Syllabus for COVID Pandemic Semester

August 20, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST in Teams

• Introduction,
• excerpts from Image-Music-Text by Roland Barthes;

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• Reading assignments:
• Sheldon Lu: Sinophone Cinema;
• “If China Can Say No, Can China Make Movies? Or Do Movies Make China?” by Chris Berry, pp. 159-177;
• articles by Sheldon Lu: China, Transnational Visuality… and Dialect and Modernity…;
• view Ang Lee‘s Eat Drink Man Woman on Swank Digital Campus (remember you need to be either on Wooster campus or login our VPN to watch the streaming film)

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Taiwanese and Hong Kong Cinemas: 

August 25,  Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz on the film Eat Drink Man Woman by Ang Lee;
• group analysis of clips 1, 2, (cinema channel) 3, 4, (cultural channel) 5, and 6, (identity channel)
• Read “Breaking the Soy Sauce Jar: Diaspora and Displacement“;
• answer Food Sex questions;

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• view Wayne Wang’s Chinese Box, on Swank Digital Campus (remember you need to be either on Wooster campus or login our VPN to watch the streaming film)
• read: “Invisible Cities: Wayne Wang” by Alvin Lu, pp.31-7;
• answer Box questions;

August 27, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz the film Chinese Box;
• analyze clips 1, 2, 3, and 4;
• go over historical background of Hong Kong as a British colony;
• Kipling and White man’s burden;
• song and lyric of “Rose, Rove, I Love You“

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• view Peter Chan’s Comrades, Almost a Love Story, on Swank Digital Campus (remember you need to be either on Wooster campus or login our VPN to watch the streaming film)
• read “Cultural Identity and Diaspora” by Stuart Hall, pp.392-403;
• read “Diaspora, Citizenship, Nationality: Hong Kong and 1997” by Sheldon Lu;
• read article entitled “Migrancy, Culture, Identity” by Iain Chambers, pp.1-7, 22-9;
• read a review of Comrades, Almost a Love Story;
• answer Comrades questions;

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September 1, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz the film  Comrades, Almost A Love Story,
• analyze clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;
• Essay homework, due Friday

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• view Sai Mingliang’s Vive l’amour, on Kanopy Digital Campus (remember you need to be either on Wooster campus or login our VPN to watch the streaming film)
• Read “Intersection: Tsai Ming-liang’s Yearning bike boys and Heartsick Heroines” by Chuck Stephens, pp.20-23;
• read article by Jameson entitled “Remapping Taipei” pp.117-49;
• answer Amour questions;

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September 3, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz on Sai Ming-liang’s Vive L’amour;
• Vive L’amour, discuss clips 1 and 2;
• check the term minimalism in the arts

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• class viewing Ang Lee’s Wedding Banquet Kauke 038 in-person class, Monday (Labor Day) 7-9pm
• Read “Border Crossing: Mainland China’s Presence in Hong Kong Cinema”by Esther Yau

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September 8, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST, Kauke 038 in-person class

• Quiz film by Ang Lee Wedding Banquet,
• analyze clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;

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• Class viewing of Happy Together by Wang Kar-wai in Kauke 136 on Wednesday 9/9 from 7-9 pm
• read A Leap Forward, Or A Great Sellout? by David Barboza;
• read Nostalgia of the New Wave: Structure in Wang Kar-wai’s Happy Together by Rey Chow;
• think of Happy Together questions;

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September 10, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST, Kauke 038 in-person class

• quiz Wang Kar-wai’s film Happy Together;
• discuss clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;
• “tradition versus modernity” and “End of History“

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Chinese attitudes towards change: historical films

• Class viewing Chen Kaige’s film Farewell My Concubine in Kauke 136 from 7-10 on Sunday 9/13
• read “History Lessons” by Pauline Chen, pp.85-7;
• think of Concubine questions; about the film and begin writing the second rough draft;

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September 15, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST, Kauke 038 in-person class

• First paper assignment due day, submit in Teams as “final draft1”;
• introduce  End of History argument and the phenomenology of the Spirit;
• “Whenever a social or political disaster is over, there are always too many that would stand up from their original kneeling position and say, ‘I accuse’ but far too few that would kneel down and say, ‘I repent’. And when disaster (of political persecution) recurs, those that would kneel down and say ‘I repent’ always outnumber those that would stand up and say ‘I accuse’”. 无论什么样的社会的或政治的灾难过后，总是有太多原来跪着的人站起来说：我控诉！太少的人跪下去说：我忏悔。当灾难重来时，总是有太多的人跪下去说：我忏悔。而太少的人站起来说：我控诉！
• quiz on Farewell My Concubine, open in Moodle from 5pm to 11pm;
• analyze clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6;

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• view Lu Chuan’s City of Life and Death; on Kanopy Digital Campus (remember you need to be either on Wooster campus or login our VPN to watch the streaming film)
• think of City questions;

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September 17, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST, Kauke 038 in-person class

• quiz on City of Life and Death；open in Moodle from 5pm to 11pm;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.
  • group A: Colin Tobin, Amanda Han, Frank Adams, Emma Harrison and Bilegsanaa Battulga
  • group B: Jenny Renner, Dingsheng Luo, Tim Arace and Eric Jia
  • group C: Austin Hanna, Zoe Seymore, Justin Garibotti, Lijiayi Wang and Jacob Cook

__________________homework________________________

• view Zhang Yimou’s To Live in Youtube;
• read “To Live Beyond Good and Evil” by Rujie Wang in Asian Cinema, 2001;
• read “We endure, therefore we are: survival, governance, and Zhang Yimou’s To Live” by Rey Chow;
• think of To Live questions; and continue writing the second rough draft;

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September 22, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST, Kauke 038 in-person class

• quiz on To Live; open in Moodle from 5pm to 11pm;
• analyze clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.
• discussing the questions;
• the place of Mao and Chinese history in film;

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• view Peacock, dir. by Gu Changwei in Kauke 136 from 7-9 on Wednesday 9/23
• Think of Peacock questions; and continue writing the second rough draft;

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September 24, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST in Kauke 038 in-person class

• quiz on Peacock in Moodle between 5pm and 11:59
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6;
• key events in modern Chinese history;
• China’s rise in the world;

_____________________homework_______________________

• view film Aftershock, dir. by Feng Xiaogang in Youtube
• think of Aftershock questions and continue writing the second rough draft due 9/29 in Teams Channels; submit your rough drafts in the Channel with the rest of your group;
  • group A: Colin Tobin, Amanda Han, Frank Adams, Emma Harrison and Bilegsanaa Battulga in Channel “cinema”‘
  • group B: Jenny Renner, Dingsheng Luo, Tim Arace and Eric Jia in Channel “identity”;
  • group C: Austin Hanna, Zoe Seymore, Justin Garibotti, Lijiayi Wang and Jacob Cook in Channel “culture”;
• read The Aesthetics of Retroactive Memory by Wang;

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September 29, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST in Kauke 038 in-person class

• quiz on Aftershock;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6;
• renegotiating China in post-Mao era and historical film;
• finish writing second paper on Chinese attitudes towards social change

________________________homework______________________

• watch film Postmen in the Mountain dir. by Huo Jianqi
• Read encyclopedic entry to primitivism;
• read Wendy Larson’s He Yi’s The Postmen: The Workspace of a New Age Maoist;
• take history quiz in Moodle between 9/29 5pm and 9/30 5pm
• think of Postmen questions;
• a social critique of urbanization;

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China (Rural)

October 1st, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST in Kauke 038 in-person class

• quiz film Postmen in the Mountains;
• understand the aesthetics of primitivism;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;
• publish your second rough draft in your respective Channels in Teams

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• view Not One Less in Kauke 136 from 7-9 on Sunday 10/4
• think of Not One Less questions; and begin writing the 3rd rough draft;

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October 6, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST in Kauke 038 in-person class

• quiz film Not One Less open from 5pm to midnight;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6;
• Wei Minzhi today and interview;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~homework~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• view film For the Children on Youtube;
• read Fredrick Jameson’s The Third World Literature in the Era of MultiNational Capitalism;
• think of For the Children questions and begin your 3rd paper;

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October 8, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film For the Children open from 5pm to Friday 5pm;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6;
• China’s obsession with skyscrapers;

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• Read article review of Qiu Ju;
• view film The Story of Qiu Ju; online on Sunday 10/11
• think of Qiu Ju questions and understand the difference between use value and exchange value; and also primitive communism or egalitarianism;

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October 13, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film The Story of Qiu Ju; from 10pm to Wednesday 10 pm
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6;

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• watch film Ermo online dir. by Zhou Xiaowen from 7-9 on Wednesday 10/14
• read “Ermo, Televisuality, capital and the global village” by Ciecko/Sheldon Lu;
• read  “What Will Become of Us if We Don’t Stop?” Ermo’s China and the End of Globilization,
• think of Ermo questions;

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October 15, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film Ermo from 5pm to midnight;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6；

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• view film Blind Shaft in Kauke 136 from 7-9 on Sunday 10/18
• read “Introduction to the Probelms of a Sociology of the Novel” by Lucien Goldmann, pp.1-15,
• read a review of Blind Shaft; think of Blind Shaft questions;

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October 20, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film Blind Shaft, open from 5pm Thursday (10/22) to midnight;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;
• view Charlie Chaplin’s dark comedy Monsieur Verdoux, (1947);
• write your 3rd paper;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~homework~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• view film Incense on Youtube on 10/21
• think of Incense questions; as you draft your 3rd paper;

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October 22, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film Incense, open from 5 to midnight Friday;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7;

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• view The World dir. by Zhangke Jia in Teams from 7-9 on Sunday 10/25
• read a review of The World,
• read Interview with Jia Zhangke ,
• read Poetics of Vanishing, the cinema of Jia Zhangke, by Zhang Xudong;
• think of World question; write your 3rd paper;

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October 27, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

China (Urban)

introduce China’s social changes towards market economy

• quiz film The World, open from 5pm till tomorrow midnight;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;
• key events in modern Chinese history; submit your 3rd paper in email to be uploaded in channels as anonymous postings to ensure fair and impartial peer reviews;

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• view film Happy Times; in Teams from 7-9 on Wednesday 10/28
• read New York Times Still Life Review; interview of Zhang Yimou by Jiao Xiongping, 1988, pp.3-11;
• read China’s New Leftist, neoliberals, and A China’s Alternative; and Happy Times Review; and understand the conflict between the neoliberals (新自由派) interested in economic growth and human rights, and the New Left (新左派) concerned with social equality in the actual redistribution of wealth and disparity between the rich and poor
• think of Happy Times questions;

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October 29, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film Happy Times, from 5pm to midnight;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;
• view Charlie Chaplin’s silent film City Lights; (2)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~homework~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• view Chen Kaige’s Together; on Swank Digital Campus (remember you need to be either on Wooster campus or login our VPN to watch the streaming film)
• read “The Theory of the Novel” by Georg Lukacs, pp. 29-39, 56-69;
• read a review of Together; for those interested in Comparative Literature (East-West Studies); it may be fun to compare this film with Charles Dickens’ novel The Great Expectations, (1,2,3,4, and 5) that also ends in the young hero going back to his humble origins instead of trying to be a “gentleman” in London;
• think of Together questions;

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November 3rd, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz Chen Kaige’s  Together from 5pm to midnight;
• group discussion and analyze of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6;
• Begin thinking of the fourth and last 4-page paper. Discuss at least five of the urban films below from the perspective of an auteur. Critique their uses of the city as a trope for addressing the problems of identity, namely, how the metropolis is synonymous with identity crisis for the urban individual.
• • The World, directed by Zhangke Jia, set in capital city of Beijing
  • Lost in Beijing, dir. Li Yu, by set in Beijing
  • Suzhou River, directed by Ye Lou, is set in Shanghai
  • Zhou Yu’s Train, directed by Zhou Sun, set in a southern city
  • Chinese Box, dir. by Wayne Wang, set in the city of Hong Kong
  • Wedding Banquet, dir. Ang Lee, set in New York City
  • Vive L’amour, dir. by Sai Mingliang, set in the city of Taipei
  • Together, directed by Kaige Chen, set in Beijing
  • Shower, directed by Yang Zhang, set in Beijing
  • A World without Thieves, dir. by Feng Xiaogang, setin a train

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• view film Shower on Wednesday 11/4
• read article by Nick Browne entitled “Society and Subjectivity: on the political economy of Chinese melodrama” pp.40-56;
• read review of Shower;
• think of Shower questions;

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November 5, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film Shower, from 5pm to midnight;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;
• cultural identity as articulated a century ago in writing by men of letters;
• the meaning of “O Sole Mio” in the film;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~homework~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• view film Zhou Yu’s Train; or online on Youtube on Sunday 11/8
• read two reviews: review 1, review 2;
• read  “Third-World Literature in the Era of Multinational Capitalism” by Jameson;
• think of Train questions;

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November 10, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film Zhou Yu’s Train, from 5pm to midnight;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;
• the theory of mimetic desire developed by Rene Girard, in conjunction to China’s economic transformation in which the Chinese, both as individuals and as a people, begin to mimic the desire of others and other nations;
  • Ermo, desire for a television, brassier and anti-wrinkle cream, to imitate the lifestyles of others and keep up with the Joneses;
  • Together, Xiaochun’s desire for Lily to imitate other successful men; Lily’s desire to be like Marilyn Monroe; Professor Yu’s role as the mediator and model;
  • For the Children, “In my next life, I’ll be a city person like you” Zhang Meili, trying to be like Xia Yu;
  • World, desire to be in the place of others in the them park full of replicas of world famous architectures and buildings;
  • A World without Thieves, corporate greed and competition to remove mimetic rivals;
  • Suzhou River, desire to imitate and replicate the romance of others;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~homework~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• View film A World without Thieves on Youtube on 11/11
• read Jung The Undiscovered Self pp.3-39
• write a psycho narration due Thursday by 5 pm tomorrow;
• read Modern Man in Search of A Soul pp.95-114;
• think of Thieves questions;

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November 12, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film A World without Thieves
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7;
• Greed Is Good speech by Gordon Gekko in Hollywood film Wall Street, 1987

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~homework~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• View film Lost in Beijing, dir. by Li Yu online;
• read  Lost in Beijing by Wing Shan Ho,
• read Lost in Beijing by Andrew Stuckey;
• tHink of Lost in Beijing questions;

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November 17, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film Lost in Beijing, from 5pm to midnight;
• group discussion and analysis of clips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6;
• read excerpt of Ban Zhao Lessons for Women; how women’s lives were signified in a phallocentric society;
• read excerpt of Jacques Lacan Meaning of the Phallus; to the extent that identity (gender, individual, self, cultural, national) is a desire, it is for something that cannot be stated like Freudian concept of the “id”, which signifies (through language) what we cannot say; language is the articulations of a lack; “I think where I am not, therefore I am where I do not think.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~homework~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• view film Suzhou River in Teams, dir. by Lou Ye, November 18 Wednesday 7 pm
• read a review of Suzhou River, set in the City of Shanghai
• watch in Youtube a film review of Suzhou River;
• think of Suzhou River questions;
• write the fourth and last paper to be put in Google Doc Share folder via Zoe Seymore

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November 19, Thursday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

• quiz film Suzhou River,
• discuss the film

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~homework~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• view film Getting Home based on a true story, in Teams on 7pm Sunday, November 22
• think of Getting Home questions;, paying attention to clips 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5;
• quiz film Getting Home, to be proctored with the final on Monday 4:00-6:30, Dec 7th

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November 24, Tuesday, 3:45-5:05 pm EST

group projects presentations; 26 minutes for each group presentation

Culture Group: with a thematic focus on the problematics of global capitalism (market economy) as presented by the directors. We have chosen eight main films to choose from to base off our argument: To Live, Story of Qiu Ju, Happy Times, Not One Less, Together, Wedding Banquet, Ermo, and Comrades Almost a Love Story. 

Identity Group: with a focus on the role of music in Chinese film and how music encapsulates and tempers one’s individual and cultural identity in historical, rural, and urban China, as well as Taiwan and Hong Kong. The films we will discuss are Farewell My Concubine, Together, Comrades, Postmen in the Mountains, and To Live.

Cinema Group: examining the use of transportation in Chinese cinema, as a key indicator of the speed and scope of China’s transformation as a traditional rural culture; modes of transportation can be spiritual as people move about and change over time. The films we will be looking at are Postmen in the Mountains, Not One Less, Comrades Almost a Love Story, Zhao Yu’s Train, and Ermo/Incense (list may change).