LLEA 33111 - Chinese LIterary Dreams and Dream in the Red Chamber

Institution:

University of Notre Dame

Subject:

East Asian Lang & Lit

Description:

Dreams have long been objects of fascination for people in all cultures, including the Chinese. Focusing on the eighteenth-century Chinese master work Dream of the Red Chamber, this course examines the literary functions of dreams in the Chinese context. Dreams will be discussed as a catalyst in the process of fiction making, serving as a master trope for the "complementary oppositions" between truth and falsehood, between history and literature, between reality and fictionality, and between the sublunary and the supernatural. The goal of the course is to familiarize students with a novel that is generally considered the pinnacle of Chinese fictional literature and with some of the cultural convictions that underscore Chinese literary dreams. The primary text of the course is the 5-volume English translation of Dream of the Red Chamber. Supplementary readings include scholarship on the novel and modern theories on dream and the unconscious. Prior knowledge in Chinese language and culture not required.

Credits:

3.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.nd.edu

Phone Number:

(574) 631-5000

Regional Accreditation:

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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