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Course Description
Asian 204 offers an introduction to the
fiction and film of 20th-century China, and an introduction to 20th-century
China through fiction and film. Through the study of selected literary and
cinematic works in their historical context, students will gain knowledge of
key issues and events in modern Chinese history and society, and develop
approaches to understanding and appreciating fiction and film.
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Prerequisites
The course is designed for students with
no previous study of China. No Chinese language ability is required, though
students are expected to learn the basics of spelling and pronouncing
Mandarin Chinese names. All lectures and readings are in English. Films are
in Chinese with English subtitles, translations, or summaries.
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Course
Objectives
The
course uses lectures, readings, discussion, written homework assignments, and
exams, to help you develop your ability to:
- Make meaningful connections between works of 20th c
Chinese literature and film and their historical and social context
- Utilize terms and concepts of literary and cinematic analysis to
discuss works of literature and film
- Summarize the main ideas of, and critique and assess the
arguments of, secondary scholarship on literature and film
These
skills depend in part on knowledge. The course therefore aims also to build
or reinforce your familiarity with:
- The broad contours of 20th century Chinese political
and social history
- The broad contours of 20th century Chinese literary
and cultural history
- Basic terms and concepts of literary and film analysis
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Evaluation
You
will demonstrate your progress in achieving the above objectives by
completing reading and writing assignments, through your performance on the
midterm and final, and by taking the initiative to make informed and
thoughtful contributions to class discussion. The instructor will evaluate
(grade) you on the basis of demonstrated preparation, class participation,
assignments, and exams.
- Effective class participation (20% of total grade) requires
attendance, timely preparation of assignments, and constructive
contribution to discussions.
- There will be three written homework assignments to hand in (3 x
10%).
- The midterm (20%) and final exam (30%) will test knowledge of
the readings and viewings, of information presented in lectures, and of
approaches to literature and film practiced in class.
There
will be no make-ups for exams
or missed in-class work. Timeliness will be one of the grading criteria for
writing assignments.
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Cheating
and Plagiarism
Cheating and plagiarism (submitting
someone else's words or ideas as your own work) are serious academic
offenses. Cases of suspected cheating and plagiarism will
be referred to the Committee on Academic Conduct for adjudication. Possible
penalties range from disciplinary warnings to dismissal from the university.
It is your responsibility to be aware of the university's standards for
academic conduct. A good summary can be found at:
depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf
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Class
Conduct
In order that you, your fellow students,
and your instructors may focus on the class, please:
- arrive in class on time;
- turn off cell phones and pagers;
- refrain from conversing and eating during class;
- refrain from packing up to leave until class has
finished.
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Texts
1. Required Readings on Electronic
Reserve. Follow the Course Reserve links from the UW Library website to
connect to Electronic Course Reserves. Print out copies of these texts and
bring them to class on the days on which they will
be discussed:
- Ah Cheng. “The King of
Trees.” From Three Kings: Three Stories from Today’s China (trans. Bonnie
McDougall), pp. 97-153. London : Collins-Harvill,
1990. [Also on reserve in EAL]
- Bai Xianyong. “Winter
Nights.” From The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature, ed.
Joseph S.M. Lau and Howard Goldblatt, pp. 221-234. New York: Columbia
University Press, 1995. [Also on reserve in EAL]
- Denton, Kirk. “Model Drama
as Myth: A Semiotic Analysis of Taking Tiger Mountain By Strategy.” In
Drama in the People’s Republic of China, ed. Constantine Tung, pp.
119-136. Albany: SUNY Press, 1987.
- Hwang
Chun-ming (Huang Chunming). “The Drowning of an Old Cat.” From The
Drowning of an Old Cat and Other Stories, trans. Howard Goldblatt,
pp. 12-36. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1980. [Also on reserve in EAL]
- Lu,
Sheldon H. “Chinese Film Culture at the End of the Twentieth Century:
The Case of Not One less.” From Chinese-Language Film: Historiography,
Poetics, Politics, ed. Sheldon H. Lu and Emilie Yueh-yu Yeh, pp.
120-137. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2005.
- Lu, Sheldon H. “Diaspora,
Citizenship, Nationality: Hong Kong and 1997.” From China, Transnational Visuality,
Global Postmodernity, pp. 104-121. Stanford: Stanford University
Press, 2001.
- Lu Xun. “Preface.” From Diary of a
Madman and Other Stories (trans. William A. Lyell), pp. 21-28.
Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1990. [Also on reserve in EAL]
- Lu Xun. “Ah Q—The Real
Story.” From Diary of a Madman and Other Stories, pp. 101-172. [Also on
reserve in EAL]
- Pickowicz, Paul G.
“Melodramatic Representation and the ‘May Fourth’ Tradition of Chinese
Cinema.” From From May Fourth to June Fourth :
Fiction and Film in Twentieth-Century China, ed. Ellen Widmer and
David Der-wei Wang, pp. 295-326. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1993.
- Wu Jianren. Sea of
Regret. From The Sea of Regret: Two Turn-of-the-Century Chinese Romantic
Novels (trans. Patrick Hanan), pp. 103-205. Honolulu: University of
Hawai’i Press, 1995. [Also on reserve in EAL]
- Zhu Tianwen. “Fin de Siècle
Splendor.” From The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature, pp.
444-459. [Also on reserve in EAL]
2. Required In-class Viewing
(copies on reserve at Odegaard Media Center):
- Comrades: Almost a Love
Story (Tian mimi)
- Not One Less (Yige dou bu neng shao)
- Street Angel (Malu tianshi)
- The White-Haired Girl (Baimao nü)
3. Additional Materials
3a.
Historical and literary contexts. Information from the
lectures will be covered in exams. Brief lecture outlines for each unit of
the course will be distributed. There is a wealth of additional information
available online (Wikipedia etc.), but, as always, online resources must be
used advisedly. Students seeking more definitive resources on modern Chinese
history and literature may wish to consult the following:
- Fairbank, John, and Merle
Goldman. China:
A New History. Enlarged edition. Harvard University Press:
Cambrdige, Mass., 1998. (On East Asia Library reserve)
- Lau, Joseph S.M. and Howard
Goldblatt, eds. The Columbia Anthology of Modern
Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press, 1995.
- McDougall, Bonnie S. The
Literature of China in the Twentieth Century. London: Hurst, 1997.
(On East Asia Library reserve)
- Spence, Jonathan D. The Search
for Modern China. New York: W. W. Norton, 1990. (On East Asia
Library reserve)
- China: A Century of Revolution. (DVDs on reserve at Odegaard Media Center)
3b.
Writing guides. There is no paper for this class. Guidelines
for the written assignments will be provided. Students desiring additional
introduction to the elements of literary and film analysis may begin by
consulting the following chapters, also on electronic reserve for the course:
- Bomze, Jo Ann W. “Literary
Conventions.” From Reading Literature: Interpretation and Critical Writing, pp.
33-63. New York and London: Longman, 1990.
- Corrigan, Timothy J. “Film Terms
and Topics for Film Analysis and Writing.” From A Short Guide to Writing about Film,
pp. 36-81. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007.
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