Postgraduate Course: Keywords of Chinese Modernity (ASST11031)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all 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 | Raymond Williams small pocket dictionary Keywords, A Vocabulary of Culture and Society has continuously played a pivotal role in Cultural Studies. Through etymological research of changing meanings of seemingly familiar words, Williams shaped new understandings of the relations between ideology, culture and society, in that language is not reflecting social change, but important social and historical processes occur within language.
On the basis of this assumption the study of ?keywords of modernity? in China is crucial for understanding the processes of formation of ?modern China?. From the 19th century onwards China?s agenda of modernization was informed by modern European (Western) discourses, which engendered the displacement of pre-modern discourses and discursive modes and the formation of new taxonomies, terms, and terminologies, mainly through translation and transnational cooperation.
However, the possibility of linear cultural translation of keywords and concepts was at the same time always undermined by complex indigenous orders of knowledge, personal constellation, and institutional frameworks. Within the process of appropriating new Western ideas, pre-modern conceptual modes merged with foreign and new linguistic import into cultural hybrids which started their own careers as Chinese concepts shaping the modern Chinese world.
The seminar will look at key concepts in Cultural Studies which had stirred academic debates in Chinese Studies. After introductions to the origins and backgrounds of these concepts, we will discuss articles, which try their application to the Chinese case.
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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 |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2011/12 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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WebCT enabled: Yes |
Quota: None |
| Location |
Activity |
Description |
Weeks |
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
| Central | Tutorial | | 1-11 | | | 11:10 - 13:00 | | |
| First Class |
First class information not currently available |
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
- to understand key concepts of Cultural Studies which shaped and informed the field of Chinese Studies
- to understand and reflect on problems and possibilities arising with the application of concepts from one culture in another cultural context
- to understand changing perceptions of key concepts in different historical and cultural context
- to critically reflect on methodological and theoretical questions in relation to his/her own academic writing
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Assessment Information
| One 4,000 word essay |
Special Arrangements
| Course materials accessible from WebCT |
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, cultural studies, key concepts |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Christopher Rosenmeier
Tel:
Email: christopher.rosenmeier@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Olivia Little
Tel:
Email: olivia.little@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2011 The University of Edinburgh - 16 January 2012 5:39 am
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