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Academic Year 2001/2002

Travel Literature of East Asia
ALIT 258 SP
Crosslistings:
EAST 258
COL 267

Travel literature is one important category of classical East Asian literature, a body of works assuming a Chinese center of the world. The first part of the course considers descriptions of travels within China and from China to the periphery. It also takes up Japanese and Korean pilgrimages to China, or pilgrimages written against a background of deep respect for Chinese literature. Organization will be by kinds of travel (religious pilgrimage, political reporting, philosophical inquiry, natural description), and we will take up other matters, such as narrative voice and flow of time. We will work to define the dichotomies center/periphery and inside/outside in the context of this literature. The second part of the course treats works written d uring or after the breakup of the traditional East Asian order. It follows the same organizational categories as the first half but takes note of new meanings of center and periphery that emerged in conjunction with Western invasion. During this part of t he course, travelogues by Westerners are introduced, with a view to understanding what East Asia, or its component countries, might have meant to the non-East Asian world.

MAJOR READINGS

Wu Cheng-en, JOURNEY TO THE WEST THE TRAVEL DIARIES OF XU XIAKE Choe Pu, A RECORD OF DRIFTING ACROSS THE SEA Basho, THE NARROW ROAD TO OKU Li Ruzhen, THE TRAVELS OF LAOCAN Lu Xun, THE TRUE STORY OF AH Q Mark Salzman, IRON AND SILK Cathy Davidson, THIRTY-SIX VIEWS OF MOUNT FUJI

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Weekly written responses to the readings and a final paper of 15 to 20 pages.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Only COL students will be allowed to take this course on a Credit/Unsatisfactory basis. All others must take it for letter grade. Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UGRD    Credit: 1    Gen Ed Area Dept: HA AL&L    Grading Mode: Student Option   

Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.

Last Updated on MAR-19-2002

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