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Alexander, Katherine L.

Assistant Professor

Positions

Research Areas research areas

Research

research overview

  • Dr. Alexander's work focuses on narratives - historical, fictional, religious - and how in the midst of disaster some reformers of the late Qing wove stories about the world they hoped to rebuild for good, even as their faith in collective goodness, and its ability to be harnessed for moral (and socio-political) restoration, faltered. If society needed to be transformed, how could people be taught when ongoing disasters were signs that they had already failed to learn? Her forthcoming book (University of Michigan Press, 2025) addresses late Qing reformer Yu Zhi's collected writings, and the texts he inspired. Through his work, we encounter extraordinary efforts motivated by the fragile-seeming hope that words can save us as the world falls apart.

Publications

selected publications

Teaching

courses taught

  • ASIA 4001 - Advanced Language Co-Seminar Arts and Humanities
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2023 / Fall 2024
    Acts as a Co-Seminar for advanced Asian Studies students.
  • CHIN 1012 - Introduction to Chinese Civilization
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Spring 2020 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2022 / Fall 2022 / Spring 2024 / Fall 2024
    An interdisciplinary introduction from ancient to modern times. Arts, literature, politics, social relations, religion, and material culture are studied in terms of significant themes and ideas pertaining to the civilization of China. Taught in English.
  • CHIN 1051 - Masterpieces of Chinese Literature in Translation
    Primary Instructor - Fall 2021
    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 3331 - Culture and Literature of Late Imperial China
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2021
    The late imperial period was marked by growth of great metropolitan areas, expanded urban entertainments, and an extensive popular culture. Focuses on the literature and artifacts of this urban culture as well as the hegemonic culture of the state and of traditional social codes and their literary manifestations. Also considers growing contacts with the West and the transition to the modern period. All readings are in English. Taught in English. Recommended prerequisite: CHIN 1012 or CHIN 1051.
  • CHIN 3361 - Women and the Supernatural in Chinese Literature
    Primary Instructor - Spring 2018 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2023 / Fall 2024
    Explores the relationship between the worlds of women and the supernatural in Chinese literature, from ancient to modern times. Focuses on selected significant works of classical and vernacular fiction, religious texts, and poetry. Taught in English. Recommended prerequisite: CHIN 1012 or CHIN 1051.
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