Subject Area: Chinese Studies

This course is open to all students either as a core course of the Chinese major or as an elective or general education course for any program/major. Proficiency in Chinese language is not required. The course aims at broadening and deepening students’ understanding of China’s multiethnic societies and cultures through an introduction to performing arts including theatre, dance, story telling, acrobatics and martial art. Following a combination of approaches in cultural anthropology and contemporary cultural studies and through vivid case studies, students are guided in examining the Chinese situation with regard to tradition, politics, economy, gender, identity, ethnicity, nationalism, globalisation and glocalisation. This is a study of sociocultural aspects of China’s performing arts rather then a purely technical study of performance. Study materials include relevant academic writings and multimedia sources such as videos, DVDs and films.