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GE CLUSTER XX General Education Course Information Sheet Please submit this sheet for each proposed course Department & Course Number General Education Cluster The Chinese Classics, Their Legacy in East Asia, and their Re- Course Title imagination in Modern Times Indicate if Seminar and/or Writing II course Writing II 1 Check the recommended GE foundation area(s) and subgroups(s) for this course Foundations of the Arts and Humanities Literary and Cultural Analysis X Philosophic and Linguistic Analysis X Visual and Performance Arts Analysis and Practice Foundations of Society and Culture Historical Analysis X Social Analysis Foundations of Scientific Inquiry Physical Science With Laboratory or Demonstration Component must be 5 units (or more) Life Science With Laboratory or Demonstration Component must be 5 units (or more) 2. Briefly describe the rationale for assignment to foundation area(s) and subgroup(s) chosen. The course includes major works of literature and visual culture, and examines both the contexts of their production as well as their reception, making the course suitable for "Literary and Cultural Analysis." Students will read selections from the Analects and Zhuangzi, both key philosophical works, and will consider the way in which the Chinese language was used throughout East Asia. For "Historical Analysis" the course examines texts such as the Analects and the Tang law code that were fundamental in shaping familial and social structures in East Asia. 3. "List faculty member(s) who will serve as instructor (give academic rank): David Schaberg (Dean of Humanities, professor); Natasha Heller (associate professor); Andrea Goldman (associate professor) Do you intend to use graduate student instructors (TAs) in this course? Yes X No If yes, please indicate the number of TAs 3 4. Indicate when do you anticipate teaching this course over the next three years: 2015-16 Fall Winter Spring Enrollment Enrollment Enrollment 2016-17 Fall Winter Spring Enrollment Enrollment Enrollment 2017-18 Fall 75 Winter 75 Spring 75 Enrollment Enrollment Enrollment 5. GE Course Units Is this an existing course that has been modified for inclusion in the new GE? Yes No X If yes, provide a brief explanation of what has changed. Page 1 of 4 PAGE 1 of 20 GE CLUSTER XX Present Number of Units: Proposed Number of Units: Page 2 of 4 PAGE 2 of 20 GE CLUSTER XX 6. Please present concise arguments for the GE principles applicable to this course. General Knowledge By introducing to major thinkers and cultural works, the course will contribute to general knowledge of China. The three instructors have different areas of research specialization, and combined with guest lectures, students will be exposed to several disciplinary approaches to the study of Chinese society and culture. Integrative Learning For each of the primary works assigned, students will approach it from at least two methodologies, and use multiple perspectives to develop a nuanced understanding of Chinese culture. Ethical Implications Texts like the Analects and the Tang legal code have ethics at their core; other works suggest models for human flourishing. The course will also consider the ethical implications of using ancient texts in modern contexts (e.g. Xi Jinping's promotion of the Analects). Cultural Diversity For many students, learning about Chinese texts will be an exercise in cultural diversity. Further, students will consider how different East Asian societies approached canonical texts. Issues of gender and religious difference are woven throughout the course. Critical Thinking Students will be asked to analyze translated original texts from different genres, including paintings and performances. Students will also read and evaluate secondary scholarship using different methodological approaches. Rhetorical Effectiveness Building on close reading, students will be expected to produce sophisticated papers analyzing cultural artifacts. Brief presentations in discussion sections give students the opportunity to hone speaking skills. Problem-solving Through role-playing activities and consideration of how premodern texts might have relevance in the contemporary world, students will identify the information necessary to adapt texts and other cultural products to new situations. Library & Information A course website will guide student inquiries, and in the spring quarter they will Literacy be engaged in independent research projects. (A) STUDENT CONTACT PER WEEK (if not applicable write N/A) 1. Lecture: 3 (hours) 2. Discussion Section: 2 (hours) 3. Labs: n/a (hours) 4. Experiential (service learning, internships, other): 1 (movie nights) (hours) 5. Field Trips: n/a (hours) (A) TOTAL Student Contact Per Week 6 (HOURS) (B) OUT-OF-CLASS HOURS PER WEEK (if not applicable write N/A) 1. General Review & Preparation: 1 (hours) 2. Reading 5 (hours) 3. Group Projects: n/a (hours) 4. Preparation for Quizzes & Exams: .5 (hours) 5. Information Literacy Exercises: .5 (hours) 6. Written Assignments: 1 (hours) 7. Research Activity: 1 (hours) Page 3 of 4 PAGE 3 of 20 GE CLUSTER XX (B) TOTAL Out-of-class time per week 9 (HOURS) GRAND TOTAL (A) + (B) must equal at least 15 hours/week 15 (HOURS) Page 4 of 4 PAGE 4 of 20 GE CLUSTER XX General Education Cluster Course Proposal THE CHINESE CLASSICS, THEIR LEGACY IN EAST ASIA, AND THEIR RE- IMAGINATION IN MODERN TIMES Affiliated Faculty: John Duncan (ALC) Torquil Duthie (ALC) Andrea Goldman (History) Natasha Heller (ALC) Hui-shu Lee (Art History Jennifer Jung-Kim (ALC) David Schaberg (ALC /Humanities) Richard von Glahn (History) Lothar Von Falkenhausen (Art History / Cotsen Institute) Bin Wong (History) First year teaching team: David Schaberg (ALC /Humanities) Andrea Goldman (History) Natasha Heller (ALC) Learning in traditional China was defined through the mastery of a canon of classic texts (jing 經). The identification of a core set of texts was attributed to Confucius (551? – 479 BCE), who was reported to have ordered six essential works on history and ritual so that they provided a graduated curriculum. Over time, the canon expanded to thirteen texts, and collections of the classics were issued to schools; many students would have memorized these texts as well. They were also copied, printed, and carved in stone. Scholars wrote commentaries and subcommentaries to explicate and interpret their meaning. Further, the classics were taught in Vietnam, Japan, and Korea, and so they served to create cultural ties across East Asia. The classics are no longer used as the core curriculum, but many have maintained their importance until the modern day. President Xi Jinping promotes the Analects, and works like the Classic of Poetry (Shijing 詩經) continue to function as cultural touchstones. Many more texts, although not included in this canon, came to be considered classics, works of enduring value, read by large numbers of people across the centuries. These included Buddhist and Daoist scriptures, legal codes, and novels, especially those of the Ming and Qing dynasty. Expanding beyond just written texts, there were also paintings and performances that came to be regarded as "classic"—they were returned to again and again, rewritten, re-imagined, and introduced to new audiences. This cluster course will explore how the Chinese classics have been used and reimagined in different places and times, thereby demonstrating the enduring importance of these texts. The cluster course will also take a broad view of what a “classic” is, moving PAGE 5 of 20 GE CLUSTER XX beyond the textual canon to incorporate popular literature, visual culture, and the performing arts. During the course, students will consider how texts and other cultural artifacts come to be considered "classics" by different audiences. We will emphasize in particular how these works were interpreted throughout East Asia. For example, the law code of the Tang dynasty (618-907) was influential for the legal traditions of Japan and Korea, and a Japanese monk wrote commentaries on poems of Hanshan 寒山. Another major theme will be the relationship with the past, and how a shared history is seen as informing the present—with the idea of "past" and "present" as changing constructs through history. Students will also explore how earlier works have been reinterpreted and reimagined in contexts and media far removed from their original creation— resulting, for example, in a very popular video game based on the 14th c. novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguo yanyi 三國演義). Rationale There are no active cluster courses with a primary focus on East Asia, and this course aims to fill this gap. Classic texts been a primary means to cultural unity in China and East Asia, and so they make an excellent lens through which to explore transformations of Asian culture. Further, careful, attentive reading is an important skill for entering college students, and a focus on key texts will provide opportunities for developing this skill while also introducing students to the rich literary, philosophical, and artistic traditions of Asia. The course is intended to be thoroughly interdisciplinary, and by teaching classic works in a variety of areas, the course will also draw on the many faculty members working in East Asian studies. We hope that this course will attract a wide range of students, from heritage and international students who are already acquainted with the Chinese classics, to students looking for an introductory course on the culture of a country growing in economic, political, and cultural importance. Goals and Organization The course has three primary goals: 1) to teach students practices of close reading through careful analysis of key texts in Chinese history 2) to explore how these texts and works have connected different audiences across geography and time 3) to consider how classics texts remain vital through their reinterpretation in different media and for different audiences Although there are a vast number of possible texts and other works that might be termed "classics," this course has chosen to analyze ten of them in depth over the first two quarters.