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NordicConsortiumforChinaStudies

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ContemporaryChineseLiteratureandCulture:NegotiationsofthePastIntensivecourse,ZhejiangUniversity

Generaloutline

Incontrasttohistory,whichstrivesforaneutralandobjectivestancefromwhichtonarrate

thepast,literaturecanbethoughtofasmultifunctionalwhenitcomestotraumatichistory:as

healingbyrestoringmeaningwhereithasbeendestroyed,assubversivebytellingcounter-

histories of the master-narrative, as complementary by integrating suppressed voices and

painful experiences into the collective memory or as disturbing by narrating trauma as a


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persisting condition that continues into the present. This course will look into contesting

narrativesinthebroadestsense,whichinonewayoranotherarenegotiatingChina’straumatic

past.Inordertounderstandtherelationshipofhistoricaltraumaandcollectivememoryandto

show theway inwhichmemory relates to thepast andhow farmemory shapes collective

identityofthepresent,theconceptsofcommunicativeandculturalmemorybyJanandAleida

Assmann,amongothers,willbeintroduced.

Leadingquestionsduringthecourseare:

- Howisindividual/collectivehistoricalexperiencedealtwithinnational/official

history?Howisitdealtwithinlocal/individual/unofficialnarrativetexts?

- Whatnarrativemodesareemployedinvisualandliterarytextsthatdealwitha

disturbingpast?

- Whatismeantbytransculturalmemory?CanwespeakofanAsianmemoryscape?

Howdoesmemory“travel”?

- Howismemoryinstitutionalised?

Thecourseisplannedasaone-weekintensivecourseforScandinavianMAstudentsinChina

Studies,andcountsasatotalof5ECTS(135hours).ItwilltakeplaceataChineseuniversity

campusandwillbeco-taughtbyoneteacherfromtheChineseuniversityandoneteacher

fromaScandinavianuniversity.ThelanguagesofinstructionwillbeChineseandEnglish.

PrerequisitesItisassumedthatstudents:

• ReadandspeakModernStandardChinese(Putonghua)atalevelcorrespondingtothe

requirementsforaBAdegreeinChinaStudiesataScandinavianuniversity

• HavecomprehensiveknowledgeofChinesecultureandsociety

• Haveabasicinterestandknowledgeofculturalstudyresearchmethods


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AimsofthecourseThemainaimsofthecourseare:

• Thatstudentsbecomeacquaintedwiththeoreticalframeworksandmethodological

approachesofculturalmemorystudies

• Thatstudentsgainpracticalexperienceinthesemethodsbyanalysinginstitutionalised

memorysitesandliterarynarratives

• Thatstudentsbroadentheirperspectivebylookingatculturalmemoryasasite

where,amongotherthings,historyandnationalidentityarenegotiated

Courseoutline

Time Theme/Title Material

DayOneMorningsession

WelcomeandPresentationIntroduction:AimsandstructureofthecourseDiscussion:Students’earlierexperienceswithCulturalStudies,MemoryPoliticsLecture:State-SponsoredAmnesiavs.MemoryBoom:HowtoMakeSenseofaParadox?

Seminar:InstitutionalisingMemoryAssignment1

KirkA.Denton,2014.JayWinter,2008.

Lunchbreak

Afternoonsession

Lecture:ConceptsofMemory:CommunicativeandCulturalMemory

Assmann,2008.Erll,2011.Matten,2012.


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DayTwoMorningsession

Excursion:VisittoNanjingMassacreMemorialMuseumCheckwebsitebeforetravelling:http://www.nj1937.org/cn/index.htm

ReadYeZhaoyan’sbookandesp.thepreface:叶兆言：“一九三七年的爱情正文写在前面”

DayThreeMorningsession

Lecture:LiteraryafterlivesoftheCulturalRevolutionWorkshop:TheBurdenofMemory:AComparativeApproach

Assignment2

LuXinhua,1978.LiuBinyan,1977.Schwarcz,1996.Liu Binyan & PerryLink,2006.

Lunchbreak

Afternoonsession

Workshop:TragedyofGoodIntentions

Assignment3

Weigelin-Schwiedrzik.ZhangYigong,1986.

DayFourMorningsession

Lecture:LiteratureasTestimonyWorkshop:AutobiographyandtheCulturalRevolution

ZhengNian,1987.ZhangXianliang,MyBodhiTree.Mühlhahn,2004.Kopf,2009.

Lunchbreak

Afternoonsession

Workshop:WitnessingtheCulturalRevolutionFilmScreening:RefusingtoForget–UnofficialMemoiresWuWenguang/HuJie/XuXing

冯骥才：“一百个人的十年”（节选）


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Learningactivities

Thecoursecombineslectures,seminarsandgroupdiscussionsheldinEnglishandChinesewith

aone-dayfieldworktriptoNanjingtovisittheNanjingMassacreMemorialMuseum.Students

willwatchshortfilmclipsanddocumentaries,read,analyseanddiscusstheoreticalandliterary

textsandareverywelcometosuggestliterarytextsorothermaterialfordiscussion.Seminar

activitiesincludestudents’presentationswherestudentsarewelcometoworkinsmallgroups

oftwoorthree.Studentswillbegivenassignmentstopreparebeforeeachrespectiveclass

session. Based on the course and the field trip, the students are required to present their

individual projects in a poster session in order to complete the course. Attendance is

compulsoryaccordingtotheregulationsoftheChineseuniversityandstudentsareexpected

tocometoclasseswellprepared.Studentswillreceivethelistofreadingsaboutonemonth

DayFiveMorningsession

Students’posterpresentations:NegotiationsofthePast09.00–09.30Nostalgiatrips?Chinesetourists’motivationtovisitNorthKorea09.30–10.00MaoZedong’sMemorialHallasMemorySite10.00–10.30Chiang-kaiShekMemorialHallandMemoryPolitics10.30–10.45(break)10.45–11.15YuanmingyuanasContestedSitetoRememberaHumiliatingPast11.15–11.45RoleandFunctionofCulturalRevolution-ThemedRestaurants

Lunchbreak

Afternoonsession

Students’posterpresentations:NegotiationsofthePast14.00–14.30FamilyMemoryofSino-VietanmeseBoatRefugees14.30–15.00TheTraumaProcessofaPerpetrator:TheCaseofSongBinbin15.00–15.30VirtualMemorySpacesoftheCR15.30–15.45(break)15.45–16.15RememberingtheCR–WhyhastherebeenaMemoryBoom?Wrapupandevaluationofthecourse.


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beforethecoursestartsandareexpectedtohavereadatleastthemandatorytextsbeforethe

beginningofthecourse.

Courserequirements/examination

Thestudents’performanceduringthecourse,includingactiveclassattendance,written

assignments,andafinalposterpresentationwillcounttowardscompletionofthecourse.

Seminaractivitiesincludestudents’presentationswherestudentswillworkinsmallgroupsof

twoorthree,andwillbeaskedtohandinassignmentsbeforeclass.Eachstudentwillgivea

posterpresentationbasedonthetopicstudentshavesignedupforinthelasttwosessions.

Thepresentationisexpectedtoprovidecontextualinformation,provokecriticalthoughts,

raisequestionsandtriggerclassdiscussion.Thepresentationshouldlastfor10-15minutes

followedbycommentsandquestions,altogetherupto20minutesperstudent.Thecourse

willbegradedaccordingtotheChineseuniversity’spointscale.

CourseMaterial

Assmann,Jan.“CommunicativeandCulturalMemory.”AstridErll,AnsgarNünning(Eds.),CulturalMemoryStudies.AnInternationalandInterdisciplinaryHandbook.Berlin,NewYork2008,p.109-118.Denton,KirkA.“ExhibitingthePast:China’sNanjingMassacreMemorialMuseum”TheAsia-PacificJournal,Vol.12,Issue20,No.2,May19,2014.Denton,KirkA.“Introduction”inExhibitingthePast:CulturalMemoryandthePoliticsofMuseumsinPostsocialistChina.Hawai’iPress,2014,p.1-26.Erll,Astrid.“Traumaticpasts,literaryafterlives,andtransculturalmemory:newdirectionsofliteraryandmediastudies.”JournalofAesthetics&Culture,vol.3,2011,pp.1-5.Erll,Astrid.“TravellingMemory.”Paralax,17:4,4-18,DOI:10.1080/13534645.2011.605570FengJicai冯骥才：“一百个人的十年”（节选）Kopf,Martina.”Trauma,NarrativeandtheArtofWitnessing.”BirgitHähnel,MelanieUlz.SlaveryinArtandLiterature:ApproachestoTrauma,MemoryandVisuality.Berlin:FrankundTimme,2009,pp.41-58.


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LiuBinyan/PerryLink.“AnInterviewwithLiuBinyan.”LiuBinyanTwoKindsofTruth.StoriesandReportagefromChina.EditedbyPerryLink,Bloomington:IndianaUniversityPress,2006,pp.1-26.LiuBinyan刘宾雁”TheClassCounselor”班主任(1977)LuXinhua路新华“TheWounded”伤痕（1978）Matten,MarcAndre.“History,Memory,andIdentityinModernChina”inMarcAndreMatten(Ed.)PlacesofMemoryinModernChina.History,PoliticsandIdentity.Leiden,Boston2012,p.1-16.MoYan莫言“TheIronChild”铁孩Mühlhahn,Klaus.”‘RememberingaBitterPast’:TheTraumaofChina‘sLaborCamps1949-1978.”History&Memory,vol16,no.2,Fall/Winter2004,pp.108-139.Schwarcz,Vera.“TheBurdenofMemory:TheCulturalRevolutionandtheHolocaust.”ChinaInformation,vol.XI,no.1(summer1996)pp.1-13.Schweiger,Irmy.”FromRepresentingTraumatoTraumatizedRepresentation:ExperientialandReflectiveModesofNarratingthePast.”FrontiersofLiteraryStudiesinChina2015,9(3):345-368,DOI:10.3868/s010-004-015-0017-5Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, Susanne. “Producing Cultural Memory in the PRC. On the Role ofHistoriography,LiteratureandFilmintheContextofWritingChina’s20thCenturyHistory”Winter,Jay.“SitesofMemoryandtheShadowofWar”inMediaandCulturalMemory,editedbyAstridErll&AnsgarNünning.Berlin,NY:WalterdeGruyter,2008,p.61-74.YangJiang楊絳”SixChaptersfromMyLife‘Downunder’”幹校六記YangXiaobin.“MaoistDiscourse,TraumaandChineseAvant-gardeLiteratur.”AmericanImago,51:2(1994:Summer),pp.229-25.YeZhaoyan叶兆言Nanjing1937(1937年的爱情)YeZhaoyan叶兆言：“一九三七年的爱情正文写在前面”YuHua余华“1986”一九八六ZhangYigong张一弓”TheStoryofCriminalLiTongzhong”犯人李铜钟的故事CollectedworksofZhangYigong张一弓集 Huaxiawenyichubanshe,1986,p.1-48.ZhangXianliang張賢亮MyBodhiTree我的菩提树


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ZhengYi郑义”Maple”枫《⽂汇报》1979年 2⽉ 11⽇ZhengNian郑念：LifeandDeathinShanghai生死上海（1987）（节选）

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