Advanced Topics in Chinese Literature and Culture (300-0-20)

Topic

Slow Films in Sinophone Cinema: Attention, (In)Act

Instructors

Sihan Wang

Meeting Info

Locy Hall 214: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM

Overview of class

AY26: This course explores how filmmakers from China, Taiwan, and the broader Sinophone world have used Buddhist contemplative traditions to reshape how films look, move, feel, and affect us, creating new cinematic temporalities and an aesthetic of societal withdrawal. How do we really sit with slow and silent films, and what do they do to our attention under conditions of acceleration? Through films by Hu Bo, Tsai Ming-liang, Bi Gan, Zhang Lu, Pema Tseden, and others, we examine how contemplative practice becomes cinematic method and how film becomes technology of mindfulness.

Registration Requirements

No background in Sinophone cultures or Buddhism is required.

Learning Objectives

1. Compare how Sinophone filmmakers across regional, linguistic, and political contexts mobilize contemplative tradition
2. Acquire basic film terminology and analyze slow films using concepts such as duration, dead time, the long take, and stillness
3. Identify key Buddhist concepts relevant to film aesthetics and articulate the connections and tensions between spirituality, perception, and modern media
4. Practice close viewing as both an analytical method and a disciplined perceptual and mindful activity
5. Produce clear, rigorous written work grounded in formal analysis

Class Materials (Required)

All materials will be provided in English on Canvas.

Class Attributes

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

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.