I study the culture of early and medieval China, with research interests in literature, art history, religion, and medical thought. I am currently working on two book projects, one on narratives of health and illness in Early Medieval Chinese Literature, a second one on early medieval Chinese poetics with a focus on literary imagination.
keywords
pre-modern Chinese literature and thought, early and early medieval Chinese literature and culture, poetics, criticism, medical and illness narratives, epistolary culture, notions of nature and wilderness, sleep and dreams, Chinese art and material culture, manuscript culture & popular print culture
CHIN 1051 - Masterpieces of Chinese Literature in Translation
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2023
Surveys Chinese thought and culture through close reading and discussion of selected masterworks of Chinese literature in translation. Texts include significant works of poetry, fiction, and drama, as well as philosophical and historical writings from various eras. Taught in English.
CHIN 3381 - Chinese Travel Literature: Journeys Within and Without, Real and Imaginary
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2024
Explores the world of travel writing in Chinese literature and culture. Widely different forms of real and imaginary travel have inspired a broad spectrum of travel literature in China. We will read and discuss different examples, from landscape poetry describing a hike through ragged mountains to travelogues about officials moving across the country, from factual geographical and environmental reports to fantastical novels about intercultural and interspecies encounters of the strangest kind. Taught in English. Formerly offered as a special topics course.
CHIN 4042 - Readings in Classical Chinese
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2024
Introduces a wide spectrum of texts from medieval China written in classical and literary Chinese: philosophical, historical, ghost stories, and poems (including the Ballad of Mulan). We will read these texts closely, focusing on their linguistic and literary features and on their cultural background. Formerly CHIN 4220. Same as CHIN 5042.
CHIN 4220 - Readings in Classical Chinese
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2022
Close reading of selected texts of ancient and medieval literature. Readings in both prose and poetry. Emphasizes a disciplined, philological approach to the texts, with proper attention to diction, tone, and nuance.
CHIN 5010 - Sinological Methods
Primary Instructor
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Fall 2018 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2023
Provides training in research methods for graduate work in Sinology. Regular exercises require students to use standard bibliographic sources and tools, such as leishu, congshu, specialized dictionaries, dynastic histories, geographical treatises, gazetteers, and private historiography. Knowledge of Classical Chinese at the level of CHIN 4220 is required.
CHIN 5030 - Readings in Pre-Modern Chinese Literary Theory
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2019 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2024
Introduces the field of pre-modern Chinese literary theory and its relevance in Chinese intellectual history. Based on the close reading of primary sources, i.e. typically on selected core texts of Chinese literary thought, as well as on the reading of secondary literature. Texts and topics vary from year to year.
CHIN 5042 - Readings in Classical Chinese
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2024
Introduces a wide spectrum of texts from medieval China written in classical and literary Chinese: philosophical, historical, ghost stories, and poems (including the Ballad of Mulan). We will read these texts closely, focusing on their linguistic and literary features and on their cultural background. Same as CHIN 4042.
CHIN 5410 - Medieval Prose
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2020 / Spring 2022 / Spring 2023
Studies works of early medieval (ca. 200-600 AD) and/or late medieval (600-900 AD) prose that played an important role in development of Chinese literature. Writers and topics vary, ranging from surveys of specific genre, literary essays, proto-fiction, or historical writings, to focused studies of major figures Liu Zhiji, Han Yu, or Liu Zongyuan. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Knowledge of Classical Chinese at the level of CHIN 4220 is required.
CHIN 5480 - Topics in Medieval Literature
Primary Instructor
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Spring 2018 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2024
Examines a specific problem or issue in medieval literature, e.g., the role of encyclopedias and anthologies in literary training, or the place and forms of literary composition at the imperial court. Topics vary from year to year. May be repeated up to 9 total credit hours. Knowledge of Classical Chinese at the level of CHIN 4220 is required.
