Transcript Infusing Asian Literature at UNG - East

Infusing Asian Literature at
Anastasia Turner
Challenges
•Consolidation:
•UNG = GSC + NGCSU
•New 4-year classes @ home campus
•Proposed M.A. in English (Global Focus)
•Chinese flagship program for Dept of
Defense
Developed Two Tracks
• Immediate
• Buddhist addition to
American
Multicultural Lit
(2xxx level)
• Addition/Change to
ENGL 1102
(Composition Based)
• Future
• Chinese Literature
• Special Topics in
World Literature
• Graduate Literature
• Study abroad Taiwan,
summer 2014
• INED 2903
• Chinese Learning
Community / Lit
Original Idea:
Marilyn Chin’s Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen
"Yes, I am an American poet,
a hyphenated American poet,
to be precise; and what is American
about my poetry is my muse's
indomitable conviction to hammer the
rich virtues and contradictions of
my adopted country into a
fusionist's delight."
Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen
• In Chin's words, "The structure of this book is
based on ancient Buddhist beliefs in
reincarnation and the eternal cycles of suffering."
• Mixes Buddhist Koans, revenge tales, etc.
• Themes: Chinese American identity, Exile, Loss,
Assimilation, Women's Rights, Bodies, Sexuality
Three Endings
Three Endings
• Eats last mooncake her grandmother
made, no regrets, Zen state
– “nothing more wonderful than the sweetness
of this moment”
• Offers to boys mini-mooncakes
– “sweeten your mouth, sweeten your words,
and all will be perfect”
• Deathstars dipped in Blowfish poison
– Dogs convulse / boys run off
– She climbs up, eats strawberry, urinates
Class Plan
• Brief lecture/information on Buddhism
• Discuss Thirteen Buddhist Tales
• Student Assignment:
– Choose one of the Tales or another story
– Track down inspiration (Buddhist, etc)
– Argue how Chin uses text
• What does she use?
• What does she repurpose?
• What is her take?
ENGL 1102
• Multicultural Asian/Asian American
• Class for Basic Writers (2nd in sequence)
• Begin with Reader Response
– Eases students into literary analysis
– Begins using “level 1” evidence without
realizing it
– Develops writers’ confidence
Meaning = Text + Reader
Akutagawa’s
“In a Bamboo Grove”
• Students each given one section to read
(Except last)
• Discuss section as we did
• Introduce other views to class (CSI)
• Go home and read whole text
• Come back and discuss / themes
Assignment: Reader Response
• What about this story, poem or play stands out in my mind?
• What in my background, values, needs and interests makes
me react that way?
• What specific passages in the work trigger that reaction?
• How do your reactions and thoughts move with the text?
What ideas or sensations does the text bring about?
• Did the work challenge you or any of your preconceived
notions? How and why?
Chinese Literature from Beginning
to Present: Highlight Reel
Basic Spiritual Writings
•Selections from 三教
•Analects, Zhuangzi, Buddhist Koans
Poetic Interludes:
•Tang Dynasty Poetry
•Wang Wei, Li Po, Po Chuyi, etc.
Prose:
Journey to the West(西遊記)
Dream of Red Chamber (紅樓夢)
Movie: Raise the Red Lantern
Tong Cheng School of writing
Moving to the Modern Era
May 4th Writers
Lu Xun’s “Diary of a Madman”
Movie: Farewell my Concubine
New Culture Movement:
Ba Jin’s Family
A Cheng’s King of Trees
Selections by Bei Dao
Movie: Lust/Caution
(Eileen Chang’s Love in a Fallen City)
Contemporary Writing:
Gao Xingjian’s One Man’s Bible
-- or -- piece from Mo Yan
Ha Jin’s short story collection.
Special Topics:
East Asian Spiritual Travels
• 西遊記Monkey/Journey to the West
• Matsuo Basho’s Narrow Road to the Deep North
• Ramayana
• Ezra Pound, “Personae” and selections from Cathay
• Jack Kerouac, On the Road
• Gary Snyder, selections from Axe Handles
• Maxine Hong Kingston, Tripmaster Monkey
• Bharati Mukherjee, Jasmine
• GaoXing Jian, Soul Mountain
• Haruki Murakami, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
• Getting Home
If just Spiritual Travels:
• Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony
…and lots more ideas
MAHALO!