MaoZedong

 For the fifth paper, focus on the readings from Weeks Eight and Nine, that center on the Cultural Revolution, and from Week Ten, that deals with Mao and the Sino-US rapprochement of the early 1970s. How would you characterize these events – Cynical? Strategically brilliant? Idealistic? Or all of the above? How are these events connected, or are they connected? What are the contradictions and points of consistency between them? Above all, what do these two events tell us about Mao as a person and a politician? Please use these questions to formulate a focused and well-crafted thesis about Mao in this final and dramatic stage of his life.