Love, love, love the course Im taking next semester at Rice: MLSC 536 Traditional Chinese Culture and Its Modern Legacy Instructor: Richard Smith An analysis of the language, philosophy, religion, art, literature, institutions and social customs of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), the last imperial regime and a crucial bridge between “traditional” and “modern” China. Although this course is intended in part as an exercise in appreciation, it is designed primarily to encourage critical and creative thinking about another place and time. How did the Chinese make sense out of the world around them, and how can we evaluate their search for meaning without imprisonment by our own set or sets of conceptual categories? What were the primary principles and assumptions underlying Chinese thought and behavior at the various levels of society? How were Chinese values, symbols, and myths expressed in institutions, artistic activities, rituals, and other forms of social life? In short, what was the basic “grammar” or “logic” of the Chinese cultural system? How was it manifested, and how was it challenged or amplified by differences in gender, class, and region? We will also give some attention to the legacy of the past in post-imperial China. How have intellectuals in the Republic of China and the Peoples Republic of China attempted to become modern and remain Chinese.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 17:54:38 +0000