This course will explore fiction and film in contemporary Japan, from 1945 to the present. Topics will include literary and cinematic representation of Japan s war experience and post-war reconstruction, negotiation with Japanese classics, confrontation with the state, and changing ideas of gender and sexuality. We will explore these and other questions by analyzing texts of various genres, including film and film scripts, novels, short stories, manga, and academic essays. Class sessions will combine lectures, discussion, audio-visual materials, and creative as well as analytical writing exercises. The course is taught in English, although Japanese materials will be made available upon request. No prior coursework in Japanese literature, culture, or film is required or expected; additional secondary materials will be available for students taking the course at the 600 level. Writers and film directors examined may include: Kawabata Yasunari, Hayashi Fumiko, Abe Kobo, Mishima Yukio, Oe Kenzaburo, Yoshimoto Banana, Ozu Yasujiro, Naruse Mikio, Kurosawa Akira, Imamura Shohei, Koreeda Hirokazu, and Beat Takeshi.

Topics Vary

Topics Vary

China is one of several world regions where writing and literacy emerged independently. This course looks at the evidence for the beginnings and first 1000 years of writing in China, from the earliest records of divinations and gift-giving by the Shang kings, through to the establishment during the Han dynasty of the core of China's literary tradition - the "classical" texts that all subsequent educated East Asians knew. Although no prior knowledge of Chinese language is required, we will look at the functioning and early evolution of the Chinese script, and learn to read simple inscriptions. Longer texts will be read in English translation. These will include commemorative inscriptions on bronzes, and varieties of early specialist or technical writings that were buried in tombs with their owners: literature on medicine, handbooks for lawyers, and models for philosophical debate. The course emphasizes the materiality of these writings - their history as physical objects, and the tombs, buildings, and other archeological contexts in which they are found - and a comparative perspective that sets early literacy in East Asia together with similar and contrasting histories of early literacy in other part of the Ancient World.

We all know that love is not easy. But what makes it so complicated? This course examines how the notion of "love" in Chinese culture offers a key for us to understand Chinese emotions, family structure, gender and sexuality, consumer economy, as well as the formation of political identity. Is "love" always defined in light of romantic or intimate relationships? Where can we posit the Chinese ideas of "love" in the English lexicons of passion, desire, and romance? What were considered the (im)proper expressions and behaviors of "love" between sovereigns and subjects, parents and children, husbands and wives? Why did metaphors of "love" often go hand in hand with the aspiration for political engagement and the appreciation of literary talents? How did the concepts of "love" challenge Confucian social and moral hierarchies by bonding individuals as equals, which marked the advent of the modern era? And lastly, in what ways can the transformation of "love" over the two millennia of Chinese cultural history broaden our contemporary perceptions of selfhood, partnership, and community? We will probe into these issues through some of the most essential Chinese literary and cultural texts from the 8th century B.C.E. to the 20th century, examining a variety of genres including poetry, plays, memoirs, and fictional narratives. We will also discuss contemporary media adaptations and visit the Penn Museum, exploring different perspectives to approach textual sources. This course is organized both chronologically and thematically: in each week, we read representative works from a specific historical period. They together illuminate both the paradigm of "love" at a given historical time and the transformation of "love" in Chinese culture in the longue duree. The format of the course contains a mixture of lecture and discussion, with a special focus on developing students' skills of close reading.

This course offers a study of the artistic techniques, characteristics and development of drama of the Ming and Qing periods. The course investigates topics such as features, forms and art of Ming-Qing zaju drama, selected readings in Ming-Qing zaju drama, features, forms and art of chuanqi drama, selected readings in chuanqi drama, etc. The course requirement includes two exams, terms papers, pop quiz, and some possible additional assignments.

This survey course introduces students to major trends, genres, directors, and issues in the cinemas of East Asian countries/regions, including Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Charting key developments over more than a hundred years from the early twentieth century to the present, this course examines films as aesthetic objects, asking questions about film form, narrative, and style. It also pays attention to the evolution of cinema as an institution (e.g. modes of production, circulation, and exhibition) in different cultural and political contexts. Weekly course materials will include both films (primary sources) and analytical readings (secondary sources). By the end of the course, students are expected to gain broad knowledge of East Asian cinema, develop skills of film analysis, and apply these skills to perform historically informed and culturally sensitive analysis of cinema. Prior knowledge of East Asian languages is NOT required.

This course will survey the major political, economic, social and intellectual trends in the making of modern Japan. Special emphasis will be given to the turbulent relationship between state and society from 1800 to the present.

This course will survey the major political, economic, social and intellectual trends in the making of modern Japan. Special emphasis will be given to the turbulent relationship between state and society from 1800 to the present.

This course will survey the major political, economic, social and intellectual trends in the making of modern Japan. Special emphasis will be given to the turbulent relationship between state and society from 1800 to the present.