CHIN 412 - Selected Topics in Chinese Literature

Topics vary, selected from Chinese literature. Readings and instruction in Chinese.

Stories of China: Ten Voices, One Hundred Years
This course introduces modern and contemporary Chinese literature through sustained engagement with ten major writers whose works collectively span more than a hundred years of Chinese experience. Reading their works in the original Chinese, students will develop advanced literary reading skills, learn how to conduct literary interpretation and critical analysis in Chinese, while also becoming more familiar with the historical and cultural forces that shaped these works: the fall of empire, the Maoist era, the Cultural Revolution, Reform and Opening, and the complexities of Chinese life in a globalized present. Authors include Lu Xun, Xiao Hong, Eileen Chang, Wang Anyi, Wang Shuo, Wang Xiaobo, Alai, and Mo Yan, among others. This course is intended for students with advanced proficiency in Mandarin, and all texts, coursework, and class discussions are in Chinese.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group I
Prerequisite(s): 300-level Chinese proficiency or equivalent
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Repeatable for Credit: May be taken up to 2 times for credit if different topics.
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Understand how arguments can be made, visions presented, or feelings or ideas conveyed through language or other modes of expression (symbols, movement, images, sounds, etc.).
Analyze and interpret texts, whether literary or philosophical, in English or a foreign language, or works of the visual or performing arts.
Evaluate arguments made in or about texts (whether literary or philosophical, in English or a foreign language, or works of the visual or performing arts).