Topics in Chinese Literature and Culture

This course invites students to assess the Chinese ways of controlling and shaping the environment from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. Through the analysis of the social, political, and cultural significance of coal, water, air, mushroom, and waste, this course charts how the Chinese society has seen and managed nature in order to survive and thrive in the modern world order. Examining the environment as an imperial symbol, a repertoire of energy resources, and even a threat to state ideologies, we will pay close attention to how historical and cultural agents have interacted with the natural world with different agendas. We will discuss a wide range of scholarship that bridges humanistic analysis with environmental studies. Interdisciplinary in nature, this course introduces students to the methodologies of environmental humanities and helps them understand the evolving meaning of the environment by considering the human tolls, political challenges, and technological forces across time and space. Besides essay writing, students will have the chance to develop creative projects (e.g. podcasts or video essays) as new critical practices. All class materials are available in English. No prerequisites.
Course Attributes: EN H; BU Eth; BU IS; AS HUM; AS LCD; FA HUM; AR HUM; UC CD

Topics in Chinese Literature and Culture

CHINESE 330

Section 01