Introductory Topics in Chinese Literature and Culture (200-0-21)

Topic

Querying Queering Taiwan: An Intro to Taiwanese St

Instructors

Paola Zamperini
847/467-4593
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge Hall, Office 4-431
Office Hours: Varies quarter to quarter, please check with instructor.

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-410: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

AY26 Taiwan studies has gained prominence in North America in recent years, and this course aims to introduce this important field of scholarly inquiry to students interested in Sinographic cultures beyond mainland China. An island nation with a vibrant local culture, Taiwan boasts some of the most dynamic and diverse cultural expressions today.
This interdisciplinary course explores Taiwanese culture from the colonial era to the twenty-first century through a range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives, including East Asian studies, film studies, literary criticism, gender and sexuality studies, queer theory, and Sinophone studies. The course covers a variety of literary genres—such as short stories, novels, poetry, and multimedia texts—as well as visual media, including films, television series, and visual arts. Together, these materials will help students develop a historical and cultural framework for understanding the contexts and value systems that have shaped the primary sources examined in the course.
Topics include Taiwan's premodern histories; its relationship with mainland China; the Japanese colonial period; the search for its nativist "roots:" Taiwan's democratization; Indigenous writers and filmmakers; LGBTQ narratives; and Taiwanese authors' engagement with feminism and the #MeToo movement.
Previous knowledge of and exposure to Austronesian indigenous languages, Chinese, Hakka, Hokkien, East Asian history and culture, or gender and sexuality studies and queer theory, is helpful but not required.

Registration Requirements

No registration requirement; attendnace to first calss, though preferred, is not mandatory

Learning Objectives

-Acquisition of knowledge about Taiwan studies as a field. This will mean exposure to primary sources (in English, and for those students able to, in the respective languages in which they were created) produced by Taiwan authors and artists, as well as to secondary sources related late to this field of intellectual engagement. -Acquisition of knowledge about Taiwan/ese culture from the colonial era to the twenty-first century through a range of disciplinary and methodological perspectives, including East Asian studies, film studies, literary criticism, gender and sexuality studies, queer theory, and Sinophone studies. -Development of methodological skills in studying, reading, and analyzing the primary and secondary sources related to the themes of the course. -Growth as independent researchers in the fields of Asian humanities, Sinophone studies, Taiwan and gender and sexuality studies. -Growth as independent academic thinkers and writers.

Teaching Method

Teaching methods may include bit are not limited to lecture, discussion activities, class participation, readings, films / videos, group work, guest speakers, presentations, research project, writing assignments.

Evaluation Method

Attendance; participation; short writing assignments (reading and screening responses); final research project

Class Materials (Required)

All course materials will be provided on Canvas.

Class Attributes

Literature and Arts Foundational Discipline
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for students majoring or minoring in Asian Languages & Cultures or International Studies until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites, if applicable.