EALC256 - The Tale of Genji
Status
O
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
The Tale of Genji
Term
2021A
Syllabus URL
Subject area
EALC
Section number only
401
Section ID
EALC256401
Course number integer
256
Registration notes
Crse Online: Sync & Async Components
Meeting times
TR 06:30 PM-07:30 PM
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Linda H. Chance
Description
"Crowning masterpiece of Japanese literature," "the world's first novel," "fountainhead of Japanese literary and aesthetic culture," "a great soap opera in the vein of Jacqueline Susann." Readers over the centuries have praised the Tale of Genji, the monumental prose tale finished just after the year 1000, in a variety of ways. In this course we will read the latest English translation of Murasaki Shikibu's work. We will watch as Genji loses his mother at a tender age, is cast out of the royal family, and begins a quest to fill the void she left. Along the way, Genji's loyalty to all the women he encounters forges his reputation as the ideal lover. We will consider gender issues in the female author's portrayal of this rake, and question the changing audience, from bored court women to censorious monks, from adoring nationalists to comic book adaptors. Study of the tale requires consideration of poetry, imagery, costume, music, history, religion, theater, political and material culture, all of which will be components of the course. We will also trace the effect of the tale's many motifs, from flora and fauna to murderously jealous spirits, on later literature and conceptions of human emotions. All material is in English translation. There are no prerequisites.
Course number only
256
Cross listings
GSWS256401, EALC656401
Fulfills
Cross Cultural Analysis
Use local description
No