“Alternative Readings of Chinese Masterpieces” invites the students to break away from established ideological confinement and to re-read Chinese literary masterpieces from a theoretically informed and cross-cultural perspective.

Syllabus: This course invites students to break away from established ideological confinement and to re-read Chinese literary masterpieces from a theoretically informed and cross-cultural perspective.

Proposed weekly syllabus: (1) Introduction; (2) The Classic of Poetry and sexuality in early Chinese texts; (3) The legend of Qu Yuan and the legacy of same-sex desire in pre-modern China; (4) Alternative interpretations of the Music Bureau poems; (5) The male body and A New Account of Tales of the World; (6) The formation of the canons of Tang poems and Song lyrics; (7) The lover’s bible: The Story of the Western Wing; (8) Re-reading Ming-Qing novels; (9) The theme of The Dream of the Red Chamber or is there such a thing? (10) Lu Xun and national allegory; (11) An alternative reading of The Thunderstorm (12) The proletarian revolutionary literature and the pursuit of (alternative) modernity.

Proposed Assessment: Assessment will be based on (1) two essays: one short essay (20%) and one final take-home essay exam (35%); (2) one in-class oral presentation (35%), and (3) classroom participation and preparation of in-class readings (10%).