CHIN 215 Gender in Chinese Literature

This course looks into the changing constructions of gender, sexuality, and desire in Chinese literature and film over time. It seeks to examine the social, cultural and institutional norms of gender behaviors in Chinese society as well as how the fictional imagination conforms to, deviates from and subverts these norms. Other critical issues discussed include the complex relationships between identity and performance, the construction of female subjectivity and male fantasy, gender and genre. Students will be encouraged to conduct cross-genre and cross-cultural comparisons. All readings in English. Chinese 315 is reserved for majors, who will do substantial portions of the work for the course in Chinese.