30050 - Chinese Literature 1 (2nd cycle)

Learning outcomes

The student possesses in-depth knowledge of the history of modern Chinese literature, with particular attention to the relationship between literary texts and the historical, artistic, and linguistic context. They know and can use practical methodologies for the analysis and interpretation of the literary text.

Course contents

LITERATURE AND SOCIETY IN CHINA

 

Literature and society have never been entirely distinct fields, even though today the literary realm is often presented as a specialized and therefore separate sector. If we consider the "Guofeng" 国风 (Airs of the States), popular and folk songs that form the bulk of the Shijing 诗经 (Classic of Poetry); the public use of poetry in the imperial era, both as a tool of erudition and knowledge transmission in the hands of mandarins and as a weapon of criticism by exiled or fallen advisors; the emergence of xiaoshuo 小说 as narratives of the daily life of the rising proto-bourgeois merchant class; up to the intersection of literary and political revolution with the May Fourth Movement and beyond: all these cases demonstrate that literature actively interacts with the society of its time.

Given these historical premises, the course addresses the issue of the relationship between literature and society in 21st-century China. This relationship can be understood in various ways: a) how literature is produced, what agents (beyond the writer) contribute to its realization, and the impact of reception and distribution dynamics; b) how the literary act intervenes in society, transforming the lives of those who create or consume it; c) how a certain historical-social context influences the styles and themes of literature.

To achieve this, the course focuses on selected themes, substantiated by specific authors as case studies, aimed at providing students with the necessary knowledge to theoretically frame the problem and the methodological tools to conduct similar investigations independently.

 

COURSE PROGRAMME

0. Introduction: Outline of materialist literary criticism.

Section 1: Relationship between text and context

1. Using science fiction to narrate the present. Case study: Han Song 韩松.

2. The debate among poets on the engagement of literature. Case study: xiabanshen poetry 下半身 ("lower body poetry").

Section 2: Socio-cultural dynamics behind the literary act

3. Production, reception, and distribution relationships of grassroots women writers. Case studies: Yu Xiuhua 余秀华 and Fan Yusu 范雨素.

4. Between criticism and assimilation: texts and practices of worker poets. Case studies: Zheng Xiaoqiong 郑小琼 and Xiao Hai 小海.

Section 3: Engagement and disengagement

5. How to speak of what is not spoken about. Case study: hechaji 喝茶记 ("tea chronicles").

6. Literature mobilized by political power. Case study: kangyi shige 抗疫诗歌 ("pandemic resistance poetry").

Readings/Bibliography

Please refer to the Italian-language page for a full list of readings.

Teaching methods

Seminar-style lessons, with active student participation. Students are required to read and prepare primary sources and/or critical texts before each week and to consistently contribute to the class discussion.

The primary sources will mostly be in Chinese, but knowledge of the language is not required for satisfactory participation in the course.

In preparation for the final paper, lessons are dedicated to the drafting of an academic paper on a literary topic.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of discussing a paper of approximately 3,500 words (excluding notes and bibliography). The paper can be of two types: a) a critical analysis of a literary text, conducted independently by the student, by constructing their own critical framework (bibliographic sources, etc.) in line with the general perspective proposed by the course; b) an analysis of a phenomenon of interaction between culture and society, identified and investigated by the student, collecting and critically discussing a corpus of primary and/or secondary sources. Further details will be provided in class, and the instructor is available for any clarifications.

The topic must be agreed upon with the instructor at least two months before the chosen exam date. The paper must be submitted at least seven working days before the exam date.

Students intending to take the exam as attending students must submit a brief paper (2-3 pages) at the end of each section, critically commenting on the critical essays and literary texts analyzed in class. Intermediate papers account for 40% of the exam grade.

Non-attending students, on the other hand, will have to demonstrate their knowledge of the critical essays in the updated bibliography towards the end of the course through three specific questions, that account for 40% of the exam grade.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint presentations.

Office hours

See the website of Federico Picerni