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What is it like to live as a child, a gay, a migrant, a non-Han, a disabled, or an online celebrity in today’s China? How do we decode Chinese society and culture beyond cannons and official records? This English-taught course moves beyond state ideologies and official accounts by exploring the multiplicity of Chinese livelihoods and their underlying sociocultural meanings and implications. It adopts an interdisciplinary approach to offer a survey of Chinese cultures and societies as expressed and experienced at the grassroots level. Students will be guided to engage with both textual and non-textual materials produced by Chinese individuals and groups to appreciate the multiplicity of social lives and form critical understanding of Chinese social norms, cultural patterns, and their deviations. This Faculty Package course serves as an introduction to Chinese Studies.

Week 1
Sept. 5 Course Introduction
NO Tutorial (Sign up for your tutorial group)

Part I Drawing Fine Lines Between Official and Unofficial

Week 2
Sept. 12 Making Official: Ethnic Classification in PRC

Week 3
Sept. 19 Making “Strangers”

Week 4
Sept. 26 Missing Voices: Memory and Politics

Part II Living Experiences on the Edge

Week 5
Oct. 3 Desire and Disability

Week 6
Oct. 10 Migrant Labor and Love

Week 7
Oct. 17 “Disappeared” Children

Week 8
Oct. 24 Presentation Day

Part III: Carving Out Alternative Spaces

Week 9
Oct. 31 Courtship on Screen

Week 10
Nov. 7 The Internet, Censorship, and Resistance
Group Final Project synopsis due (OPTIONAL)

Week 11
Nov. 14 Individual/Group Consultation (TBA)

Week 12
Nov. 21 “Zheng NengLiang” (Positive Energy) and Its Discontent

Week 13
Nov. 28 Student Group Screening and Presentation

Submitting your videos by noon, Nov. 28

Individual written commentary for the final project is due by noon, Dec. 5, 2023. Unexcused late submissions will result in grade deduction (5% per day).