Chinese Women, Gender and Feminism from Historical and Transnational Perspectives

This seminar course is designed to critically re-evaluate (re)presentations of Chinese women, gender, and feminism in historical, literary, and academic discourses. It examines a diverse body of texts produced through different historical periods and in different geopolitical locations. It emphasizes gender as both a historical construct(s) among competing discourses and as a material process of individual embodiment and disembodiment. The goal of the course is to help advanced students understand Chinese history from a distinctly gendered perspective, to recognize women's roles in history and writing, and to develop a reflective, cross-cultural approach to gender, politics, and the self.