Postgraduate Course: Canon and Commentary in China (ASST11021)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Asian Studies |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Premodern Chinese intellectual history is predominantly based upon the so-called ?classical canon?. This course deals with key issues concerning the evolution, construction and understanding of such a canon. Canonical works represent central norms and values of a group, a culture or a nation for which they are comprehensive, valid and binding. They may therefore be taken as the authoritative expression of a group, a culture or a nation?s identity. Since the 1960s canonicity has come under increasing criticism as a display of power relations. In most canonical traditions it is commentarial interpretation which establishes and defines the orthodox meaning of a canonical text. By constructing sometimes entirely new meanings, norms and values, commentaries often form the basis for legitimizing new cultural and national identities. From a cultural studies perspective, canonical meaning is thus produced and established in a context of permanent exegetical negotiation of different interest groups on different parts of the canon.
Using the premodern Chinese case as an example we will explore and analyse different commentarial assumptions, strategies and the subsequent different modes of constructing meaning within their specific historical contexts. Some general reflections on canon and commentary will serve as an introduction to case studies on major Chinese canonical works and their different exegetical traditions. Through such an analysis of different strategies of commentarial reading and interpretation, core concepts of reading, text and interpretation may be critically reconsidered in the Chinese context.
The course is an additional option for students in Chinese Literature, Language and Culture and will be open to students on the MSc in Cultural Studies and the Master of Chinese Studies. It is also expected that the course will be of interest to MSc students in Translation Studies and students of Theology and Religious Studies.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 2, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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WebCT enabled: No |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| No Classes have been defined for this Course |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
At the end of the courses students will be able:
- to situate Chinese canonical works and their main commentaries within their historical, political and social contexts
- to identify main themes and contents associated with Chinese classics
- to understand the relationships between text and
commentary in a broad cultural sense
- to detect and analyse strategies of text interpretation
- to use new interpretation methods to explore multilayered meanings of canonical texts in different historical and cultural settings
- to understand the importance of specific worldviews and cultural assumptions on texts, reading and language for de/reconstructing textual meanings
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Assessment Information
| Essay of 4,000 words |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | China, classics, exegesis, hermeneutics, textuality |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Natascha Gentz
Tel: (0131 6)50 4229
Email: natascha.gentz@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Linda Grieve
Tel: (0131 6)50 4114
Email: linda.grieve@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh - 16 January 2012 5:39 am
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