Offered in alternate years. Not offered 1997-98. Full course for one semester. Writing in a new medium of expression, Chinese fiction writers in the first half of the century tell in a wide range of voices the stories of modernity's struggles with tradition. The emphasis of this course is on the rich diversity of points of view, of issues and concerns, of cultural and regional backgrounds, of literary forms and techniques.
Materials are available in English.
Additional hours with the instructor may be arranged for students taking the course for Chinese credit. Cross-listed as Literature 320. Before it launches into the period of reblossoming of creativity since the end of the culture revolution, the course begins with a brief look into the workings of propaganda literature that dominated the Chinese literary scene from the '50s through most of the '70s. It then proceeds to examine how, in the ensuing decades, fiction once again becomes a dynamic space where profound soul-searching takes place alongside modernist and postmodern experimentation. Materials are available in English.