While the language of classical Chinese poetry is practically inaccessible to even today’s native speakers of Chinese, the poetry of the five contemporary poets studied in this course is written in the vernacular and serves as a rich source of authentic texts for this course, which integrates language learning with poetry study. The five poets, all born after 1980, each offer a unique perspective into the changing society and culture of modern China. Each lesson or two, students will receive a packet with poems and information on the poet along with a vocabulary list, and grammar worksheets. Through reading and discussing these poets as well as writing their own poems in Chinese, students will gain insights into the changing culture of modern China, while building on their competencies in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Mandarin Chinese.
A course pack of various Mandarin Chinese language materials pertaining to contemporary Chinese poetry will be provided.
Learning Outcomes:
By end of the term, students will be able to...
...understand, discuss and critique various authentic contemporary Chinese poems and effectively communicate their thoughts on these in Chinese, both orally and in writing
...raise valid and rational questions regarding poetry in contemporary Chinese culture and analyze and discuss these questions in Chinese
...conduct independent research on contemporary Chinese poetry
...form ideas and opinions based on their research on the intersection of Chinese contemporary poetry, history, and culture and logically state and express their thoughts coherently and cohesively in Chinese at the introductory level.
...create their own Chinese language poems
Delivery Method: Fully in-person
Prerequisites: At least one term of Chinese at the college level; send email to teacher (glin@bennington.edu).
Course Level: 4000-level
Credits: 5
M/W/Th 7:10PM-8:30PM (Full-term)
Maximum Enrollment: 20
Course Frequency: Once a year
Categories: 4000 , All courses , Chinese , Four Credit , Fully In-Person
Tags: Contemporary Literature , creative writing , politics , reading and writing , social issues , speaking and listening