From the Goddess to the Feminist: Women in Chinese Literature and Visual Culture
CEAS 209
Fall 2018 not offered
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This course examines representations of women in Chinese literature, painting, and music. It is organized around several Chinese cultural tropes of women and their historical contexts: from the goddess, the court lady, the literary gentry woman, the courtesan, and the female knight-errant in premodern Chinese culture, to the modern "new woman" and feminist. It also explores major themes associated with women in Chinese literature and culture: the relationship between gender and political power, self and society, individual and tradition, humans and the numinous realm. Tropes that persist through different periods will be used to chart changes in literary history. Students are encouraged to think about how these feminine tropes are formed in literary and pictorial conventions, as well as how they are reinvented over time. Whenever feasible, we will juxtapose representations of the same subjects by Chinese writers and writers from other traditions to think about the significance of the ways women are represented in different cultural traditions. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA CEAS |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CEAS-MN) |
Major Readings:
Li Qingzhao, EPILOGUE TO RECORDS ON METAL AND STONE
Pu Songling, STRANGE TALES FROM A CHINESE STUDIO
Cao Xueqin, THE STORY OF THE STONE
Eileen Chang, LOVE IN A FALLEN CITY
Lillian Lee, THE GREEN SNAKE
Stephen Owen, AN ANTHOLOGY OF CHINESE LITERATURE: BEGINNINGS TO 1911
Wilt Idema, THE RED BRUSH: WRITING WOMEN OF IMPERIAL CHINA
Kang-i Sun Chang, WOMEN WRITERS OF TRADITIONAL CHINA
James Cahill, PICTURES FOR USE AND PLEASURE
Wu Hung, THE DOUBLE SCREEN
Wai-yee Li, ENCHANTMENT AND DISENCHANTMENT
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Examinations and Assignments:
1) Class Participation (15%): attend lectures and screenings regularly; give one oral presentation on a primary text or a painting in lectures;
2) Online postings (15%): post a weekly response (200 words) on the course website before each lecture;
3) Two writing assignments (40%): submit two short papers (each 3-5 pages) on given topics.
4) Final exam (30%): the exam will include a combination of short definitions with short and long essay questions. |
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