Classical East Asian Literature
Code: 101539 ECTS Credits: 6| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2500244 East Asian Studies | OB | 2 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Jordi Mas Lopez
- Email:
- Jordi.Mas.Lopez@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
Other comments on languages
Antonio Paoliello teaches his classes in Spanish; Jordi Mas, in Catalan.Teachers
- Antonio Paoliello
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites to take this subject, but it requires prior knowledge obtained through the Classical East Asian Thought and Premodern East Asian History subjects. It also requires a native or near-native level of Spanish and Catalan. Students must be able to read and understand academic texts in English.
Objectives and Contextualisation
The objective of this subject is to offer a panoramic view of the major artistic and literary trends that moulded the literatures of East Asia from their origins to the beginning of modern times. At the end of the subject, students should be familiar with and recognise the main works of Chinese and Japanese classical literature and the aesthetic and literary codes that have shaped them. They should also be able to analyse (translated) Chinese and Japanese classical texts in depth, and to defend their own arguments. Catalan, Spanish and English translations of texts will be used.
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
- 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.
- Assessing the obtained results in the information search process in order to update the knowledge about history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
- Carrying out the documentary search in the specific languages of East Asia.
- Differentiating the literary genres and determining its specific characteristics.
- 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.
- Using the specific terminology of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
- Utilising different tools for specific purposes in the fields of history, literature, linguistics, thought and art.
Content
This subject examines the classical period of East Asian literatures, from the first literary manifestations to the end of the pre-modern era. Attention will be paid to the major trends that shaped Chinese and Japanese literature during the period in question, and specific works that represent them will be studied and discussed. Emphasis will also be placed on how each period’s literary manifestations reflect the society, thought and aesthetic principles from which they arise.
Methodology
This subject will be divided into two parts of equal duration. The first will be devoted to Chinese literature and the second to Japanese literature. In each part, the great literary movements that took place in China and Japan during the classical period will be presented and works or passages of specific works discussed.
Each lecturer will upload dossiers of texts containing the subject’s fundamental reading materials and recommended bibliography to the Virtual Campus.
Students are expected to use the recommended reading materials to carry out unsupervised study to complement the information they receive in directed sessions.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Lectures | 26 | 1.04 | 5, 6 |
| Text analysis | 22.5 | 0.9 | 6, 4 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Reading (dossiers) | 20 | 0.8 | 7, 8 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Individual study (primary and secondary sources) | 47.5 | 1.9 | 5, 6 |
| Writing an essay / forum participation | 30 | 1.2 | 2, 3, 10, 9 |
Assessment
The part of the subject on Chinese literature is assessed on the basis of two exams, one on the compulsory reading materials (15% of the final mark) and one on the history of Chinese literature, its genres and authors (35%). The part of the subject on Japanese literature is assessed on the basis of an exam on the content dealt (25%) and an essay on a Japanese classical work or, alternatively, a steady participation in the forum of the subject (25%).
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.
Related matters
All information on assessment, assessment activities and their weighting is merely a guide. 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 in 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 accountingfor 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, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay on a Japanese classical work / participation in the forum of the course | 25% | 0 | 0 | 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9 |
| Exam 1 (Chinese compulsory reading materials) | 15% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 9 |
| Exam 2 (Chinese literature) | 35% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, 9 |
| Exam 3 (Japanese literature) | 25% | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2, 5, 6, 4, 3, 10, 9 |
Bibliography
Chinese literature
Essential bibliography
Documents uploaded to the Virtual Campus (it is vital that students read them before class in order to follow proceedings properly)
- Mair, Victor H. (2001). The Columbia Anthology of Chinese Literature. New York: Columbia University Press.
- David Martínez Robles, Carles Prado Fonts (coordinators); authors: Regina Llamas González de Amezúa, Alicia Relinque Eleta, Anne- Hélène Suárez Girard (2004). Literatura xinesa, Barcelona: UOC.
- Carles Prado-Fonts (ed.), David Martínez Robles (ed.), Alicia Relinque Eleta (2008). Narrativas chinas: ficciones y otras formas de no-literatura: de la dinastía Tang al siglo XXI. Barcelona: UOC.
- Shirane, Haruo; Suzuki, Tomi; Lurie, David (eds). The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature. New York, Columbia University Press, 2015. (Available as digital book at the library of the UAB)
- Konishi, Jin'ichi; Miner, Earl (ed.); Teele, Nicholas John; Gatten, Aileen Patricia. A History of Japanese Literature. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1984, 1986, 1991. (3 volumes, available as digital books at the library of the UAB)
PLEASE NOTE: both books can be found in several Catalan libraries. Please consult the CCUC catalogue here: http://www.uab.cat/biblioteques/
Besides the essential bibliography, students must read ONE of the following poetry books:
- Du Fu (2006). Bosque de pinceles. Selection, translation and notes by Guillermo Dañino. Madrid: Hyperion.
- Li Bai (2005). A punto de partir. Translation from Chinese by Anne Hélène Suárez. Madrid: Editorial Pre-Textos.
- Suárez Girard, Anne-Hélène (2000). 99 cuartetos de WangWei y su círculo. Edition and translation from Chinese by Anne Hélène Suárez. Valencia: Editorial Pre- Textos.
Students must also read a selection of narrative texts and theatre plays which will be available on the Virtual Campus.
Japanese literature
The following books will be used as basic reference works:
- Rubio, Carlos. Claves ytextos de la literatura japonesa.Una introducción. Madrid: Cátedra, 2007.
- Keene, Donald. Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from Earliest Times to the Late Sixteenth Century. New York:Columbia University Press, 1999.
- Keene, Donald. Dawn to the West: Japanese Literature in the Modern Era. New York: Columbia University Press, 1998.
At the beginning of the part of the subject on Japanese literature, the lecturer will upload a dossier containing the compulsory reading materials that will be discussed in class to the Virtual Campus.