Chinese Culture Ii

The course is designed to equip students with the tools needed to understand 21st-century China. Based on the knowledge imparted during the previous course (Chinese Culture I), lectures will focus on some of the most relevant topics and discussions emerged in China in the last decades. The goal is to highlight some important aspects of Chinese society and cultural production, also with a view to its institutions. Media production and youth's education in the People's Republic of China will be explored in depth. The core topic will be the concept of narrative: as a matter of fact, the course will focus on the representation of the self and of the individual's own culture in the Chinese context. Based on these premises, students will be encouraged to work in groups to analyse and comment real-life materials.

By the end of the course, students will be equipped to understand the major contemporary topics discussed during the lectures, and to identify key terms and core concepts of Chinese culture in the 21st century. By reading translated primary sources belonging to different genres, participating in group activities and listening to presentations in class, students will become more confident in interacting with Chinese cultural production, and will be able to comment on the course topics with a higher degree of cultural awareness.