirited work ethic." Unfortunately, in his eagerness to rebut "crude stereotypes" about China, Bell brushes past the Communist Party's brutal repression of Muslim Uyghurs, aggressive territorial claims, and surveillance of Chinese citizens. The result is a unique yet flawed contribution to the shelf on modern China.
