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CHINGEN 10SC: The Cult of Happiness: Pursuing the Good Life in America and China (COMPLIT 10SC)

The 2006 film Pursuit of Happyness, an unabashed celebration of the American Dream, was enthusiastically embraced by Chinese audiences. It seems that the pursuit of happiness has become truly globalized, even as the American Dream is slipping away for many. Are Americans still convinced that their conception of happiness is a self-evident truth and a universal gospel? Is there anything that Americans might learn about what it means to live a good life from not only the distant past, but also cultures in which happiness is conceptualized and sought after very differently? This course takes a multi-disciplinary approach to the question of happiness and invites undergraduate students to reflect on its relationship to virtue, wisdom, health, love, prosperity, justice, and solidarity. Giving equal weight to Chinese and Western sources, it seeks to defamiliarize some of the most deeply held ideas and values in American society through the lens of cross-cultural inquiry.n nDuring the summer, students will read a selection of novels, memoirs, and reflections by philosophers, psychologists, and sociologists. In September, we will review these texts and place them alongside movies, short fiction, news stories, and social commentary while we interrogate the chimera of happiness. In addition to daily seminars, we will experiment with meditation, short-form life writing, and service learning with participation of local elders. Furthermore, there will be at least three guest speakers, including a prominent Confucian philosopher and a Stanford alum now running a happiness-related enterprise. nSophomore College Course: Application required, due noon, April 7, 2015. Apply at http://soco.stanford.edu.
Terms: Sum | Units: 2
Instructors: ; Lee, H. (PI)

CHINGEN 70N: Animal Planet and the Romance of the Species (COMPLIT 70N)

Preference to freshmen.This course considers a variety of animal characters in Chinese and Western literatures as potent symbols of cultural values and dynamic sites of ethical reasoning. What does pervasive animal imagery tell us about how we relate to the world and our neighbors? How do animals define the frontiers of humanity and mediate notions of civilization and culture? How do culture, institutions, and political economy shape concepts of human rights and animal welfare? And, above all, what does it mean to be human in the pluralistic and planetary 21st century?
Terms: Win | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors: ; Lee, H. (PI)

CHINGEN 73: Chinese Language, Culture, and Society (CHINGEN 173)

Topics include the origin of Chinese, development of dialects, emergence of the standard, preferred formulaic expressions, the evolution of writing, and language policies in greater China. Prerequisite: CHINLANG 1 or 1B, or equivalent.
| Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, GER:EC-GlobalCom

CHINGEN 73N: Chinese Language, Culture, and Society (CHINGEN 170)

Functions of languages in Chinese culture and society, origin of the Chinese language, genetic relations with neighboring languages, development of dialects, language contacts, evolution of Chinese writing, language policies in Greater China. Prerequisite: one quarter of Chinese 1 or 1B or equivalent recommended. Freshman seminar.
Terms: Win | Units: 4
Instructors: ; Sun, C. (PI)

CHINGEN 91: Introduction to China

Required for Chinese and Japanese majors. Introduction to Chinese culture in a historical context. Topics include political and socioeconomic institutions, religion, ethics, education, and art and literature.
Terms: Win | Units: 5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Egan, R. (PI)

CHINGEN 95: Beauty and Decadence in China (CHINGEN 195)

An inquiry into the conception of aesthetic beauty in China. Special attention to the coupling of aesthetics ("beauty") and morality ("goodness") in the visualnand literary arts, as well as the frequent dissonance or rivalry between them.
| Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

CHINGEN 101: How to Be Modern in China: A Gateway to the World Course

A gateway course on China, with a focus on the politics of everyday life, in the capital city of Beijing. Introduction to the history and politics of modern China. The pleasures, frictions, and challenges of daily living in the penumbra of power in Beijing as reported, represented, and reflected upon in fiction, film, reportage, social commentary, and scholarly writings. Priority to those preparing to participate in BOSP-Beijing Program or returning from the program.
Last offered: Spring 2014 | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

CHINGEN 118: Constructing National History in East Asian Archaeology (ARCHLGY 135, ARCHLGY 235, CHINGEN 218)

Archaeological studies in contemporary East Asia share a common concern, to contribute to building a national narrative and cultural identity. This course focuses on case studies from China, Korea, and Japan, examining the influence of particular social-political contexts, such as nationalism, on the practice of archaeology in modern times.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Liu, L. (PI); Chin, C. (GP)

CHINGEN 119: Popular Culture and Casino Capitalism in China (CHINGEN 219)

Examination of different forms of Chinese popular culture used to gauge or control fate and uncertainty, from geomancy and qigong to ghost culture and mahjong. Ways in which Chinese are incorporating these cultural forms into the informal economy to get rich quick: rotating credit associations, stock market speculation, pyramid schemes, underground lotteries, counterfeiting. Impact of casino capitalism on Chinese culture and social life today.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Festa, P. (PI)

CHINGEN 120: Soldiers and Bandits in Chinese Culture (CHINGEN 220)

Social roles and literary images of two groups on the margins of traditional Chinese society; historical and comparative perspectives.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Zhou, Y. (PI)

CHINGEN 121: Classical Chinese Rituals (CHINGEN 221)

Meanings of rituals regarding death, wedding, war, and other activities; historical transformations of classical rituals throughout the premodern period; legacy of the Chinese ritual tradition. Sources include canonical texts.
Last offered: Spring 2013 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-SI

CHINGEN 131: Chinese Poetry in Translation (CHINGEN 231)

From the first millennium B.C. through the 12th century. Traditional verse forms representative of the classical tradition; highlights of the most distinguished poets. History, language, and culture. Chinese language not required.
Last offered: Winter 2011 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom

CHINGEN 132: Chinese Fiction and Drama in Translation (CHINGEN 232)

From early times to the 18th century, emphasizing literary and thematic discussions of major works in English translation.
Last offered: Winter 2009 | Units: 4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom

CHINGEN 133: Literature in 20th-Century China (CHINGEN 233)

(Graduate students register for 233.) How modern Chinese culture evolved from tradition to modernity; the century-long drive to build a modern nation state and to carry out social movements and political reforms. How the individual developed modern notions of love, affection, beauty, and moral relations with community and family. Sources include fiction and film clips. WIM course.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II
Instructors: ; Wang, B. (PI)

CHINGEN 135: Chinese Bodies, Chinese Selves (CHINGEN 235)

Interdisciplinary. The body as a contested site of representational practices, identity politics, cultural values, and social norms. Body images, inscriptions, and practices in relation to health, morality, gender, sexuality, nationalism, consumerism, and global capitalism in China and Taiwan. Sources include anthropological, literary, and historical studies, and fiction and film. No knowledge of Chinese required.
Last offered: Winter 2014 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-A-II

CHINGEN 136: The Chinese Family (CHINGEN 236)

History and literature. Institutional, ritual, affective, and symbolic aspects. Perspectives of gender, class, and social change.
Last offered: Autumn 2013 | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-SI

CHINGEN 137: Tiananmen Square: History, Literature, Iconography (CHINGEN 237)

Multidisciplinary. Literary and artistic representations of this site of political and ideological struggles throughout the 20th century. Tiananmen-themed creative, documentary, and scholarly works that shed light on the dynamics and processes of modern Chinese culture and politics. No knowledge of Chinese required. Held in Knight Bldg. Rm. 18.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Lee, H. (PI)

CHINGEN 139: Cultural Revolution as Literature (CHINGEN 239)

Literary form, aesthetic sensibility, and themes of trauma, identity, and the limits of representation in major literary works concerning the Cultural Revolution in China. Recommended: background in Chinese history or literature.
Last offered: Spring 2008 | Units: 4

CHINGEN 140: Chinese Justice: Law, Morality, and Literature (CHINGEN 240)

Explores the relationship between law and morality in Chinese literature, culture, and society. Readings include court case romances, crime plays, detective novels, and legal dramas from traditional era and modern and contemporary periods. Prior coursework in Chinese history, civilization, or literature is recommended. All readings are in English.
| Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-GlobalCom

CHINGEN 141: Emergence of Chinese Civilization from Caves to Palaces (ARCHLGY 111, CHINGEN 241)

Introduces processes of cultural evolution from the Paleolithic to the Three Dynasties in China. By examining archaeological remains, ancient inscriptions, and traditional texts, four major topics will be discussed: origins of modern humans, beginnings of agriculture, development of social stratification, and emergence of states and urbanism.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3-4 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Liu, L. (PI)

CHINGEN 143: Images of Women in Ancient China and Greece (CHINGEN 243, CLASSICS 143, CLASSICS 243)

(Formerly CLASSGEN 153/253.) Representation of women in ancient Chinese and Greek texts. How men viewed women and what women had to say about themselves and their societies. Primary readings in poetry, drama, and didactic writings. Relevance for understanding modern concerns; use of comparison for discovering historical and cultural patterns.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:EC-Gender, WAY-EDP, WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Zhou, Y. (PI)

CHINGEN 146: Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors: Anthropology of Chinese Folk Religion (CHINGEN 246)

Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: WAY-SI
Instructors: ; Festa, P. (PI)

CHINGEN 150: Sex, Gender, and Power in Modern China (CHINGEN 250, FEMGEN 150, FEMGEN 250)

Investigates how sex, gender, and power are entwined in the Chinese experience of modernity. Topics include anti-footbinding campaigns, free love/free sex, women's mobilization in revolution and war, the new Marriage Law of 1950, Mao's iron girls, postsocialist celebrations of sensuality, and emergent queer politics. Readings range from feminist theory to China-focused historiography, ethnography, memoir, biography, fiction, essay, and film. All course materials are in English.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
Instructors: ; Lee, H. (PI); Parker, L. (TA)

CHINGEN 152: Beijing: Microcosm of Modern China (CHINGEN 252)

Uses Beijing as a microcosm of China to examine the political, social, and cultural transformations of modern China. Explores critical issues affecting modern Chinese history and contemporary Chinese society through lectures, videos, presentations, and discussions.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3-4
Instructors: ; Gao, Y. (PI)

CHINGEN 155: Cultural Images in China-US Relations (CHINGEN 255)

This course is designed to examine Chinese and American cultural images of each other during various historical periods and discuss the relationship between image building and policy orientations.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Gao, Y. (PI)

CHINGEN 170: Chinese Language, Culture, and Society (CHINGEN 73N)

Functions of languages in Chinese culture and society, origin of the Chinese language, genetic relations with neighboring languages, development of dialects, language contacts, evolution of Chinese writing, language policies in Greater China. Prerequisite: one quarter of Chinese 1 or 1B or equivalent recommended. Freshman seminar.
Terms: Win | Units: 4
Instructors: ; Sun, C. (PI)

CHINGEN 173: Chinese Language, Culture, and Society (CHINGEN 73)

Topics include the origin of Chinese, development of dialects, emergence of the standard, preferred formulaic expressions, the evolution of writing, and language policies in greater China. Prerequisite: CHINLANG 1 or 1B, or equivalent.
| Units: 4

CHINGEN 194: The History and Culture of Peking Opera (CHINGEN 294)

Explores the history and culture of Peking opera from its regional origins to a major national form. It will focus on genre formation, the professional and social position of actors and the political role of Peking opera. In addition to academic texts, we will read memoirs, biographies and watch videos and movies.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-4
Instructors: ; Llamas, R. (PI)

CHINGEN 195: Beauty and Decadence in China (CHINGEN 95)

An inquiry into the conception of aesthetic beauty in China. Special attention to the coupling of aesthetics ("beauty") and morality ("goodness") in the visualnand literary arts, as well as the frequent dissonance or rivalry between them.
| Units: 4-5

CHINGEN 196: The Culture of Entertainment in China (CHINGEN 296)

Sophisticated, organized entertainment in China is evident at least as early as nthe second century B.C. in the court spectacles described in the early histories nand in the depictions of jugglers, dancers and acrobats represented in tomb nbas-reliefs. The importance attached to entertainment from ancient times both at court and in society at large is manifest not just in the establishment of nimperial institutions such as the Music Bureau, but also in the appearance of nlarge entertainment districts within the cities where people would invest nextraordinary amount of resources in the pursuit of pleasure, and in small scale ngatherings. This class will look at the representation of play and pleasure in nChinese culture from a variety of sources (art, history, literature and nperformance) in different periods of Chinese history. In the process we will naddress the place of pleasure in Chinese culture, as well as ethical, socio-npolitical and economical concerns. Held in old Knight Bldg., 521 Memorial Way, Rm. 102.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4
Instructors: ; Llamas, R. (PI)

CHINGEN 198: Senior Colloquium in Chinese Studies

Students research, write, and present a capstone essay or honors thesis.
Terms: Win | Units: 1
Instructors: ; Zhou, Y. (PI)

CHINGEN 200: Directed Readings in Asian Languages

For Chinese literature. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (Staff)
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 1-12 | Repeatable for credit

CHINGEN 201: Chinese Proseminar

Last offered: Winter 2012 | Units: 3

CHINGEN 217: Worship of Buddhist Images in Medieval China

Explores Buddhist image-making practices from Han to Tang China from a trans-Asian perspective. Topics include characteristics of earliest Chinese images (vis-a-vis those of Indian subcontinent), their growth as a dominant artistic genre, inroads of foreign images and Chinese interactions, constructions of Buddhist ritual spaces such as monumental pagodas and cave temples, cross-cultural contexts of image worship.
Last offered: Spring 2012 | Units: 3-5

CHINGEN 218: Constructing National History in East Asian Archaeology (ARCHLGY 135, ARCHLGY 235, CHINGEN 118)

Archaeological studies in contemporary East Asia share a common concern, to contribute to building a national narrative and cultural identity. This course focuses on case studies from China, Korea, and Japan, examining the influence of particular social-political contexts, such as nationalism, on the practice of archaeology in modern times.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Liu, L. (PI); Chin, C. (GP)

CHINGEN 219: Popular Culture and Casino Capitalism in China (CHINGEN 119)

Examination of different forms of Chinese popular culture used to gauge or control fate and uncertainty, from geomancy and qigong to ghost culture and mahjong. Ways in which Chinese are incorporating these cultural forms into the informal economy to get rich quick: rotating credit associations, stock market speculation, pyramid schemes, underground lotteries, counterfeiting. Impact of casino capitalism on Chinese culture and social life today.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-4
Instructors: ; Festa, P. (PI)

CHINGEN 220: Soldiers and Bandits in Chinese Culture (CHINGEN 120)

Social roles and literary images of two groups on the margins of traditional Chinese society; historical and comparative perspectives.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Zhou, Y. (PI)

CHINGEN 221: Classical Chinese Rituals (CHINGEN 121)

Meanings of rituals regarding death, wedding, war, and other activities; historical transformations of classical rituals throughout the premodern period; legacy of the Chinese ritual tradition. Sources include canonical texts.
Last offered: Spring 2013 | Units: 3-5

CHINGEN 231: Chinese Poetry in Translation (CHINGEN 131)

From the first millennium B.C. through the 12th century. Traditional verse forms representative of the classical tradition; highlights of the most distinguished poets. History, language, and culture. Chinese language not required.
Last offered: Winter 2011 | Units: 4

CHINGEN 232: Chinese Fiction and Drama in Translation (CHINGEN 132)

From early times to the 18th century, emphasizing literary and thematic discussions of major works in English translation.
Last offered: Winter 2009 | Units: 4

CHINGEN 233: Literature in 20th-Century China (CHINGEN 133)

(Graduate students register for 233.) How modern Chinese culture evolved from tradition to modernity; the century-long drive to build a modern nation state and to carry out social movements and political reforms. How the individual developed modern notions of love, affection, beauty, and moral relations with community and family. Sources include fiction and film clips. WIM course.
Terms: Spr | Units: 4-5
Instructors: ; Wang, B. (PI)

CHINGEN 235: Chinese Bodies, Chinese Selves (CHINGEN 135)

Interdisciplinary. The body as a contested site of representational practices, identity politics, cultural values, and social norms. Body images, inscriptions, and practices in relation to health, morality, gender, sexuality, nationalism, consumerism, and global capitalism in China and Taiwan. Sources include anthropological, literary, and historical studies, and fiction and film. No knowledge of Chinese required.
Last offered: Winter 2014 | Units: 3-5

CHINGEN 236: The Chinese Family (CHINGEN 136)

History and literature. Institutional, ritual, affective, and symbolic aspects. Perspectives of gender, class, and social change.
Last offered: Autumn 2013 | Units: 3-5

CHINGEN 237: Tiananmen Square: History, Literature, Iconography (CHINGEN 137)

Multidisciplinary. Literary and artistic representations of this site of political and ideological struggles throughout the 20th century. Tiananmen-themed creative, documentary, and scholarly works that shed light on the dynamics and processes of modern Chinese culture and politics. No knowledge of Chinese required. Held in Knight Bldg. Rm. 18.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Lee, H. (PI)

CHINGEN 239: Cultural Revolution as Literature (CHINGEN 139)

Literary form, aesthetic sensibility, and themes of trauma, identity, and the limits of representation in major literary works concerning the Cultural Revolution in China. Recommended: background in Chinese history or literature.
Last offered: Spring 2008 | Units: 4

CHINGEN 240: Chinese Justice: Law, Morality, and Literature (CHINGEN 140)

Explores the relationship between law and morality in Chinese literature, culture, and society. Readings include court case romances, crime plays, detective novels, and legal dramas from traditional era and modern and contemporary periods. Prior coursework in Chinese history, civilization, or literature is recommended. All readings are in English.
| Units: 3-5

CHINGEN 241: Emergence of Chinese Civilization from Caves to Palaces (ARCHLGY 111, CHINGEN 141)

Introduces processes of cultural evolution from the Paleolithic to the Three Dynasties in China. By examining archaeological remains, ancient inscriptions, and traditional texts, four major topics will be discussed: origins of modern humans, beginnings of agriculture, development of social stratification, and emergence of states and urbanism.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3-4
Instructors: ; Liu, L. (PI)

CHINGEN 243: Images of Women in Ancient China and Greece (CHINGEN 143, CLASSICS 143, CLASSICS 243)

(Formerly CLASSGEN 153/253.) Representation of women in ancient Chinese and Greek texts. How men viewed women and what women had to say about themselves and their societies. Primary readings in poetry, drama, and didactic writings. Relevance for understanding modern concerns; use of comparison for discovering historical and cultural patterns.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Zhou, Y. (PI)

CHINGEN 246: Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors: Anthropology of Chinese Folk Religion (CHINGEN 146)

Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Festa, P. (PI)

CHINGEN 250: Sex, Gender, and Power in Modern China (CHINGEN 150, FEMGEN 150, FEMGEN 250)

Investigates how sex, gender, and power are entwined in the Chinese experience of modernity. Topics include anti-footbinding campaigns, free love/free sex, women's mobilization in revolution and war, the new Marriage Law of 1950, Mao's iron girls, postsocialist celebrations of sensuality, and emergent queer politics. Readings range from feminist theory to China-focused historiography, ethnography, memoir, biography, fiction, essay, and film. All course materials are in English.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Lee, H. (PI); Parker, L. (TA)

CHINGEN 252: Beijing: Microcosm of Modern China (CHINGEN 152)

Uses Beijing as a microcosm of China to examine the political, social, and cultural transformations of modern China. Explores critical issues affecting modern Chinese history and contemporary Chinese society through lectures, videos, presentations, and discussions.
Terms: Aut | Units: 3-4
Instructors: ; Gao, Y. (PI)

CHINGEN 255: Cultural Images in China-US Relations (CHINGEN 155)

This course is designed to examine Chinese and American cultural images of each other during various historical periods and discuss the relationship between image building and policy orientations.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-5
Instructors: ; Gao, Y. (PI)

CHINGEN 294: The History and Culture of Peking Opera (CHINGEN 194)

Explores the history and culture of Peking opera from its regional origins to a major national form. It will focus on genre formation, the professional and social position of actors and the political role of Peking opera. In addition to academic texts, we will read memoirs, biographies and watch videos and movies.
Terms: Win | Units: 3-4
Instructors: ; Llamas, R. (PI)

CHINGEN 296: The Culture of Entertainment in China (CHINGEN 196)

Sophisticated, organized entertainment in China is evident at least as early as nthe second century B.C. in the court spectacles described in the early histories nand in the depictions of jugglers, dancers and acrobats represented in tomb nbas-reliefs. The importance attached to entertainment from ancient times both at court and in society at large is manifest not just in the establishment of nimperial institutions such as the Music Bureau, but also in the appearance of nlarge entertainment districts within the cities where people would invest nextraordinary amount of resources in the pursuit of pleasure, and in small scale ngatherings. This class will look at the representation of play and pleasure in nChinese culture from a variety of sources (art, history, literature and nperformance) in different periods of Chinese history. In the process we will naddress the place of pleasure in Chinese culture, as well as ethical, socio-npolitical and economical concerns. Held in old Knight Bldg., 521 Memorial Way, Rm. 102.
Terms: Spr | Units: 3-4
Instructors: ; Llamas, R. (PI)

CHINGEN 134: Early Chinese Mythology (CHINGEN 234)

The definition of a myth. Major myths of China prior to the rise of Buddhism and Daoism including: tales of the early sage kings such as Yu and the flood; depictions of deities in the underworld; historical myths; tales of immortals in relation to local cults; and tales of the patron deities of crafts.
| Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum

CHINGEN 138: Love and Politics in Chinese Cinema (CHINGEN 238)

How films work as expressions of desire, impulse, emotional connection, and communal attachment during times of social upheaval and reconstruction. Film theory and aesthetics, and alternative paradigms about world and social relations. Chinese language not required.
| Units: 4-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum

CHINGEN 151: Manuscripts, Circulation of Texts, Printing (CHINGEN 251)

History of texts before the advent of printing as well as during the early period of printing, focus on Tang and Song periods. Attention to the material existence of texts, their circulation, reading habits before and after printing, the balance between orality and writing, the role of memorization, and rewriting during textual transmission. Readings in English.
| Units: 3-4

CHINGEN 160: New Directions in the Study of Poetry and Literati Culture (CHINGEN 260)

Inquiry into new approaches and interpretations of the poetic tradition in China in the context of cultural history. Readings in recent scholarship and criticism that situate poetry in print history, manuscript culture, gender studies, social history, etc. Readings in English. Reading knowledge of Chinese desirable but not required.
| Units: 3-4 | Repeatable 4 times (up to 4 units total)

CHINGEN 169: What is Chinese Theater? The Formation of a Tradition (CHINGEN 269)

A survey of Chinese drama from its origins to late imperial China. Explores theories of the origins of Chinese drama, contrasting theories with the documented beginnings of theater and its first texts. How traditions turned into "elite theater" in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and how esthetic norms and moral values went into the process of theatrical transformation.
| Units: 3-4

CHINGEN 193E: Female Divinities in China (CHINGEN 393E)

The role of powerful goddesses, such as the Queen Mother of the West, Guanyin, and Chen Jinggu, in Chinese religion. Imperial history to the present day. What roles goddesses played in the spirit world, how this related to the roles of human women, and why a civilization that excluded women from the public sphere granted them such a major, even dominant place, in the religious sphere. Readings in English-language secondary literature.
| Units: 3-5 | UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-Gender

CHINGEN 201: Teaching Chinese Humanities

Prepares graduate students to teach humanities at the undergraduate level. Topics include syllabus development and course design, techniques for generating discussion, effective grading practices, and issues particular to the subject matter.
| Units: 1

CHINGEN 234: Early Chinese Mythology (CHINGEN 134)

The definition of a myth. Major myths of China prior to the rise of Buddhism and Daoism including: tales of the early sage kings such as Yu and the flood; depictions of deities in the underworld; historical myths; tales of immortals in relation to local cults; and tales of the patron deities of crafts.
| Units: 3-5

CHINGEN 238: Love and Politics in Chinese Cinema (CHINGEN 138)

How films work as expressions of desire, impulse, emotional connection, and communal attachment during times of social upheaval and reconstruction. Film theory and aesthetics, and alternative paradigms about world and social relations. Chinese language not required.
| Units: 4-5

CHINGEN 251: Manuscripts, Circulation of Texts, Printing (CHINGEN 151)

History of texts before the advent of printing as well as during the early period of printing, focus on Tang and Song periods. Attention to the material existence of texts, their circulation, reading habits before and after printing, the balance between orality and writing, the role of memorization, and rewriting during textual transmission. Readings in English.
| Units: 3-4

CHINGEN 260: New Directions in the Study of Poetry and Literati Culture (CHINGEN 160)

Inquiry into new approaches and interpretations of the poetic tradition in China in the context of cultural history. Readings in recent scholarship and criticism that situate poetry in print history, manuscript culture, gender studies, social history, etc. Readings in English. Reading knowledge of Chinese desirable but not required.
| Units: 3-4 | Repeatable 4 times (up to 4 units total)

CHINGEN 269: What is Chinese Theater? The Formation of a Tradition (CHINGEN 169)

A survey of Chinese drama from its origins to late imperial China. Explores theories of the origins of Chinese drama, contrasting theories with the documented beginnings of theater and its first texts. How traditions turned into "elite theater" in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and how esthetic norms and moral values went into the process of theatrical transformation.
| Units: 3-4

CHINGEN 393E: Female Divinities in China (CHINGEN 193E)

The role of powerful goddesses, such as the Queen Mother of the West, Guanyin, and Chen Jinggu, in Chinese religion. Imperial history to the present day. What roles goddesses played in the spirit world, how this related to the roles of human women, and why a civilization that excluded women from the public sphere granted them such a major, even dominant place, in the religious sphere. Readings in English-language secondary literature.
| Units: 3-5
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