ASIAN 3340 - Contested Legacies of China’s Past

(crosslisted) CAPS 3340

Spring. 4 credits.

D.X. Warner.

This course examines the legacies of major historical figures, events, and sites from China’s imperial past, to discover how these legacies have evolved and been contested within Chinese culture’s “collective memory.” The syllabus normally includes, on a rotation basis, such emblematic cases as Qin Shihuang (the First Emperor of China), Wu Zetian (the only female emperor in Chinese history), the romance between Emperor Xuanzong and Precious Consort Yang of the Tang dynasty, the Battle at Red Cliff in the third century, the An Lushan Rebellion of the eighth century, and the ancient capitals of Chang’an and Jinling. Attention will be paid to their opposing representations in historical records, intellectual discourse, literature and, for modern perspectives, in film, with the aim of investigating the social and cultural conditions of China’s changing collective memory of its past. Knowledge of Chinese language, culture, and/or history is not required. Readings will be in English translation and will include contemporary theoretical texts on collective memory. (SC)