***Please find a tentative syllabus, reading materials, and assignments here: Syllabus

Wcult: NW

Dist: LIT

Instructor: Miya Q. Xie miya.xie@dartmouth.edu

Period: 2A hour

Room: Dartmouth Hall 108

Office Hours: Tuesday 4:30-5:30 or by appointment, Bartlett Hall 202

Constructing a territorial wall to demarcate the “self” from the “other,” the “civilized” from the “barbarian,” is an ancient idea that is still relevant today. The history and culture of the Great Wall of China tell us that as significant as the material wall is, the representations and discourse surrounding it are even more important.

This course studies canonical works of Chinese literature and art from the pre-modern period in chronological order. In particular, it draws on examples that deal with the Great Wall, the northern frontier beyond the Wall, and cross-Wall relations between China Proper and the nomadic frontier. Approaching the subject from literary and cultural perspectives, this course addresses and problematizes some of the difficult challenges that have confronted the Chinese state from the past to the present. These include the notion of a great unity, issues surrounding minorities, cultural diversity, and so on. When relevant, we will also examine broader theoretical issues such as political morality, gender and sexuality, and border-crossing.