In order to give me a sense of what each student is bringing to the class in terms of life experiences and connections to larger historical events, please write a short (1-2 pp.) essay giving either (1) some sense of your own family's history, or (2) your first memory of a direct experience with, or connection to, an historical event that transcended your family or immediate community.  Or both, if you're feeling prolix.  Conclude with a paragraph indicating how you got interested in studying China.

    This paper should be in "standard" format -- i.e., double-spaced and paginated, with your name and date at the top.  Unlike every other assignment this semester, however, you do not need to print this one out or UL it to Blackboard.  Instead, please just send it to panjiaoshou@gmail.com as an email attachment (in DOC, not in PDF, format)—I'll then add your photo from Blackboard and print it all out.

    While this assignment will not be graded, you may ask me if you'd like to get some feedback in terms of assessing your clarity of expression.