Subject Area: Chinese Studies

This course is an integral part of professional Chinese courses, largely using original Chinese references and materials for teaching. Students learn to carry out study and research by using original Chinese materials. Specifically, this course examines the situation of gender in contemporary China among that country’s Han majority and its many ethnic minorities. It examines gender in various contexts such as politics, religion, economy, the arts, ethnicity, Westernisation and globalisation. Specific topics include ideology of gender relations, gender-based division of labour, gender representation in performing and visual arts, gendered roles in religious practice, marriage customs, and morality and sexuality. The course also introduces relevant and up-to-date cultural theory and its application to the study of gender in contemporary China, and it will broaden and deepen students understanding of Chinese society and culture.