EAL233 ~ Spring 2013
Students
From the course catalog:
Who travels in China and for what reasons? What does a traveler write about — the scenery of a particular location or the experience of a journey itself; the homesickness or the joy of traveling; the philosophical and spiritual insights or the political implications? Much of Chinese literature is composed from the perspective of one who is, or has been, on the road: whether as exile, pilgrim, soldier, pleasure traveler, or even shaman. Through close reading of selected poems, diary entries, essays, and fictional writings, and visual images selected from across the centuries, we will explore how various writers define such notions as “place” and “home.” All readings are in translation.