Special Studies For students engaged in independent projects or research in connection with Japanese, Chinese or Korean Language and literature. Korea An introduction to the literatures of East Asia from pre-modern times to the modern period. We will examine mutual influences among these literatures, but also contest the notion of a monlithic east Asian culture. Texts will include Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji , Ihara Saikaku's The Great Mirror of Male Love , Cao Xueqin's Dream of the Red Chamber and Kim Man-jung's A Nine Cloud Dream .
All readings are in English translation.
Texts will include shaman's hymns, popo songs, drinking songs, ballads, philosophical ditties, praise and nature poetry and opera liberettos. We will investigate the intellectual milieu in which poetry circulated, considering such issues as the relation between poetry and autobiography, the interest of elites in collecting popular song and the development of feminine voices both simulated and genuine. No knowledge of Chinese language or literature is requred. All readings are in English translation. Modern Chinese Literature Twentieth-century China has undergone profound social, cultural and political changes that have challenged centuries of Confucian tradition and insitutions.