Shui hu zhuan

EAS 301
Masterpieces of East Asian Literature

Heike ukiyoe Hong Lou Meng

 

T•R 2:30-3:45 pm
AuSable 1301



Jeremy Robinson
robinjer@gvsu.edu
Office: D-2-136 Mackinac Hall
Office Hours: M•T•Th 1:00-2:00pm


What makes a work of literature a "masterpiece?" And what makes it "literature" as opposed to, say, "history" or "song" or "theatre?" And while we're asking the hard questions, just what is "East Asia" anyway? For the purposes of this class, we will be exploring the poetry, prose, and theatre of China and Japan ranging across a huge span of time. We will explore both what made the works important to those who originally encountered it, and ask what makes it "literature" to us. We will look at both what the works reveal about the eras and regions in which they were created and what they have in common with works that are geographically or temporally distant. And we will ask what they have to offer us, twenty-first century readers encountering the works in a college classroom in western Michigan. Ultimately, we will be doing the work of the "humanities," asking what common human heritage we share with authors, characters, and audiences whose priorities seem at first hopelessly foreign.

This course makes extensive use of the Blackboard learning environment, both to distribute additional readings and to participate in online discussion. If you are not familiar with Blackboard, in particular the Discussion Board and Wiki tools, it is crucial to your success in this class that you familiarize yourself with these functions as soon as possible. If you require assistance, talk to the professor outside of class.


Grades will be assessed as follows:
   
 

Attendance and Participation
Wiki Quotes
Two Presentations
Six Online Reaction Papers
Fifteen Online Responses
Research Project
Final Exam

15%
5%
2 x 5% = 10%
6 x 5% = 30%
15 x 1% = 15%
10%
15%

 

As the first item suggests, I do take attendance, as well as take note of your participation in class, and these factors affect your grade. Attendance does not mean simply showing up in class, but showing up having read the assignment for that day, considered the "Questions to Consider" that are posted for each reading, and prepared to actively discuss it with the class.  For each day’s readings, select a quote that you found interesting and post it to the Quotes Wiki section of Blackboard at least an hour before class begins. These quotes will contribute to shaping each day's discussion and regular contribution is what will determine your "Wiki Quotes" grade. Almost all of the readings will be translations of primary sources -- that is, they are the Chinese and Japanese works themselves rather than criticism of or commentray on the Japanese works.

Over the course of the semester you will be required to submit six Reaction Papers to the Blackboard Discussion Board section. A reaction paper should be at least 600 words (appr. two pages) long and should articulate your reaction to that day’s readings. It does not need to be a formal argumentative essay, but it should be more substantive than mere summary and you should avoid filling your space retelling the story we have all just read. These papers are intended to give your interpretation of the material in light of your own experience and the issues we raise in class, and should show an active engagement with the text. Remember: you aren’t expected to be an expert on the topic, just an engaged reader. Reaction papers must be posted online by midnight the night before the class in which the readings are to be discussed, in order to give your fellow students time to read them and respond before class. Late reaction papers are useless to fostering online discussion and thus will not be accepted. Six (6) of these papers are required and you may choose any of the readings to which you wish to respond, but you may not write more than one in any given week. Although there will be many days when you do not write a reaction paper yourself, other students’ reaction papers are a a part of the required reading for all students, and you should make a point of reading the other students’ reactions, and perhaps writing an online response to them, before coming to class. There is no set length for these responses, but they should respond not only to the text itself, but also to the other students’ reactions and show a willingness to engage with other students’ ideas rather than relying only on one’s own interpretation. These responses must be posted prior to class, and a minimum of fifteen (15) of these responses is required over the course of the semester, though you are encouraged to write more and, if you feel more comfortable contributing in written form rather than during class discussion, this may enhance your participation grade. These online discussions are intended to act as a forum for discussion of the texts prior to hearing about them in the lectures, and they will provide the basis for in-class discussion of the texts.

Twice during the semester, you will be required to give a presentation before the class. The dates and topics for the first presentation are marked on the course schedule, and are intended to provide the class additional contextual information about the era, author, and work we are about to read as a class. The second presentation for all students will be on the final day of class, and will be about the topic you have chosen to research for your research project. This research project is usually in the form of a paper of around ten pages long, but you are welcome to present your research in an alternative manner as long as it is of comparable work. The topic is completely open -- you might choose to investigate a given theme by reading further in an assigned work, or deal entirely with new readings -- but the paper must go beyond what we have discussed in class. It is not intended to show how well you have learned class material, but how well you can draw on that material to go one step further on your own. A one-paragraph topic proposal should be turned in by the end of October, and your final paper is due on Friday of the last week of class.  If you wish to receive feedback on your paper prior to turning in the final version, you are welcome to turn in a draft any time up to one week before the deadline (drafts submitted after that time will not allow the professor enough time to read and comment).

There are four (4) required texts for this course, all of which are available in the bookstore. Nearly all of them are also widely available used, often at a substantial discount, from various online sellers. If you do plan to purchase the books on your own, make sure you note the ISBN number to insure you are using the same translation as the rest of the class. Additional readings will be made available as web links or in pdf format in the “Course Materials” section of Blackboard, and are identified on the syllabus with (BB). The required texts are:

  The Story of the Stone vol. 1 Cao Xueqin ISBN: 9780140442939
  The Broken Seals John and Alex Dent-Young, trans. ISBN: 9789622016026
  Genji and Heike Helen McCullough, trans. ISBN: 9780804722582

 

 

Fall 2014 Course Schedule

• click on any section to go to the assignments for that week •

 

Weeks 1~2 • Early Poetry and Prose

August 26th - September 4th

Weeks 3~5 • Aristocratic Romance

September 9th - 25th

Weeks 6~9 • Military Tales and Heroes

September 30th - October 23rd

Weeks 10~12 • Strange Tales

October 28th - November 11th

Week 13 • Theatre

November 13th-18th

Weeks 14~15 • Modernity

November 20th - December 4th

 

••• Final Exam: Tuesday, Dec. 9th, 4-5:50pm •••