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Modern Chinese Women Writers – NCTA Online Seminar

Portrait of writer Ding Ling. Photo credit: prchistory.org

In this seminar, we read selected short stories to introduce four modern Chinese women writers: Xiao Hong, Ding Ling, Eileen Chang, and Wang Anyi. Class meetings included a lecture component that situated the text in modern Chinese cultural history as well as a discussion component in which participants were invited to share their insights and interpretations of the story. The seminar aimed to familiarize participants with twentieth-century Chinese history—with a focus on understanding evolving perspectives on gender, power, and “womanhood”—through literature. Besides equipping educators with the context necessary to introduce Chinese women writers in their classrooms, the class also offered an opportunity for individuals to expand their cultural horizons and diversify their libraries by reading in translation. Class met once per week for two hours.

Program Requirements

Participants were required to write two one-page response papers (double-spaced, 12 pt font) during the five weeks. Participants also completed a final project that included a ten-minute research presentation introducing a new modern Chinese woman writer that they wanted to learn more about. Presentations were shared during our last class meeting.

Books

Participants received the following books ahead of the program:

  • Joseph S.M. Lau and Howard Goldblatt, The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature.
  • Ding Ling, I Myself am a Woman: Selected Writings of Ding Ling. Ed. Tani Barlow.
  • Eileen Chang, Love in a Fallen City. Trans. Karen S. Kingsbury.
  • Patricia Sieber, Red is Not the Only Color: Contemporary Chinese Fiction on Love and Sex between Women, Collected Stories (Asian Voices)

Program Leader

Elise Huerta is a cultural studies scholar and educator who specializes in modern and contemporary China. Her research explores the cultural politics of touch in modern Chinese literature, film, and visual culture. She holds a PhD in East Asian Languages & Cultures from Stanford University and a BA in Asian Languages & Cultures from the University of Michigan.

Dates and Times

Wednesday, October 23, 2024 – 4:00 to 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)

Wednesday, October 30, 2024 – 4:00 to 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 – 4:00 to 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)

Wednesday, November 13, 2024 – 4:00 to 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)

Tuesday, November 19, 2024 – 4:00 to 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)

This program was held over Zoom.

Program benefits

  • Free books and teaching resources.
  • Stipend for additional classroom resources.
  • 12 Free WA OSPI clock hours.

Program Resources

Click here for the Padlet site (compiled by program leader Elise Huerta) with the links and the resources for the program.

This program was sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).