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Advanced Topics in Asian Languages and Cultures (390-0-21)

Topic

Introduction to Contemporary Tibetan Literature

Instructors

Antonio Terrone
847/467-1636
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge Hall #4-439
Office Hours: times vary by quarter, please contact instructor

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-435: Tues, Thurs 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

AY24 This course will explore Tibetan literature beginning in the 1950s when Tibet became part of the newly established People's Republic of China. Although Tibet was a civilization uniquely characterized by a religious literature produced and consumed in monastic institutions, the nature of literature and literacy has changed in Tibet in the past seventy years, becoming more accessible to the wider public. Tibetan writers have used fiction and poetry in new ways to reflect on life, rapidly changing worldviews, and critiques of the past as well as the present. This course will introduce students to a number of modern and contemporary Tibetan literary works, mostly secular in nature, including short novels, fiction, and poetry in English translation, as well as academic studies and scholarly analysis of modern Tibetan literature.

Learning Objectives

Read, analyze, and write about Tibetan literary works from the contemporary (1950-present) period in English translation. Discuss contemporary Tibetan literary works with fluency and increasing sophistication, demonstrating facility for expressing subjective judgments on literature and other abstract topics. Analyze and discuss contemporary Tibetan literary genres, works, and authors in their social, historical, and religious contexts.

Teaching Method

Lectures and Discussions

Evaluation Method

Class participation, in-class presentation, final paper

Class Materials (Required)

Tsering Döndrup, The Handsome Monk and Other Stories. Columbia University Press, 2019 ISBN 978-0231190237 Tenzin Deckie. Old Demons, New Deities. 21 Short Stories from Tibet. OR Books, 2017 ISBN 978-1944869519 Alai, Red Poppies. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; First Edition, 2002 ISBN 978-0618119646

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity