Advanced Topics in Asian Languages and Cultures (390-0-23)
Topic
Reading China in Translation
Instructors
Lingyi Xu
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-435: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
AY24 What do we lose and gain by reading about non-Western cultures in English rather than in their native languages? Can we have an "authentic" understanding of these cultures (if there ever is one) when they have already been translated into another language? This advanced undergraduate course focuses on the methodological and ethical question of linguistic medium in approaching the non-West: why are they always in translation? In this course, we will cover a wide range of Western (mis)representations of China (and the Chinese) from the nineteenth century to the present. From the lumbering, stagnant, opium-poisoned country of the nineteenth century, to "The World's Factory" and "Crazy Rich Asians" in contemporary discussions of global capitalism, China and the Chinese have featured in Western imagination as an ultimate other, both hopelessly backward and disturbingly modernized. As we contextualize the West's changing perceptions of China through historical writings, we will reflect on our own positions and methods of learning about China through English-language materials (both originals and translations). The main literary text we will read throughout the quarter is R. F. Kuang's Hugo-award winning bestseller Babel (2022), a counterfactual history of the nineteenth century in which translation makes all the difference in the world, including Britain's domination of China. We will situate Kuang's fantasy novel (also a campus novel, if that makes it even more enticing!) about translation in relation to contemporary theories of translation. This course provides students with a grounding in contemporary topics in translation studies, and it mobilizes these theoretical insights to approach a historically situated China that has continually been imagined, read, and produced through (mis)translation.
Teaching Method
Discussion
Evaluation Method
Class Participation Presentation Short Paper Final Paper
Class Materials (Required)
R. F. Kuang, Babel ISBN: 9780063021426
Class Attributes
Advanced Expression
Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity