EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
The course aims to provide students with the knowledge and methodological tools necessary to read, contextualize, analyze, and understand texts. Particular emphasis is placed on developing a method for approaching, reading, and discussing any type of “Chinese text"— regardless of genre, or whether it was produced in China, Taiwan, or elsewhere.
FURTHER EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Capacity for critical analysis through class discussion: In assessments, students must demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the formal and thematic features of the texts, the historical and cultural issues they address, and the theoretical and conceptual categories introduced in the course. Based on this knowledge, they should be able to critically analyze and interpret the selected texts, situate them within their historical and cultural contexts, and reflect on their forms and modes of representation.
Independent bibliographic research skills: Students are expected to carry out research independently, both in the library and using online databases. They should become familiar with key books, academic journals, and databases relevant to the study of contemporary Chinese literature.
Communication skills: Students should be able to construct and sustain independent critical arguments in appropriate academic English.
Students should have prior knowledge of Chinese history and be familiar with the key developments in modern Chinese literature.
The course will be conducted in English and will combine lectures, close textual analysis, and class discussions. Students are expected to regularly read—or watch—the assigned materials, actively participate in discussions, give presentations, and refine their ability to express critical judgment in English. The quality and consistency of each student’s participation in class discussions will constitute an integral part of the final assessment.
The examination consists of an oral exam focusing on the reading, analysis, and discussion of the texts selected for the course.
David Der-wei Wang (ed.), A New Literary History of Modern China, Cambridge MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2017.
Heather Inwood, Verse Going Viral: China’s New Media Scenes, Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2014.
Li Ruru, Shashibiya: Staging Shakespeare in China, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2004.
Wang Xiaobo, Golden Age, trans. Yan Yan, London: Penguin, 2024.
Wang Anyi, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow, trans. Michael Berry & Susan Chan Egan, New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.
Contemporary Chinese literature and its literary histories
Contemporary Chinese literature and translation
Contemporary Chinese literature and film
Contemporary Chinese poetry
Contemporary Chinese drama and performance
English
Non-attending students are kindly asked to contact the instructor via email at least one month before the exam.
