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Academic Year 2003/2004


Margins and Masculinity in Chinese Literature
ALIT 241 SP

Crosslistings:
EAST 239
WMST 233

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.

MAJOR READINGS

Sima Qian, RECORDS OF THE GRAND HISTORIAN
Stephen Owen, ANTHOLOGY OF CHINESE LITERATURE
Shi Naian, THE WATER MARGIN
Yu Dafu, SINKING
Zhang Xianliang, HALF OF A MAN IS WOMAN
Zhu Tianaren, NOTES OF A DESOLATE MAN

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Two 3-5 page papers, one midterm, one final paper, one oral report (group or individual) and class discussion.

COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

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-19-2004


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