Courses

Introduces early Chinese philosophy, mostly "Masters' Literature" of the 5th--1st c. BCE, which is foundational for all later Chinese philosophy and political thought. Close reading of primary sources will be combined with an introduction to secondary scholarship in English and modern Chinese, both articles on individual texts/philosophers and comprehensive histories of early Chinese philosophy. Prereq., graduate standing or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Examines a specific problem or issue in ancient Chinese literature, e.g., early views of language's relationship to reality, or the commentary tradition and the emergence of allegorical and metaphysical approaches to interpreting texts. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., Chin 4220 or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Studies a specific problem or issue in classical (eighth through twelfth century) Japanese literature, e.g., the development of specifically Japanese theories of literature or the concept of genre in the Japanese tradition. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

Focuses on stylistic, grammatical, and orthographic variations in texts of the classical, medieval, and early modern eras. Prereq., JPNS 4310 or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Advanced analysis of stylistic, grammatical, and orthographic variations in texts of the classical, medieval, and early modern eras, including kanbun and hentaigana; translation and explication of texts. Prereq., JPNS 5310 (formerly 5160) or instructor consent.

Studies works of early medieval (ca. 200-600 AD) and/or late medieval (600-900) prose that played important role in development of Chinese literature. Writers and topics vary, ranging from surveys of specific genre, literary essays, proto-fIction, or historical writings, to focused studies of major figures Liu Zhiji, Han Yu, or Liu Zongyuan. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4220 or instructor consent required.

Focuses on selected prose works and authors from the medieval, or Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1185-1600). Texts may include selections from a variety of war tales, histories, courtly fiction, diaries, memoirs, short prose narratives (otogi-zoshi), Noh plays, and Buddhist literature such as Heike Monogatari, Towazugatari, Izayoi Nikki, Tsurezuregusa, and Shasekishu. Texts and selections vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Prereq., two semesters of classical Japanese language. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Studies works of early medieval (ca. 200-600 AD) poetry . Writers and topics vary ranging from surveys of specific genre, shi or fu, or shared subject such as religious or commenmorative verse, or specific periods, to focused studies of particular major figures Cao Zhi, Tao Qian, Li Bo, or Du Fu. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4220 or instructor consent required. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Studies selected works from the Japanese literary tradition in which Buddhism plays a significant thematic role. Focuses on texts such as the Nihon Ryoiki, Buddhist poetry (Shakkyo-Ka) from the imperial poetry anthologies, Heike Monogatari, Hojoki, thepoetry of Saigyo and Basho, and selected Noh plays. Texts and selections vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Prereq., two semesters of classical Japanese language.

Studies selected works of early medieval (ca. 200-600 AD) and/or late medieval (600-900) religious importance. Selections vary from fundamental texts of both literary and religious value, Daoist and Buddhist canons, the Huangting jing, Zhen gao, Miaofa lianhua jing, and Tan jing, particular topics of social or cultural importantce, character assessment, arcane learning, or methods of commentary. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4220 or instructor consent.

Examines a specific problem or issue in medieval literature, e.g., the role of encyclopedias and anthologies in literary training, or the place and forms of literary composition at the imperial court. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4220 or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Focuses on a specific problem or issue in medieval literature, e.g., the spread of literary composition beyond the court. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

Studies Song, Ming, and Qing prose texts selected for their inherent literary merit and for their significance in the Chinese literary tradition. Typically focuses on works by major authors such as Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, and Yuan Hongdao. Texts and selections vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4220 or instructor consent.

Examines major writers and texts of the no, kyogen, kabuki, and bunraku theaters, including the plays and critical writings of such authors as Kannami Kiyotsugu, Zeami Motokiyo, Konparu Zenchiku, and Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Texts and secondary readings vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Prereq., two semesters of classical Japanese language.

Studies Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing poetry. Stresses major figures, stylistic variations, various poetry schools, new directions in shi verse, and the rise and development of ci. Texts and selections vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4220 or instructor consent.

Explores selected vernacular and classical fiction of the Ming and Qing periods. Normally focuses on long novels such as Xiyou ji, Sanguo yanyi, Shuihu zhuan, Jin Ping Mei, as well as short stories by Feng Menglong and Ling Mengchu. Texts and selections vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4220 or instructor consent.

Examines a specific problem or issue in early modern literature (e.g., the relationships among religion, folklore, and early fiction; the issue of genre and traditional fiction); the role of elite versus popular cultures in the composition of fiction; or the relationship of the state and censorship and the southern philosophical schools to the publication of fiction. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq.,CHIN 4220 or instructor consent.

Detailed examination of scriptures, liturgies, precept codes, and hagiographies of Daoism, China's indigenous organized religion. Focusing on origins and development, ethical teachings, ritual activities and world view. Topics include the relationship of Daoism to popular religion, practice of alchemy and self-cultivation, beliefs concerning death and afterlife, and structure of the Daoist pantheon. Restricted to graduate students or instructor consent required. Same as CHIN 4750 and RLST 5750. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Examines selected texts in various genres of Chinese literature from the May Fourth period (beginning 1917) to the establishment of the People's Republic of China (1949). Focuses on major and influential works produced in this fertile period of experimentation with Western, modernist types of literature. Texts and selections vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4120 or instructor consent required. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Studies selected texts in Japanese literature from the Meiji Restoration (1868) to the end of the Pacific War. Surveys various literary genres, emphasizing the development of the modern novel as an aspect of Japan's response to Western cultural forms. The unique cultural politics of each of the periods (Meiji,Taisho, and Showa) are illuminated through the filter of both canonical and more marginalized texts. Specific selections vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Examines selected texts in various genres of Chinese literature from 1949 (the establishment of the People's Republic of China) to the present. Focuses on major works from the very different literary worlds of Taiwan and mainland China. Texts and selections vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4120 or instructor consent. Prerequisites: Restricted to Graduate Students only.

Covers developments in Japanese prose fiction, from the end of the Pacific War in 1945 to the present. Late modern texts of writers such as Mishima Yukio,Kawabata Yasunari, Enchi Fumiko, and Tanizaki Jun'ichiro (generally taken to represent modern Japanese literature) are reread in the light of works by more recent writers (and critics) such as OeKenzaburo, Yoshimoto Takaaki, Murakami Haruki,and Yamada Eimi. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours.

Examines the development of narrative film in China from the early twentieth century to today, covering the major periods, styles, and themes developed in Chinese cinema. Texts and selections vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 6 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4120 or instructor consent.

Examines central issues in Japanese culture and society since the Meiji Restoration (1868) through selected readings of the works of major writers in the fields of literature, anthropology, feminism, political science, and religion, among others. Provides a broad context for cultural studies inmodern and contemporary Japan by positioning the most important commentators within their historicaland social situations. May be taken for credit twice.

Examines a specific problem or issue in 20th century literature, e.g., feminist fiction in China, modernism in fiction and poetry, or the role of literary criticism in modern literature. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Prereq., CHIN 4120 or instructor consent.