Fall 2007

ANS 372 • Traditional Chinese Art and Culture

Course Description

This course provides a concise and comprehensive picture of visual and material culture in China during the pre-modern period. By examining important art works and artifacts of various types and by tracing the changes and development in traditional Chinese culture, this course will introduce traditional Chinese society as a whole. The aim of this course is to enhance students' understanding of Chinese art and culture in the past and present. The course material will be introduced chronologically in thematic groups with a consideration of relevant historical background. By highlighting important themes in each period, this course will discuss critical issues, such as death and afterlife, Confucian ethics, the use of the past, and visual illusions vs. conceptual reality, that concerned Chinese of all social levels at various times in history. The requirements for this course include class participation, weekly readings, essay exams, image identification quizzes and a final research paper.

Grading Policy

10% class participation 15% 3 image quizzes 45% 3 in-class exams 5% research proposal 25% final paper

Texts

Thorp, Robert L., and Vinograd, Richard Ellis. Chinese Art and Culture. New York: Abrams, 2001. Course packet

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