OBJECTIVES

This course is offered to students who want to study Chinese literature at the modern time spanning from the early twentieth century to the present. In this course students will read English translations of representative works by major writers during this period not only from mainland China but also from Taiwan and the Chinese diasporas. The readings will cover the primary literary genres—the novel, poetry, essay, and drama, and will be enriched by selected feature films and documentaries. In addition to learning analytical and critical skills whereby to interpret and appreciate modern Chinese literary texts, students will also be able to obtain knowledge of the historical and sociopolitical changes of modern China that informed the production of these works, including the May Fourth New Culture Movement, the intellectual radicalization of the 1930s, the Sino-Japanese War, the socialist construction of Red China, the Cultural Revolution, and the liberalization of the post-Mao era.

The course does not require knowledge of the Chinese language. It satisfies the multicultural requirements, and can be taken for minor/major credits in Chinese and major/minor credits in Asian studies.

 REQUIREMENTS

Students should complete the weekly reading assignments before the first class of the week. Students are expected to participate in class discussions actively. Throughout the semester there will be nine quizzes designed to evaluate students’ grasp of simple factual information of the readings scheduled for the week (such as identification of authors/works, names/relationships of major characters, time of important narrated events, and so on). Students will not be allowed to have a make-up quiz unless he/she obtains the instructor’s permission with reasonable excuse prior to the scheduled quiz. Students are required to complete a term paper (8 to 10 double-spaced pages for undergraduate students and 15 to 18 pages for graduate students). In addition, all students are required to give an oral presentation derived from the research project of the term paper.

ATTENDANCE

Attendance is mandatory. No absence will be excused unless it falls into one of these four categories: 1) religious observance, 2) university-sponsored athletic or scholastic activity (official absence form required), 3) illness (doctor’s note required), or 4) death in the immediate family. A student who incurs an absence should present the written permission to be excused from class no later than two weeks from the day of the missed class and make up all work missed during the absence. After two unexcused absences, each additional unexcused absence will lower the student’s final grade by two percentage points.

This course adheres to the Academic Honor Code as described in the Student Handbook. Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should register with the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) and bring a letter from the SDRC to the instructor. This should be done in the first week of class.

GRADING
 

COURSE MATERIALS

 Required Texts:

1. Cao, Yu. Thunderstorm. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press (available at the University Bookstore and Bill’s Bookstore).

2. Gao, Xingjian. One Man’s Bible. New York: HarperCollins, 2002 (available at the University Bookstore and Bill’s Bookstore).

3. Lau, Joseph and Howard Goldblatt. The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia UP, 1995 (available at the University Bookstore and Bill’s Bookstore).

4. A wide variety of additional materials will be distributed in class.

Additional Texts Required for Graduate Students

1. Ba Jin. The Family (on reserve at the Strozier Library)

2. Ding, Ling. Miss Sophie's Diary and Other Stories  (on reserve at the Strozier Library).

3. Lu, Xun. The True Story of Ah Q (on reserve at the Strozier Library).

 Films:

1. China: A Century of Revolution. PBS video.

2. Curse of the Golden Flower. Dir. Zhang Yimou, 2006 (depending upon availability).

3. Family. Dir. Chen Xihe. 1956.

4. Hibiscus Town. Dir. Xie Jin, 1986.

 Recommended References (on reserve at the Strozier Library):

1. Denton, Kirk A. Ed. Modern Chinese Literary Thought: Writings on Literature, 1893-1945. Stanford UP, 1996.

2. Hsia, C. T. A History of Modern Chinese Fiction. Bloomington: Indian UP, 1999 (third edition).

3. Shih, Shu-mei. The Lure of the Modern. Berkeley:  University of California Press, 2001.

4. Yeh, Michelle Mi-His. Modern Chinese Poetry. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.

Online Recourses

1. Modern Chinese Literature and Culture Recourse Center at Ohio State University

2. Chinese History Page by The Chaos Group at the University of Maryland

3. Modern Chinese History Virtual Library at CND

4. Students’ Writing Tools at Harvard

5. Students’ Guide for Writing Research Paper