FYSP 052 - Family and Gender in East Asia

FC ARHU CD WINT

4 credits
What can we learn about the here and now by studying other places and other times? Taking a comparative approach, students in this seminar will explore gender roles and the institution of family in East Asia from the first century BCE to the present. We will read biographies of exemplary Confucian women, Buddhist nuns, and a range of contemporary authors including the social reformer Lu Xun and the cosmopolitan traveller Sanmao. We will develop our exploration through visits to the Allen Memorial Art Museum and the screening of contemporary East Asian films, cultivating with each other the arts of good listening, good thinking, and good conversation. Along the way, we will also develop our capabilities in writing to discover what we are thinking–a way for our thoughts to become clear to ourselves and to others on the page.