CS 321/Ext.3106 e-mail: lesc@elmhurst.edu

Office hours: MWF: 8:45 - 10; 11-11:40 A.M.; & by appointment; TR: 9 - 9:30 A.M.; 11:20 - 12:00 Noon; R: 6:10 - 6:25 P.M.

"PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES: The College will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabiliteis. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your work in this course, please contact the Office of Advising at 103 Goebel Hall."

A.COURSE OBJECTIVES:* GLOBAL SOCIETY REQUIREMENT. WHY THIS COURSE IS IN THIS CATEGORY. Courses in the category "Global Society," help students understand and affirm their membership in a diverse yet interdependent multicultural society. Emphasis is placed on primary encounters with cultures other than one's own. The objectives of courses in the category include an awareness of the effects of globalization and modernity on individual cultures, a recognition of the dignity and value of other cultures, and an expanded awareness of students' own cultural identities.

This course on ASIAN LIT/FILM achieves the desired objectives of this requirement in the following ways: 1. Primary encounter via films and stories; 2. The many topics, coming from many disciplines, are focused to provide at least an introductory understanding of non-western aspects of multicultural society; 3. The coming of modernity has meant not only close encounter with the West (including Americanization) but also interaction (including the waging of war) among Asian peoples. 4. The "recognition of the dignity and value" topic is addressed in all the books and films, and in class, "cultural appreciation" is fostered through the many-faceted exposure to India, China and Japan.

B. Course Requirements:

1. Attendance is essential. Since there are so few class meetings, each session is 1/14 of the course--1 week of a semester. You can fail the course by skipping classes, and after two absences, further absence will affect your grade. If you are absent, even once, your make-up assignment is to write a 2-page paper on a topic related to a subject covered on the evening you missed. If you miss an entire film, view the film at home. If the film is no longer available, substitute another film, in consultation with the instructor.

*If you know of absences in advance, please notify the instructor,and keep up to date, using the web site.

2. Take notes in class, for some test questions can only be answered from our lecture/discussions.

3. 1/2 Quiz every week on that week's assigned reading--stories, &/or background reading--at the beginning of our discussion. Most questions will be of the "Did you read it" and "Did you read it carefully?" variety. Lowest (whole) quiz is thrown out. Missed quizzes are not made up. This quiz routine is meant to help you to read ahead, and thereby to know what your fellow students are talking about.

4. Writing Assignments.

1. Outside projects: Rather than a term paper, we will do 2 shorter outside film reports. You will receive a list of readily available films from, or in a few cases, about Asia. *Choose 1^st film topic by Thurs. 14 September. *Final draft is due on Thurs. 12 October. *Choose 2^nd film topic by Thurs. 2 November. *Final draft is due on 30 November. Please notify me when you have chosen a topic, so there are no duplications.

Please include these components: i. A synopsis of the film (what happens)-1/2 page; ii. Background information for the film: historical &/or social context, literary source, if appropriate; iii. Relate the film to our course (e.g. an author, the ACT book, other films we've seen); iv. A brief interpretation of the film OR analysis of the main character (e.g., what is the film trying to show about China, India, or Japan in the period covered?) Length:minimum - 5 pages.

When you have written a draft, proofread to see that you used complete sentences (but not run-ons), and that spelling, etc. is correct. Have someone else read the draft to check for errors and to give his/her reaction to the content.

Please notify me when you have chosen a topic, so there are no duplications. Only one student may write about each work, though two may choose different works by the same filmmaker. You will also give a brief oral summary of your film report, and you may include a brief film clip.
 

[b. *Optional in evening:DRAFTS. Please think of this as a process. Stage 1: read the work, and write study questions on the work (like those I give you in class). Stage 2: Write draft of about 1/3 of what you plan to write. Stage 3: Write up and hand in the final draft.

[c. Journal. *optional* (This is required in the day session.) You are encouraged to write down your reactions to each work as you read. What thoughts does it provoke? What is the main character like? etc. (See Suggestions for Study.) Staple the entries together or use a special notebook. The purpose of the journal is to give you practice in expressing yourself about literature; therefore it will not be graded.]
 
 
 

GRADING: Each test = 30% (60%); Class Participation (including attendance) and Quizzes = 20%; Each Film Project 10%.

C. READINGS & FILM VIEWINGS---

1. BOOKS TO BUY IN THE E. C. BOOKSTORE

2. SIDDHARTHA by Hermann Hesse;
3. MALGUDI DAYS by Narayan.
4. The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories, Theodore W. Goossen, ed.

3. LIBRARY READINGS. We will have projects which make use of sources in the library.

4. HAND-OUTS (short works) myths, proverbs, poems, geography, social science background information. Please read each page, and keep them, since you will be tested on these readings also.

5. You'll need to view films outside of class, so contact the instructor right away if you have no access to a VCR. The sources of these exotic (in the truest sense) films will be given by the instructor (some are at Elmhurst Public Library, some at Elmhurst Blockbusters or Hollywood Video).

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDYING LIT. IN GENERAL:

1. Ask questions--while reading and in class. Some general ones are these: What is literature? (and what isn't?) What is it good for? How should we tackle a work in order to understand it? Why do we like some works better than others? What should we like?

2. Try to give each work a fair trial before judging it. Look for the positive, even in works you don't like, and expect to learn something from each one.

3. Read the first paragraph twice, and also the first page or so, before going on to the rest. When you have read to the end, look at the beginning again to see how the work fits together.

4. Consider different ways of approaching literary texts. Here are some of the most common:
 

a. The work in and of itself. We look at the work as an object and describe what it is. We look at structure, themes, type or genre, and rhetorical devices.

b. The work and its relationship to the world. These are ways in which literature copies, reproduces, interprets its subject. Here we look at the relationship of the work to its contemporary culture, and consider the audience the author had in mind.

c. The work and its effect. We ask ourselves what it is in the work that moves us and why we identify with the characters in it.

d. The work as an expression of the author. Here we look at the relationship of the author to his work. We investigate the author's biography to see how it affected this particular work.

6. What happens? Do psychological or spiritual events dominate? social events? Are the events symbolic--do they suggest other areas or planes of existence than those on (in) which they take place? Is there change or is the accent on permanence despite temporary variations?

7. With help from the instructor and class discussions, ask yourself how the work is put together--what is its structure? Who tells the story? How much does the narrator know? (everything?) Can you trust the narrator? Is the author's approach generally speaking more narrative (told by someone) or dramatic (presented in scenes so that the characters speak for themselves?) Does any particular character seem to speak for the author? Is the plot tight or loose, more or less important than other features, probable? Are the characters convincing? Are they individualized or types?

8. Together, we will deal with the question of the theme of the work. Sometimes it will be easy to put this into a sentence or two. What concerns keep coming back? What is stated and/or implied about the justice of the state of affairs envisioned in the work? the desirability? Does the situation at the end differ from the situation at the beginning? How does style relate to theme?

Calendar--THURSDAY EVENINGS AT 6:30 p.m. Fall 2000

#1)     31 August = 1^ST class: intro; myth, etc. lc intro lecture, film as background, Asian lit.; course web site. ?computer lab?
           assign:    a. begin Asian Cultural Traditions, pp. 3 - 36]; 41 - 50]; 56] bottom "The complex…" à 75] = 60 pp.
                          b. begin Hesse, Siddhartha, pp. Intro vii - xiii = 6 pp.

#2)     7 Sept. 1/2 QUIZ on readings assigned. discuss ACT, Hesse, film excerpts assign: ACT pp. 78 - 86]; 97 - 115]
           118 - 145] = 52 pp.  Hesse, cont. pp. xiii - xix; 1 - 12] = 18 pp.

#3)    14 Sept. *LIBRARY + ON-LINE ORIENTATION. We begin IN THE LIBRARY NEXT DOOR, by
          THE REFERENCE DESK.  1/2 Quiz. discuss ACT; Hesse; film excerpts assign: ACT pp. 145 - 169] = 23 pp.
          (INDIA); Hesse, cont. pp. 12 - 54] = 42 pp.

#4)     21 Sept. 1/2 Quiz; discuss readings, film excerpts.  assign:a. ACT pp. 169 - 180] = 10 pp.; b. Hesse,
           pp. 54 - 81] = 27 pp.; c. re BUDDHISM -on-line (recommended reading):
           http://www.san.beck.org/WP2-Indian.html  d.Tagore **on-line** The Hungry Stones and Other Stories
           http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/rt/hungry.htm#babus *To read: "The Hungry Stones"; "Vision" 27

#5)     28 Sept. 1/2 Quiz; discuss readings; Film = Ray, "MIDDLEMAN" assign: Tagore on-line, cont.
           http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/rt/hungry.htm#babus read "The Cabulliwallah" = (ca. 10)
           Satyajit Ray (filmmaker) on-line : http://members.tripod.com/satyajit_ray/index.htm;
           & S. Ray: Film & Study Collection: http://arts.ucsc.edu/rayFASC/welcome Narayan,
           Malgudi Days: pp. 7 - 11]; 15 - 30]; 51 - 56]; 79 - 91]; 102 - 107]; 128 - 147] = 60 pp.

#6)     5 Oct. 1/2 Quiz; discuss readings, film excerpts. assign: Narayan, cont. 128 - 147]; 155 - 203]; 224 - 241]; = 65 pp.
          ACT (China) 222 - 234] = 12 pp.

#7)    12 Oct. 1/2 Quiz; discuss readings, film excerpts. assign: Narayan, cont. 224 - 241]; = 18 pp.
          Read Khushwant Singh (sample of urban writing): http://www.indiaworld.co.in/subscribe/rec/stories/nov17-99delhisingh.html
          ACT (China) 234 - 256] ; Study for **MIDTERM EXAM** (cf. study guide for mid-term);

#8)    19 Oct. 1/2 Quiz; **MIDTERM EXAM**; discuss readings, film excerpts. assign: ACT (China) 256 - 279]
          Chinese Myths & Fantasies--history (short): classical lit: Confucius' biography: http://www.confucius.org/ebio.htm

          Confucius site: http://www.enteract.com/~geenius/kongfuzi/

          modern lit: http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~zac/lxmadman.htm = stories by Lu Xun (*also called Lu Hsá n),

         "Diary of Madman"   (ca 13); "Kung-I-Chi" (7); "Tomorrow" (8); "Village Opera" (17); "The Divorce" (12).

#9)    26 Oct. 1/2 Quiz on readings; discuss readings; film excerpts assign: On-line: Can Xue short stories (modern world):
         http://webdelsol.com/LITARTS/Can_Xue/

         "Little Gold Ox" http://webdelsol.com/LITARTS/Can_Xue/can1.htm

         "Anonymities" http://webdelsol.com/LITARTS/Can_Xue/can3.htm

         Asian Cultural Traditions: JAPAN 281 - 299] 327] & 362 - 364] "Meiji Era"

#10)   2 Nov. 1/2 Quiz on readings; discuss readings; film excerpts. assign--On-line:

  Japanese Tea Ceremony: http://www.holymtn.com/tea/Japanesetea.htm

  http://www.teahyakka.com/E.html

  http://www.teatime.com/tea/okakura.html

  Japanese Myth: http://ancienthistory.about.com/homework/ancienthistory/msub_myth_asia_fareast_japan.htm

  Haiku (poetry): http://home.clara.net/pka/haiku/haiku.htm

  Akira Kurosawa (filmmaker): http://members.aol.com/ronintom/Kurosawa.htm

  ACT 300 - 327] & 362 - 364] "Meiji Era"

  Begin OXFORD Book of Japanese Short Stories:

  Mori Ogai, "Sansho the Steward" 1 - 27]

  Satomi Ton, "Blowfish" 74 - 78]
 

#12)   16 Nov. 1/2 Quiz; discuss readings, film excerpts. assign: *Hand in 2^nd film background report.
           from OXFORD Book of Japanese Short Stories: Inoue Yasushi, "Passage to Fudaraku" 206 -223]; 18
           Nakajima Atsushi, "The Expert" 232 - 239]; 8 Kojima Nobuo, "The Rifle" 240 - 251] 12; Endo Shusaku,
           "Unzen" 252 - 263] 12

[23 Nov = Thanksgiving]

#13)   30 Nov. 2^nd film background report DUE. 1/2 Quiz; Discuss readings; film?  assign: from OXFORD Book of
          Japanese Short Stories: = 79 pp.  Abe Kobo, "The Bet" 264 - 287]; Mukoda Kumiko, "Mr. Carp" 334 - 343];
          Kaiko Takeshi, "The Duel" 344 - 350]; Oe Kenzaburo "Prize Stock" 351 - 390];

#14)  7 Dec. 1/2 Quiz; discuss readings, film excerpts.  assign: SHORTENED FOR 2nd EXAM: from OXFORD Book of
           Japanese Short Stories: Tsushima Yuko, "A Very Strange, Enchanted Boy" 391-399]; Shimada Masahiko,
          "Desert Dolphin" 417 - 431]; Yoshimoto Banana 432 - 443]

#15)   14 Dec. = last class, course evaluation, 2^nd EXAM 2000