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Until recently, the literature of traditional China was taught with little attention to questions of gender and class privilege. This course explores such questions. We will cover Sima Qian, the remarkable Han Dynasty historian, whose Historical Records was written after he was legally emasculated. Next we will look at some major poets: Qu Yuan and some of the leading figures of the Tang and Song traditions, with their various insight into how class, marginality, and writing are intertwined. Military heroes and ghostly lovers as they emerge in fiction will also be brought in. Finally women as poets and political activists will round out our survey of traditional figures. The course will conclude with an exploration of writers from the twentieth century, where questions of privilege and gender are again of major concern. Overall, we will aim both to survey the traditional and modern "high cultures" of China and to explore the bases on which high culture is defined.
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/Discussion
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA AL&L Grading Mode: Graded
Prerequisites: NONE Links to Web Resources For This Course.
Last Updated on MAR-18-2003
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459