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2020/2021

Modern and Contemporary East Asian Literature

Code: 101538 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500244 East Asian Studies OB 3 1
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Albert Nolla Cabellos
Email:
Albert.Nolla@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Teachers

Antonio Paoliello

Prerequisites

This third-year subject is compulsory, and although there are no prerequisites for taking it, it is advisable for students to have passed Classical East Asian Literature, since it provides the framework within which modern and contemporary literary currents in East Asia are to be interpreted.

Objectives and Contextualisation

Since this third year subject is compulsory for both students who have Chinese or Japanese as their first language of East Asia, we will work on texts translated into Catalan, Spanish, French or English.

The aim of this subject is to provide an overview of the great artistic and literary currents of East Asian literatures in the modern and contemporary age. On successfully completing this subject, students will know the main 20th century works of Chinese and Japanese literature and the key aesthetic and literary movements that have shaped them, as well as being able to identify and locate the texts of these traditions in the original context from reading. Students will also be expected to know how to analyze modern and contemporary Chinese or Japanese texts (always in translation) and be able to defend arguments arising from their analysis.

Competences

  • Applying knowledge of the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia in order to comprehend and assess written texts in the languages of East Asia.
  • Differentiating the literary genres and determining its specific characteristics.
  • Knowing and using the information and communication technology resources (ICT) in order to collect, produce, analyse and present information related to the East Asian Studies.
  • Knowing the great literary, philosophical, and artistic movements of East Asia.
  • Knowing, understanding, describing, analysing, and assessing the history, thought and literature of East Asia.
  • Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  • Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Applying knowledge of the values, beliefs and ideologies of East Asia in order to comprehend and assess written texts in the languages of East Asia.
  2. Assessing the obtained results in the information search process in order to update the knowledge about history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
  3. Carrying out the documentary search in the specific languages of East Asia.
  4. Differentiating the literary genres and determining its specific characteristics.
  5. Knowing the great literary, philosophical, and artistic movements of East Asia.
  6. Knowing, understanding, describing, analysing, and assessing the history, thought and literature of East Asia.
  7. Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  8. Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
  9. Using the specific terminology of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
  10. Utilising different tools for specific purposes in the fields of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.

Content

This subject provides an overview of Chinese and Japanese literature from the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the 21st century.

In the part dedicated to Chinese literature, the overview will cover the three great periods that go from the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to the 80s of the twentieth century, with works mainly from the People's Republic of China.

In the part dedicated to Japanese literature, the overview will cover the literary production of the modern and contemporary period, that is, from the Meiji Restoration (1868) to the present day.

Methodology

The subject will be divided in two parts of equal duration. Both in the part dedicated to Chinese literature and the part dedicated to Japanese literature, a bibliography will be given with recommended reading, which will be used to complement the information provided in the directed sessions, and compulsory reading works, on which students will be assessed. The face-to-face sessions will include historical contextualization, description of literary movements, main authors, readings and commentaries of translated texts, etc.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Text analysis (dossiers) 17 0.68 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 10, 9
Theoretical lectures 25 1 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9
Type: Supervised      
Readings (compulsory) 30 1.2 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9
Type: Autonomous      
Readings 31.5 1.26 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9
Study (primary and secondary sources) 42.5 1.7 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9

Assessment

Assessment is continuous. Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing tasks and tests. Task deadlines will be indicated in the course schedule on the first day of class. All activity deadlines are indicated in the subject's schedule and must be strictly adhered to.

In the Chinese literature part, the assessment will be based on a reading test (25% of the subject) and a test of knowledge (25%). 

In the Japanese literature part, the assessment will be based on a reading test (25% of the subject) and a test of knowledge (25%). 

The reading test will be based on a choice of one of the compulsory readings (see Section II.2 of the bibliography) and the shorter texts read during the semester.

The test of knowledge will be on the theoretical part, and it will include the basic chronology and the main literary movements of the periods reviewed, the relationship between literary phenomena and their historical and socio-cultural context, authors and main works of each period. 

Marks will be given for correct written expression in Catalan or Spanish. 

Related matters 

The above information on assessment, assessment activities and their weighting is merely for guidance. The subject's lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins. 

Review 

When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews by agreement with the lecturer. 

Missed/failed assessment activities 

Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for. 

The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities. 

Classification as "not assessable" 

In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript. 

Misconduct in assessment activities 

Students who engage in misconduct (plagiarism, copying, personation or identity theft, etc.) in an assessment activity will receive a mark of “0” for the activity in question. In the case of misconduct in more than one assessment activity, the students involved will be given a final mark of “0” for the subject. 

Students may not retake assessment activities in which they are found to have engaged in misconduct. Plagiarism is considered to mean presenting all or part of an author's work, whether published in print or in digital format, as one's own, i.e. without citing it. Copying is considered to mean reproducing all or a substantial part of another student's work. In cases of copying in which it is impossible to determine which of two students has copied the work of the other, both will be penalised.

 More information: http://www.uab.cat/web/study-abroad/undergraduate/academic-information/evaluation/what-is-it-about-1345670077352.html

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Content-related test (Chinese literature) 25% 1 0.04 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9
Content-related test (Japanese literature) 25% 1 0.04 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9
Reading test (Chinese literature) 25% 1 0.04 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9
Reading test (Japanese literature) 25% 1 0.04 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9

Bibliography

I. Part on Chinese literature:

1. Recommended reading

Prospective bibliography; for reasons of space, the translators are not indicated, but they should be included in the reading file; direct and indirect translations are included:

1.1. General reference: 

Denton, Kirk A., ed.: Modern Chinese Literary Thought: Writings on Literature, 1893-1945. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1996. 

Lau, Joseph and Howard Goldblatt, eds.: Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature. Columbia University Press, New York,1994. 

Martínez-Robles, David i Carles Prado-Fonts, eds.: Narratives xineses: ficcions i altres formes de no-literatura. EDIUOC,Barcelona,  2008. [Also available in a Spanish language edition.]

McDougall, Bonnie and Kam Louie: The Literature of China in the Twentieth Century. Columbia University Press, New York, 1997. 

Mostow, Joshua, ed.: The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature. Columbia University Press, New York, 2003. 

MCLC Resource Center: http://mclc.osu.edu 

2. Compulsory reading:

For the assessment, students must choose one. In this section, translations should be direct.

Lu Xun: Contar nuevo de historias viejas, Trad.: Laureano Ramírez Bellerín. Madrid: Hiperión, 2001.

Diari d'un boig i altres relats, Trad.: Carles Prado Fonts. Edicions de 1984, Barcelona, 2007.

Ma Jian: Treu la llengua saburrosa, Trad.: Sara Rovira Esteva. Límits, Andorra, 2002.

Mo Yan: Cambios, Anne-Hélène Suárez Girard. Barcelona: Seix Barral, Barcelona, 2012.

Yu Hua. ¡Vivir!, Trad.: Anne-HélèneSuárez Girard. Barcelona: Seix Barral, Barcelona, 2010.

Yu Hua: Crónica de un vendedor de sangre. Trad. Anne-Hélène Suárez Girard. Barcelona: Seix Barral, Barcelona, 2010. 

II. Part on Japanese literature

1. Recommended reading

Prospective bibliography; for reasons of space, the translators are not indicated, but they should be included in the reading file; direct and indirect translations are included:

1.1. General reference: 

Gordon, Andrew, A Modern History of Japan: From Tokugawa Times to the Present (Oxford: Oxford University Press). 

Donald Keene, Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature in the Modern Era (New York: Henry Holt). 

Mostow, Joshua, ed.: The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature. Columbia University Press, New York, 2003.

Prado-Fonts, Carles, ed., Literatures de l’Àsia Oriental: sigles XIX i XX, EDIUOC, Barcelona, 2008. [Also available in a Spanish language edition.]

Rimer, J. Thomas., ed., Modern Japanese Fiction and its Traditions: An Introduction (Princeton: Princeton University Press).

Rimer, J. Thomas., ed., A reader's guide to Japanese literature (New York : Kodansha International). 

Rimer, J. Thomas i Gessel, V. C., ed., The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature (Columbia University Press, 2007). 

2. Compulsory reading:

For the assessment, students must choose one of the following readings. In this section, translations are direct.

Kawabata Yasunari La casa de les belles adormides, Viena Edicions, 2007. Trad. de Sandra Ruiz i Albert Mas-Griera.

La casa de las bellas durmientes. Luis de Caralt, 2004. Trad. de Pilar Giralt.

Murakami Haruki Tòquio Blues (Norwegian Wood), Empúries, 2005. Trad. d’Albert Nolla.

Tokio Blues (Norwegian Wood), Tusquets, 2005. Trad. de Lourdes Porta.

Ôe Kenzaburô Una cuestión personal, Anagrama, 1994. Trad. de K. Yoonah y R. Fernández Sastre. 

Sôseki Natsume Kokoro. Gredos, 2003. Trad. de Carlos Rubio. 

Tanizaki Junichirô La clau, Edicions 62, 2003. Trad. d’Albert Nolla.

La llave, Muchnik, 2003. Trad. de Jordi Fibla i Keiko Takahashi.