AAAS 352 - 20th C Chinese Fiction in Tran

Credits: 4

Taught entirely in English, this course introduces major 20th-century developments in Chinese cultural history, with a specific focus on the role fictional stories played in the development of modern Chinese identity. Assigned readings represent the evolution of modern Chinese literary culture across the 20th-century, tracing how the fictional exploration of identity negotiated between an emphasis on individual-oriented versus class-oriented literary expression. Assigned readings reflect the complex ways authors adopted, experimented with, and rebelled against prescribed literary styles and topics. The main goal of this course is to consider how literary texts provide unique insights into the historical development of modern Chinese culture and society, with special focus on the many ways individual and collective identities are formed, understood, imagined, disrupted, questioned, expanded, etc.