What is Literature? Asian Perspectives

This course introduces students to diverse concepts of literature from a number of traditions from the Asian and Pacific region. The materials range from ancient to contemporary texts, which will all be presented in accessible English translation. Works studied will vary from year to year, and may include such forms as oracle bones, religious narratives, poetry, puppet theatre, classic novels, oral storytelling, folk tales and/or recent fiction, among others. Students will have the opportunity to critically reflect on the similarities and differences between literary forms from the Asian and Pacific region and European categories, such as the novel, poem, or epic. The course examines how and why literary forms have been significant within different Asian or Pacific societies and considers what it means to translate such literary works across language, history and culture. The course further explores aspects of the social and literary environments that have shaped the production and interpretation of literary texts in historical and contemporary cultures, and considers the impact of a writer's nationality, cultural background, gender, social class and historical situation on the shaping of a work of literature.