Advanced Topics in Korean Literature and Culture (340-0-20)
Topic
Feminist, Queer, Crip: South Korea and Its Discont
Instructors
Jeong Eun We
847/467-5941
Kresge 1880 Campus Drive, #4-419
Office Hours: varies by quarter
Meeting Info
Locy Hall 109: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
AY23-24 This course examines contemporary discussions on the topics of gender, sexuality, and disability in South Korea. The past decade has seen an explosion of popular interest in feminism in South Korea. Along with this were competing debates on social and economic inequalities and legislations, as well as debates on gender identity, everyday experiences of discrimination, and overlooked sites of intersectional violence.
As the scholar Alison Kafer has poignantly shown, thinking through the entanglements of feminist, queer, and disability concerns is important to rethinking exclusionary claims and their attendant problems. Students will explore how queer and crip frameworks trouble and deepen feminist debates, and situate these frameworks in relation to Korea's history of militarism, war, and migration. Course materials include scholarship on feminist, queer, and crip theories beyond the Korean context, novel and short stories, TV show, news articles, and films.
No prior knowledge of the Korean language or culture is necessary. Student participation, discussion, and peer collaboration are important aspects of this course, and all students will be encouraged to speak in class.
Learning Objectives
1. Theorizing
Recognize the different feminist theoretical approaches. Interpret the ways Korean cultural and literary texts explore the issues of gender, sexuality, and disability.
2. Communication
Develop the skills to build layered, advanced, and well-reasoned arguments on Korean literature and culture. Engage the arguments of authors without reducing them.
3. Complicating "Korea"
Identify how Korean literature and culture have explored and shaped social issues surrounding gender, sexuality, and disability in South Korea.
Teaching Method
Discussion, Group Work
Evaluation Method
One Final Long Paper
One Individual Presentation
One Group Creative Short Op-Ed Writing
Class Materials (Required)
1. The Hole: A Novel by Pyun Hye-young. ISBN: 1628727802
2. Concerning My Daughter by Hye-jin Kim. ISBN: 1632063492
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area