In Chinese Popular Culture, students will investigate the fundamental concepts of "Chinese," "popular,” and “culture”— considering what the class thinks they mean, what others think they mean, where and why these understandings dovetail or diverge—and then examine how these concepts are articulated in historical and contemporary media. In this sense, the class is as much a history of popular culture in China as it is a class on contemporary popular culture. The course will investigate questions such as: How might classical poetry be considered popular culture? How might rubbings help us understand the way information spreads in the modern world? How do we understand the role of technologies like photography, film, and radio in creating ideas about “China,” both locally and globally? To answer the above questions and more, the course will engage with a wide range of materials, including literature, scholarly and theoretical writing, visual art, film, television, music, dance, and the vast world of the internet. The course will explore topics including folklore and nationalism, labor and capitalism, race and ethnicity, feminism and masculinity, food and medicine. In addition to gaining a more nuanced understanding of key concepts, students will develop skills in historical and textual analysis, archival research, and writing.

This course offers a thematic introduction to the history of martial arts in China. Throughout the semester, we will explore the social, political, and cultural contexts of martial arts practice, from the classical period to the 21st century. The course will take an interdisciplinary approach to situating martial arts practices in history through an examination of religious, literary, and visual sources, against the backdrop of theoretical approaches from across gender studies, anthropology, and cultural theory. The course will be divided into three units. The first unit will focus on the cultural background that led to the emergence of martial arts practices in the pre-modern period. We will examine classical discourses on the human body and its cultivation and the role of medical practices and religious institutions, such as the Shaolin Temple, in the development of martial arts regimens. In the second unit, we will discuss the spread and popularization of martial arts practices in late imperial and modern Chinese society through a close reading of literary sources, such as wuxia novels and other works of fiction. In addition, we will explore the modernization and re-invention of martial arts in the late 19th centuryand early 20th century, when China attempts to re-establish itself as a modern nation. The third and final unit will be devoted to the global impact of Chinese martial arts in contemporary popular culture. Through a discussion and analysis of Kung Fu films, as well as video games, we will explore the role of martial arts narratives and practices in the construction of gender, cultural, and national identity and the various ways in which they are used by the current Chinese regime to assert its influence in the global arena. No knowledge of Chinese is presumed, and all readings will be available in English on the Canvas website in PDF form. Graduate students may take this course as EALC6926 and should see the instructor to discuss requirements for graduate credit.

If you have ever wondered about the following questions, then this is the right course for you: Is Japan a hyper-feminine nation of smiling geisha and obedient wives? Is it a hyper-masculine nation of samurai and economic warriors? Is it true that Japanese wives control the household? Is it true that Japanese men suffer from over-dependence on their mothers? What do young Japanese women and young men worry about? What does the government think about the future of Japanese women and men? Assuming that expressions of gender and sexuality are deeply influenced by cultural and social factors, and that they also show profound differences regionally and historically, this course examines a variety of texts--historical, biographical, autobiographical, fictional, non-fictional, visual, cinematic, analytical, theoretical--in order to better understand the complexity of any attempts to answer the above questions.

The Chinese writing system is the only major surviving script in the world that is partially picto-ideographic, Egyptian hieroglyphic and Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform having passed out of use about two millennia ago. Partly because it is so unique, a tremendous number of myths have grown up around the Chinese script. In an attempt to understand how they really function, this seminar will examine the nature of the sinographs and their relationship to spoken Sinitic languages, as well as their implications for society and culture. We will also discuss the artistic and technological aspects of the Chinese characters and the ongoing efforts to reform and simplify them. The use of sinographs in other East Asian countries than China will be taken into account. There are no prerequisites for this class.

Explore the beauty of gardens (and associated buildings) in Japan, China, and Korea from ancient times to the present. Lectures will be illustrated by photographs from dozens of sites in East Asia, and by a field trip to the Japanese House and Garden in Fairmount Park. The main body of the course will be a historical survey of the evolution of East Asian garden art forms from the sixth century to the present. Discussion will touch on geographic and climatic parameters, spiritual and aesthetic principles, practical limitations and creative innovations of East Asian gardens. There will be an additional fee for the Japanese House visit, and possibly for other field trips.

This course examines the interrelationship among "gender," "religion," and "China" as conceptual and historical categories. We ask, for example, how gender plays critical and constitutive roles in Chinese religious traditions, how religion can be used both to reinforce and to challenge gender norms, how religious women impact Chinese society and culture, and what the construction of "China" as a cultural identity and as a nation-state has to do with women, gender, and religion. We will also think about what assumptions we have when speaking of gender, religion, and China, and the infinite possibilities when we strive to think beyond. We will read three kinds of materials: (1) scholarship on gender and religion in historical and contemporary China as well as the Chinese-speaking world, (2) scholarship concerning theories and methodology of gender and religious studies not necessarily focused on China, and (3) historical record of religious women in English translation.

This course introduces students to English-language scholarship on social history of Korea from the founding of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) to the mid-nineteenth century. Conducted as a reading seminar, the course will examine status and gender in early modern Korean society by considering, among others, descent, kinship, marriage, education, and economy. A reading list of noteworthy studies is intended to help the students map some critical questions and debates that have shaped the historiography. Everyone must participate actively in discussions, provide oral presentations as a discussion leader, and submit two review essays. No knowledge of Korean language or culture is presumed. This course satisfies Cross Cultural Analysis requirement.

Introduction to the classical written language, beginning with Shadick, First Course in Literary Chinese. Students with a background in Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, Taiwanese, and other East Asian languages are welcome; it is not necessary to know Mandarin. The course begins from scratch, and swiftly but rigorously develops the ability to read a wide variety of classical and semi-classical styles. Original texts from the 6th century BC to the 20th century AD are studied. This course is taught in English and there are no prerequisites.

Study of Chinese painting and practice from the earliest pictorial representation through the late twentieth century. Painting styles are analyzed, but themes such as landscape and narrative are considered with regard to larger social, cultural, and historical issues. The class will pay particular attention to the construction of the concepts of the "artist" and "art criticism" and their impact on the field into the present. Visits to study paintings at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Study of Chinese painting and practice from the earliest pictorial representation through the late twentieth century. Painting styles are analyzed, but themes such as landscape and narrative are considered with regard to larger social, cultural, and historical issues. The class will pay particular attention to the construction of the concepts of the "artist" and "art criticism" and their impact on the field into the present. Visits to study paintings at the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Philadelphia Museum of Art.