How Brainwashing was Good and Maoist Propaganda was True: An Interview with leading China scholar Aminda Smith

This interview with Dr. Aminda Smith of Michigan State University touches on topics including why good PRC history is left history; thought reform, reeducation through labor, and brainwashing; the veracity of the propaganda produced for a global audience during the Mao years; and the Maoist legacy in China today. Further reading and watching: Aminda Smith, Thought Reform and China’s Dangerous Classes Aminda Smith, “The Maoism of PRC History” Aminda Smith, “Brainwashing and World Revolution” Aminda Smith, “The Legacies of 'Brainwashing': Cold War Ideology and Modern Chinese History” (the content of this talk is similar to the paywalled book chapter on brainwashing) Stephen Andors, China’s Industrial Revolution Positions Politics website H-PRC website Brian DeMare, Land Wars: The Story of China's Agrarian Revolution Richard Wolin, The Wind From the East: French Intellectuals, the Cultural Revolution, and the Legacy of the 1960s Philosophy is no Mystery Mao Zedong, “On Contradiction” Jonathan Spence, The Search for Modern China Zheng Yangwen, Ten Lessons in Modern Chinese History Maurice Meisner, Mao's China and After Jonathan Spence, The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution Rebecca Karl, Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World: A Concise History Yueran Zhang, “Leninists in a Chinese Factory: Reflections on the Jasic Labour Organising Strategy” “Seeing through Muddied Waters, Part 1: Jasic, Strikes & Unions” “New Alliance of Students-Workers in Struggle of Union Formation: The Case of Jasic Conflict” “Longing for the Cultural Revolution in China Today” Rae Yang, Spider Eaters: A Memoir Support the show