CHNS 570a, Introduction to Literary Chinese I  Pauline Lin

Reading and interpretation of texts in various styles of literary Chinese (wenyan), with attention to basic problems of syntax and literary style. Prerequisite: CHNS 151 or CHNS 153 or equivalent.
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

CHNS 571b, Introduction to Literary Chinese II  Pauline Lin

Continuation of CHNS 570. Reading and interpretation of texts in various styles of literary Chinese (wenyan), with attention to basic problems of syntax and literary style. Prerequisite: CHNS 570 or equivalent.
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

EALL 503a, The Tale of Genji  Kurtis Hanlon

A reading of the central work of prose fiction in the Japanese classical tradition in its entirety (in English translation) along with some examples of predecessors, parodies, and adaptations (the latter include Noh plays and twentieth-century short stories). Topics of discussion include narrative form, poetics, gendered authorship and readership, and the processes and premises that have given The Tale of Genji its place in world literature. Attention is also given to the text's special relationship to visual culture. No knowledge of Japanese required. A previous college-level course in the study of literary texts is recommended but not required.
MW 1pm-2:15pm

EALL 513a, Philosophy, Religion, and Literature in Medieval China  Xiaojing Miao

This course explores the rich intellectual landscape of the Chinese middle ages, introducing students to seminal works of Chinese civilization and to the history of their debate and interpretation in the first millennium. No previous knowledge of China is assumed. This is primarily an undergraduate course; graduate students are provided readings in the original language and meet in an additional session to review translations.
F 1:30pm-3:20pm

EALL 521a / RLST 568a, Introduction to Chinese Buddhist Literature  Eric Greene

This class is an introduction to Chinese Buddhist literature. Although written in classical Chinese, Buddhist texts in China were written in a particular idiom that was much influenced by the Indian languages and which can be difficult to understand without special training. This class introduces students who already have some reading ability in literary Chinese to this idiom and the tools and background knowledge needed to read and understand Chinese Buddhist literature. We read a series of selections of some of the most influential Chinese Buddhist texts from various genres including canonical scriptures, apocryphal scriptures, monastic law, doctrinal treatises, and hagiography. Secondary readings introduce the basic ideas of Indian and Chinese Buddhist thought to the extent necessary for understanding our readings. Prerequisite: CHNS 571 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor. Students of Japanese or Korean literature who can read basic kanbun or gugyeol are also welcome to enroll; no knowledge of modern, spoken Chinese is required.
MW 9am-10:15am

EALL 548b, Modern Chinese Literature  Jing Tsu

An introduction to modern Chinese literature. Topics include Sinophone studies, East Asian diaspora, theories of comparison, technologies of writing and new literacies, realism, translation, globalization, scientism, and culture.
T 7pm-8:50pm

EALL 555a / EAST 552a, Japanese Modernism  Paul McQuade

Japanese literature and art from the 1920s through the 1940s. The avant-garde and mass culture; popular genre fiction; the advent of new media technologies and techniques; effects of Japanese imperialism, militarism, and fascism on cultural production; experimental writers and artists and their resistance to, or complicity with, the state.
TTh 1pm-2:15pm

EALL 565a / EAST 553a, Japanese Literature after 1970  Paul McQuade

This course is an introduction to Japanese literature written in the last fifty years, with a focus on women writers. We read poetry and prose featuring mothers, daughters, and lovers, novels that follow convenience and thrift store workers, and poetry about factory girls. Our reading takes us from the daily grind of contemporary Tokyo to dystopian futures, from 1970s suburbia to surreal dreamscapes. We attend carefully to the ways in which different writers craft their works and, in particular, to their representation of feelings and affects. Whether the dull ache of loneliness, the oppression of boredom, or the heavy weight of fatigue, it is often something about the mood of a work—rather than its narrative—that leaves a distinct impression. We develop the tools to analyze and discuss this sense of distinctness, as well as discover ways to stage connections and comparisons between the works we read. Comparative and creative perspectives are especially welcome, and assignments can accommodate a range of media and presentation formats to suit. No knowledge of Japan or Japanese is required, nor is any prior grounding in literature. For those wishing to work with Japanese-language materials, please contact the instructor directly to organize additional Japanese-language workshops.
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

EALL 569a, Topics in Modern Korean Literature  Kyunghee Eo

In this course, students read key works of Korean literature in English translation from the early twentieth century to the present day. The specific course topic varies by term. Primary sources include long-form novels, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction writing by representative authors, as well as literary scholarship on themes and historical context relevant to the materials. The readings in this course are arranged in roughly chronological order, requiring us to examine Korea’s colonial modernization process in the first half of the twentieth century, the authoritarian regimes of South Korea from 1948 to 1987, and South Korea’s integration into the neoliberal world order after democratization. Supplementary audio-visual materials such as artwork, video clips and music may be presented to students in class. All class materials are in English translation, and no previous knowledge of Korean language is required.
M 1:30pm-3:20pm

EALL 571b / FILM 882b, Japanese Cinema after 1960  Aaron Gerow

The development of Japanese cinema after the breakdown of the studio system, through the revival of the late 1990s, to the present.
MW 11:35am-12:50pm

EALL 588a / CPLT 612a / EAST 616a / RSEE 605a / RUSS 605a, Socialist '80s: Aesthetics of Reform in China and the Soviet Union  Jinyi Chu

This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of the complex cultural and political paradigms of late socialism from a transnational perspective by focusing on the literature, cinema, and popular culture of the Soviet Union and China in 1980s. How were intellectual and everyday life in the Soviet Union and China distinct from and similar to that of the West of the same era? How do we parse “the cultural logic of late socialism?” What can today’s America learn from it? Examining two major socialist cultures together in a global context, this course queries the ethnographic, ideological, and socio-economic constituents of late socialism. Students analyze cultural materials in the context of Soviet and Chinese history. Along the way, we explore themes of identity, nationalism, globalization, capitalism, and the Cold War. Students with knowledge of Russian and Chinese are encouraged to read in original. All readings are available in English.
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm

EALL 600b / EAST 640b, Sinological Methods  Pauline Lin

A research course in Chinese studies, designed for students with background in modern and literary Chinese. Students explore and evaluate the wealth of primary sources and research tools available in China and in the West. For native speakers of Chinese, introduction to the secondary literature in English and instruction in writing professionally in English on topics about China. Topics include Chinese bibliographies; bibliophiles’ notes; specialized dictionaries; maps and geographical gazetteers; textual editions, variations, and reliability of texts; genealogies and biographical sources; archaeological and visual materials; and major Chinese encyclopedias, compendia, and databases.
F 1:30pm-3:20pm

EALL 601a, Ancient and Medieval Chinese Poetry  Xiaojing Miao

Readings in ancient and middle-period Chinese poetry, from the beginnings of the tradition through the Song dynasty. Prerequisite: one year of classical/literary Chinese or equivalent, or permission of the instructor.
Th 9:25am-11:15am

EALL 602b, Readings in Classical Chinese Prose  Xiaojing Miao

Close reading of classical Chinese texts (wenyan) primarily from late Imperial China. A selection of formal and informal prose, including memoirs, sanwen essays, classical tales, biographies, and autobiographies. Focus on cultural and historical contexts, with attention to reception in China and in some cases in Korea and Japan. Questions concerning readership and governmental censorship, function of literature, history and fictionality, memory and writing, and the aesthetics of qing (emotion). Readings in Chinese; discussion in English. Prerequisite: CHNS 171 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.
M 9:25am-11:15am

EALL 619b, The Vernacular Short Story in Early Modern China (Huaben)  Tina Lu

This course introduces students to the genre often called huaben, or the vernacular short story. These stories are written in a version of spoken Chinese, and for texts dating from the 17th century are quite easy to read, while providing an unparalleled window onto everyday life. We will be reading a wide range of these stories, in significant volume, and the class will culminate in the student's writing a final paper.
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm

EALL 709a, The Rise of Chinese Autobiographical Writing  Xiaojing Miao

Chinese self-writing has a rich and multifaceted history. Autobiographical texts not only continue to make for fascinating reading, but they have also long been regarded as an important part of the Chinese literary tradition. Our inquiry pursues three goals: (1) To get an understanding of the conventions of self-writing in China, we read and discuss important premodern Chinese autobiographical texts in classical Chinese from a spectrum of genres, including prefaces, letters, and poems. (2) We review traditional and contemporary approaches to the interpretation of these texts, focusing on questions of narrative, the representation of self-hood, and authenticity. (3) To throw the early and medieval Chinese autobiographical tradition into sharper relief, we look beyond ancient China and include selected autobiographical works of other literary traditions (ancient and modern) into our discussions. To complement the literary sphere, we also look into self-representations in other media. Overall, the seminar revolves around what happens when humans put themselves into their writing: Why are we writing about ourselves and what are the rules of this kind of writing? Why are we reading autobiographies and making them part of our canons? Prerequisite: one year of classical/literary Chinese (or kambun/kobun), either at Yale or elsewhere. Modern Chinese is not required, and students are not expected to know the pronunciation of the texts we read in Mandarin (i.e., Korean, Japanese, Cantonese, etc. pronunciation is fine). Students who have never taken literary Chinese but have reason to believe that they can handle the course readings (e.g. native speakers of Chinese or Japanese) should consult the instructor.
Th 1:30pm-3:20pm

EALL 761a, Topics in Early Chinese Thought  Mick Hunter

An examination of certain key problems in the study of early Chinese thought. Topics vary from year to year but in general include intellectual typologies and affiliations, relating received texts and excavated manuscripts, the role of Han editors in shaping pre-Han textual traditions, ruling ideology, and comparisons with other parts of the ancient world. Discussions and papers are in English. Because readings are different each year, this course may be repeated for credit.
HTBA

EALL 773a / ANTH 531a / CLSS 815a / HIST 502a / HSAR 564a / JDST 653a / NELC 533a / RLST 803a, Archaia Seminar: Law and Society in China and Rome  Noel Lenski and Valerie Hansen

An introduction to the legal systems of the Roman and post-Roman states and Han- and Tang-dynasty China. Emphasis on developing collaborative partnerships that foster comparative history research. Readings in surviving law codes (in the original or English translation) and secondary studies on topics including slavery, trade, crime, and family. This course serves as an Archaia Core Seminar. It is connected with Archaia's Ancient Societies Workshop (ASW), which runs a series of events throughout the academic year related to the theme of the seminar. Students enrolled in the seminar must attend all ASW events during the semester in which the seminar is offered.
M 1:30pm-3:20pm

EALL 808a, Queer East Asian Studies  Kyunghee Eo

In this graduate seminar, we explore cultural representations of non-normative sexualities and gender variance produced in East Asia and its diaspora and survey the scholarly field that is broadly referred to as “queer East Asian studies.” The materials in this course include primary sources such as poetry, fiction, narrative and documentary films, as well as critical writings on LGBTQ history, culture, and activism in Japan, Korea, and the Sinophone world.
T 3:30pm-5:20pm

EALL 809a / FILM 809a, Beyond Hallyu: Korean and Chinese Screen Culture in the Global Media Situation  Tian Li

This course examines the global new media situation through the lens of Korean and Chinese screen cultural interactions. Students explore the evolution of these interactions from the early twentieth century to the contemporary Hallyu era (late 1990s-present). The term “Hallyu” (한류/韓流), initially coined in Chinese as “hanliu” (韩流), has become a widely recognized term for Korea’s media cultural influence. The screen-based cultural diffusion of Hallyu—encompassing Korean films, K-dramas, K-pop, TV reality shows, video games, and social media—spreads Korean culture, values, and lifestyle globally, establishing Seoul as a new pop-culture hub. Hallyu first gained popularity in Asia, especially China and Japan, before extending its influence on other areas including the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, and the United States, becoming a global media phenomenon. Despite its worldwide impact, In North American academia, studies on Hallyu's reception in film, media, and cultural studies still predominantly revolve around the U.S. as the primary focus, serving as the entry and exit point for the study of understanding and analyzing other cultures. This course seeks to shift that perspective by emphasizing Global Asias in world cinema, media, and cultural studies, offering an alternative to the Western views on global media dynamics. Students explore under-discussed themes and topics in media and cultural studies, such as transnational screen cultural interactions, collaborative productions, inter-Asian media exchanges, cultural boycotts, geopolitical tensions,(trans)nationalism, cultural affinity and resistance.
M 9:25am-11:15am

EALL 823b / CPLT 953b / EAST 623b, Topics in Sinophone and Chinese Studies  Jing Tsu

This recurring graduate research seminar and symposium examines different areas, periods, genres, and conceptual frameworks in Chinese and Sinophone studies. The topic this year is 1950s–2020. Prerequisite: reading fluency in modern and semi-classical Chinese. Enrollment is restricted; no auditors.
T 1:30pm-3:20pm

EALL 872a / FILM 880a, Theories Popular Cult In Japan: TV  Aaron Gerow

Exploration of postwar theories of popular culture and subculture in Japan, particularly focusing on the intellectual debates over television and new media.
T 3:30pm-5:20pm

EALL 900a or b, Directed Readings  Staff

Offered by permission of instructor and DGS to meet special needs not met by regular courses.
HTBA

EALL 990a or b, Directed Research  Staff

Offered as needed with permission of instructor and DGS for student preparation of dissertation prospectus.
HTBA

JAPN 570a, Introduction to Literary Japanese  Kurtis Hanlon

Introduction to the grammar and style of the premodern literary language (bungotai) through a variety of texts. Prerequisite: JAPN 151 or equivalent.
MWF 9:25am-10:15am

JAPN 571b, Readings in Literary Japanese  Staff

Close analytical reading of a selection of texts from the Nara through Tokugawa period: prose, poetry, and various genres. Introduction of kanbun. Prerequisite: JAPN 570 or equivalent.
TTh 6pm-7:15pm