Moodle Archive (Deprecated)

From carvings on tortoise plastrons to pixels on screens and ink on skin, Chinese characters have commanded respect and exerted fascination for thousands of years. In this course, we will study the historical development of the Chinese writing system and the scripts it inspired, the social and political roles of writing and literacy in China and East Asia, and the invention, reform, and reconceptualization of writing systems as assertions of modernity and national identity. We will also cover aspects of book history and print culture, including the production, reception, and uses of books and the lively commercial print culture that sprouted up around them in the early modern period.

Prerequisites:
We'll cover relevant aspects of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history in broad outline, but it would be best to come in with at least some background knowledge of Chinese history (EALC 131 or equivalent). Familiarity with one or more of the languages and traditions under discussion will be helpful but not essential. All required readings will be in English, with optional readings in Literary Sinitic (wényán).

Through careful readings of fiction, prose, and poetry in translation, we will examine how Chinese writers grappled with issues of modernity, renewal, and revolution over the course of two troubled centuries. Readings will include popular fiction of the late Qing dynasty, the reformers, sensualists, and cosmopolitans of the Republican period, revolutionary literature from the Mao years, and poetry, fiction, and film from the 1980s and 1990s.
All readings will be in translation; no knowledge of Chinese is assumed or required. This course complements but does not require EALC 110 ("Introduction to Chinese Literature Before 1800").