CHES5101
C
Selected Themes
T
on
n Gender in
n China:
Modern Ch
hinese Lite
erature and
d Popular C
Culture
2016-17,, Term 1, We
ednesdays 11
1:30am – 2:1
15pm
WM
MY 506 (Wu Ho Man Yue
en Building)
Lecturer: Dr. Leta HO
ONG FINCHE
ER
ours: By appo
ointment
Office Ho
D
Course Description
This sem
minar course for master’s degree stud
dents examin
nes selected themes on g
gender in mo
odern
Chinese literature and
d culture from
m the turn of
o the twentie
eth century th
hrough to today. We willl read
y works of fic
ction and ess
says by Chin ese writers, as well as se
econdary wo
orks in
translations of primary
t gain some understand
ding of how gender hass been a cen
ntral issue in
n modern Ch
hina’s
English, to
tremendo
ous political and social upheaval.
u
We
e address to
opics such a
as changing interpretatio
ons of
feminism, nationalism
m, femininity, masculinity,, sexuality, m
marriage and
d patriarchy during the e
end of
ourth Movem
ment, the Com
mmunist Revvolution and the contemp
porary
the Qing dynasty, China’s May Fo
A
this
s course has
s no formal prerequisite s, it assume
es some ba
asic knowledge of
period. Although
Chinese history.
h
The syllabus
s
is preliminary an
nd subject to change base
ed on the ne
eeds of the class.
g Outcomes
Learning
After com
mpleting the course,
c
stude
ents should:
- Develop
D
critica
al reading, th
hinking and writing
w
skills;
- Be
B able to ana
alyze a text closely
c
and summarize
s
th
he key pointss succinctly;
- Draw
D
connecttions between personal experiences a
and scholarsh
hip;
- Examine
E
a giiven situation
n from anoth
her person’ss point of vie
ew and enga
age in respe
ectful,
re
easoned deb
bates with pe
eople from diverse backg
grounds, who
o hold differrent opinionss from
yo
our own;
- Gain
G
some in
nsight into China’s
C
politic
cal and sociial upheaval of the 20th
h century and the
co
ontemporary
y period using
g the critical lens of gende
er;
ed to gende
- Develop
D
an original
o
resea
arch/writing project
p
on yo
our area of interest relate
er and
cu
ulture in mod
dern China.
ts
R
Course Requiremen
This is a highly partticipative sem
minar. Stude
ents are exp
pected to co
ome to classs on time h
having
completed the assign
ned readings
s, fully prepa
ared to particcipate in the discussionss. You should
d ask
ul questions, listen carefu
ully when oth
her students speak, make
e respectful o
observationss, and
thoughtfu
be prepa
ared to re-ev
valuate and perhaps cha
ange your vi ews in resp
ponse to new
w information
n and
argumentts. Attendanc
ce and class
s participatio
on for the en
ntire semeste
er count for 15% of yourr final
grade. Cllass participa
ation is an ex
xtremely imp
portant part o
of this course
e and if you cconsistently make
very insig
ghtful contrib
butions to cla
ass discussio
ons, you mayy be eligible for bonus p
points in yourr final
grade.
sroom should
d be an inclu
usive place where
w
you fe
eel comforta
able, safe an
nd free to exxpress
Our class
your opin
nions in a respectful man
nner. Studen
nts are likely to hold a ra
ange of different views o
on the
topics cov
vered in the course. If an
nyone feels at
a all uncomfo
ortable aboutt the tone of class discusssions,
I encoura
age you to ap
pproach me confidentially
c
y to express yyour concern
ns.
ute, in-class presentation
n of key them
mes in the w
week’s
Each student is required to give one 10-minu
our final grad
de. We will sstart sign-upss early in the course.
assigned reading, worth 10% of yo
Page 1 of 5
Starting from week 3 (21 September), students are expected to submit reading-related comments
(250-400 words) by 9pm sharp the night before each class (that is, every Tuesday night). Your
weekly comments should consist of a concise analysis of one of the key themes in the assigned
reading. Your comments will be graded “check” for timely submission, “fail” if you miss the 9PM
deadline, and “check plus” if the essay is extremely insightful. No late submissions accepted. Your
final grade for weekly comments will be determined at the end of the course. If you have consistently
posted extremely insightful comments throughout the semester, you may be eligible to have your
final grade bumped up to the next grade step (e.g. if your final grade is B+, you may be bumped up
to A-), provided that you have also consistently made insightful comments in class discussions. This
should be an easy requirement as long as you keep up with the reading. Posting your weekly
comments throughout the semester counts for 15% of your final grade.
You will write one 12-15-page final paper (double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12-point), which is
due by 5pm on 7 December. A hard copy of the paper, together with a Veriguide receipt, should be
put in the teaching assistant’s mailbox on the 11th floor of the Yasumoto International Academic
Park. Students should also submit a soft copy to the Veriguide system and include the Veriguide
receipt
on
the
hard
copy
they
submit
to
the
teaching
assistant.
See:
https://services.veriguide.org/academic/login_CUHK.jspx
You may choose your own final paper topic, but I suggest that you discuss the topic with me
beforehand. You are required to hand in an outline of your final paper (4-6 pages) by 16 November
or you will not receive a grade higher than B for the final paper, regardless of how good it is. The
paper outline should be a Word document emailed to me, cc to our teaching assistant. The final
paper is worth 50% of your grade and will be evaluated on the quality and originality of your
argument, how well you demonstrate concepts learned in the class to support your argument, and
the clarity of your writing.
Groups of 2 to 4 students (depending on the final enrolment) will give a 15-minute, in-class
presentation on 30 November related to one of the themes addressed in the course, using
PowerPoint or another medium (eg. original video). I am very open to your creative ideas, so please
discuss them with me! Group presentations will be followed by a question and answer session with
the class. The presentation will be graded on the quality and clarity of your ideas. The presentation
is worth 10% of your grade and I will hand out sign-up sheets beforehand.
Assessment Scheme
Attendance and class participation
Individual presentation of readings (10 min)
Weekly comments (250-400 words)
Final group presentation (15 min)
Final paper (12-15 pages)
15%
10%
15%
10%
50%
Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the
disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details
may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk /policy/ac ademichonesty/ .With each assignment,
students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of the policies,
regulations and procedures.
Reading Materials
The following books will be placed on reserve in the library:
Bei Tong (translator Scott Myers). 2016. Beijing Comrades. New York: The Feminist Press.
Susan Brownell and Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom (eds.). 2002. Chinese Femininities, Chinese
Masculinities. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Ding Ling. I Myself am a Woman: The Selected Writings of Ding Ling. 1989. Beacon Press.
Page 2 of 5
Amy D. Dooling and Kristina M. Torgeson (eds). Writing women in modern China: an anthology of
women's literature from the early twentieth century. New York : Columbia University Press,
c1998.
Amy Dooling. 2005. Women’s Literary Feminism in Twentieth Century China. Introduction, pp. 133. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Leta Hong Fincher. 2014. Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China. London:
Zed Books.
Janet Gyatso and Hanna Havnevik (eds.) 2006. Women in Tibet: Past and Present. New York:
Columbia University Press.
Michelle Kleisath (ed.) 2007. Heavy Earth Golden Sky: Tibetan Women Speak About Their Lives.
Excerpts TBA. Shem Women’s Group USA.
Hua R. Lan and Vanessa Fong (eds.). 1999. Women in Republican China: A Sourcebook. New York:
M.E. Sharpe.
Lydia H. Liu, Rebecca E. Karl and Dorothy Ko (eds). 2013. The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential
Texts in Transnational Theory. New York: Columbia University Press.
Lu Xun. The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun (Penguin
Classics). 2010. London: Penguin Books.
Wang Zheng. 1999. Women in the Chinese Enlightenment: Oral and Textual Histories. Berkeley:
University of California Press.
Wei Hui. 2002. Shanghai Baby. New York: Washington Square Press.
Xiao Hong. The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River. 2006. Cheng & Tsui.
Angela Zito and Tani Barlow (eds.). 1994. Body, Subject and Power. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.
Course Schedule
Week 1: Introduction (7 September)
Week 2: Feminism and the end of the Qing dynasty (1) (14 September)
Lydia H. Liu, Rebecca E. Karl and Dorothy Ko (eds). The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential Texts
in Transnational Theory.
Introduction: Toward a Transnational Feminist Theory, pp. 1-26.
The Historical Context: Chinese Feminist Worlds at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, pp.
27-48.
Liang Qichao. Biography & “On Women’s Education”, pp. 188-203.
Week 3: Feminism and the end of the Qing dynasty (2) (21 September)
1st weekly comments due.
Jin Tianhe, Biography & “The Women’s Bell”, pp. 205-285. In Lydia H. Liu, Rebecca E. Karl and
Dorothy Ko (eds). The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential Texts in Transnational Theory.
Qiu Jin, Excerpts from Stones of the Jingwei Bird, pp. 39-78 in Amy D. Dooling and Kristina M.
Torgeson (eds). Writing Women in Modern China.
Week 4: Feminism and the end of the Qing dynasty (3) (28 September)
Lydia H. Liu, Rebecca E. Karl and Dorothy Ko (eds). The Birth of Chinese Feminism: Essential Texts
in Transnational Theory.
He-Yin Zhen, “On the Question of Women’s Liberation”, pp. 51-71.
He-Yin Zhen, “On the Question of Women’s Labor”, pp. 72-91.
He-Yin Zhen, “On the Revenge of Women”, pp. 105-168.
He-Yin Zhen, “The Feminist Manifesto”, pp. 179-184.
Page 3 of 5
Week 5: May Fourth and Gender (1) (5 October)
Wang Zheng. Women in the Chinese Enlightenment: Oral and Textual Histories. Introduction, pp. 134.
Lu Xun. The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China: The Complete Fiction of Lu Xun (Penguin
Classics).
“New Year’s Sacrifice”, pp. 161-177.
“Soap”, pp. 195-205.
Hua R. Lan and Vanessa Fong (eds.) Women in Republican China: A Sourcebook.
Lu Xun, “What Happens After Nora Leaves Home?”, pp. 176-181.
Mao Zedong. “Concerning the Incident of Miss Zhao’s Suicide”, pp. 80-83.
Recommended:
Henrik Ibsen. A Doll’s House.
Amy Dooling. 2005. Women’s Literary Feminism in Twentieth Century China. Introduction, pp. 1-33.
Week 6: May Fourth and Gender (2) (12 October)
Carol C. Chin. 2006. Translating the New Woman: Chinese Feminists View the West, 1905–15.
Gender & History, Vol.18 No.3 November: 490–518.
Ding Ling. “Miss Sophia’s Diary”, pp. 49-81. In I Myself am a Woman: The Selected Writings of Ding
Ling.
Week 7: Rural Women and the War Years (19 October)
Xiao Hong. “The Field of Life and Death”, pp. 3-90. The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan
River.
Recommended:
Lydia Liu, The Female Body and Nationalist Discourse: Manchuria in Xiao Hong’s the Field of Life
and Death. CH. 6 in Angela Zita and Tani Barlow (eds.) Body, Subject and Power, pp. 157-180.
Eileen Chang. Love in a Fallen City.
Week 8: Gender and the Communist Party-State (26 October)
Harriet Evans. Past, Perfect or Imperfect: Changing Images of the Ideal Wife. In Chinese
Femininities, Chinese Masculinities. Pp. 335-354.
Gail Hershatter. The Gender of Memory: Rural Women and China’s Collective Past. Introduction and
1. Frames, pp. 1-31.
Wang Zheng. 1997. Maoism, Feminism and the UN Conference on Women. Journal of Women’s
History Vol. 8, Number 4, Winter 1997: 126-152.
Week 9: Contemporary China and Gender (1) (2 November)
Wei Hui. Shanghai Baby, pp. 1-133 (1st half).
Xueping Zhong. 2006. Who is a feminist? Understanding the ambivalence towards “Shanghai Baby”,
Body Writing and Feminism in Post-Women’s Liberation China. Gender and History Vol. 18,
Issue 8, November: 635-660.
Week 10: Contemporary China and Gender (2) (9 November)
Wei Hui. Shanghai Baby, pp. 133-263 (2nd half).
Leta Hong Fincher. 2014. Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China.
Introduction, pp. 1-13. Ch. 1 China’s ‘Leftover’ Women, pp. 14-43.
Page 4 of 5
Week 11: Ethnicity and Gender (16 November)
Final paper outline due in class.
Kara Abramson. 2012. Gender, Uyghur Identity, and the Story of Nuzugum. The Journal of Asian
Studies, 71, pp 1069-1091.
Janet Gyatso and Hanna Havnevik (eds.) Women in Tibet: Past and Present. Introduction, pp. 1-28.
Michelle Kleisath (ed.) 2007. Heavy Earth Golden Sky: Tibetan Women Speak About Their Lives.
Excerpts TBA. Shem Women’s Group USA.
Week 12: LGBTQ Identities and Feminism (23 November)
Bei Tong. 2016. Beijing Comrades.
Leta Hong Fincher. Fall 2016 Dissent Magazine article on feminism in contemporary China.
Recommended:
Tze-lan Sang. At the juncture of censure and mass voyeurism: Narratives of Female Homoerotic
desire in post-Mao China.
Week 13: Final Presentations and Conclusion (30 November)
7 December: Final Paper due at 5pm
In designing this course, I consulted a wide range of syllabi and journals on China, Asian, housing
and urban studies, in addition to drawing on my original research findings. See me if you are
interested in learning more about my sources.
Page 5 of 5