3 pages double spaced
First, did racism or other forms of bias playa role in Peters’actions on that evening? Can you detect evidence of bias –directed against a particular group or even socioeconomic class of people –in the memoir? In your view, did this play a role in Peters’ actions, and should it play a role in whether or not Peters is held responsible for the death?
Second, what was Peters trying to accomplish in writing this memoir? The memoir was not an objective description of the facts of the case. Rather, it was Peters’ own description of what happened, written to serve his own interests. What do you believe Peters was trying to do in writing this memoir and in providing this account of the incident that almost cost him his freedom?
Paper must include at least eight pieces of evidence from Shanghai Policeman, four of which must be paraphrases.
Perspectives in History: Fall 2021
Crime and Justice in China
Paper #1
Read all instructions carefully!!!
For this paper you will read excerpts from Shanghai Policeman, a memoir written by
E.W. Peters and published in 1937. The pages that you should read are 171-196 and 204-237.
Peters was an English police officer in Shanghai’s International Settlement, a zone of the city that was administered by an international (non-Chinese) government under the terms of the unequal treaties. Peters worked for the Shanghai Municipal Police, a British-controlled police force that governed this part of the city. We will discuss the system of unequal treaties and how Shanghai was governed in class.
In late November 1935, Peters was involved in an incident that led to the death of a Chinese “beggar” (one of many impoverished people who lived in Shanghai during this period) named Mau Teh-piau. Peters was put on trial and ultimately acquitted, but the facts remained contested. A central issue was whether Peters dumped this individual into a river or (as Peters claimed) placed him onto a boat. Once you have read the excerpts, you will have a better understanding of the circumstances of this incident and what the contested points were.
For this paper, I would like you to use Peters’ memoir to evaluate his actions on that evening in 1935. Specifically, I would like you to use evidence from the memoir to answer the following question: should Peters be held responsible for the death of this “beggar”?
In answering this question, you must touch upon the following two issues. Discussing these issues will help you to make your argument about whether or not Peters should be held responsible for the death:
First, did racism or other forms of bias play a role in Peters’ actions on that evening? Can you detect evidence of bias – directed against a particular group or even socioeconomic class of people – in the memoir? In your view, did this play a role in
Peters’ actions, and should it play a role in whether or not Peters is held responsible for the death?
Second, what was Peters trying to accomplish in writing this memoir? The memoir was not an objective description of the facts of the case. Rather, it was Peters’ own description of what happened, written to serve his own interests. What do you believe Peters was trying to do in writing this memoir and in providing this account of the incident that almost cost him his freedom?
You will write a 3-4 page paper (Size 12 type, double-spaced) in response to this topic.
Your paper must include at least eight pieces of evidence from Shanghai Policeman, four of which must be paraphrases. As we will discuss in class, you will use two kinds of evidence in your papers: paraphrases and direct quotes. We will discuss how to use both kinds of evidence in class. If you have questions about this before we discuss it (or if you still have questions after), feel free to email me. In either case – whether using a paraphrase or a direct quote – you must provide the page number in a footnote.
You may use material from class readings and your class notes in the paper if you feel that this is necessary, but your eight pieces of evidence must come from the Peters reading. No outside research is allowed and no Internet sources should be used.
Two additional things:
- We will go over how to structure your paper, make an argument, cite sources, in class, as well as the grading rubric that will be used. The rubric is posted on Canvas.
- I would be happy to go over a first draft of your paper with If you are interested in doing this, please email me a copy at least a week or so before it is due. I will send you feedback and we can discuss it further if necessary.
Rutgers-Newark history department honor pledge: The history department requires that every assignment, including this paper, include the following signed statement:
“On my honor, I have neither received nor given any unauthorized assistance on this assignment. (Name) (Signature – typing your name is fine) (Date)”. I cannot accept papers that do not have this statement.
“Unauthorized assistance” refers to academic integrity violations, which are described in the Rutgers academic integrity policy: http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/
The paper is due at 11:59pm on Friday, October 1st. You must submit the paper as a .doc or .docx file [Not .pdf, Pages, or a Google Docs link] through Canvas. Go to the “Start assignment” tab on the Paper #1 assignment page and then upload your paper.
Late papers will lose a grade level if they are handed in after 11:59pm on Friday, and then an additional grade level for every day that they are late. For example, an A paper handed in after this deadline will become an A-. If it is handed in after 11:59pm on Saturday, it will become a B+, and so on.
