This course will explore conceptions of gender, sexuality, and the body through an examination of the multifaceted images of men and women that are created, circulated, and transformed in Chinese literature, religious texts, historical narratives, art, and movies, with an emphasis on their aesthetic and cultural implications. Topics include sexuality, spirits, and ghosts; portraiture and representations of the body; spies, assassins, and martial artists. Works discussed in this course include THE BOOK OF SONGS, THE VERSE OF CHU, RHAPSODY ON THE GAO TANG SHRINE, THE STORY OF YINGYING, THE PEONY PAVILION, SINKING, and EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN. |