This course narrates three thousand years of writing practices, with the Chinese script—the shared writing system in premodern East Asian—as a through line. We will focus on the social implications of writing, investigating questions such as how writing transformed political systems and interacted with ordinary people. Units and topics of this course include: mechanics of writing systems, empire formation and writing standardization, reading and writing practices in East Asia, evolving relationships between writings and (local, vernacular, and national) languages, writing as a technology, cross-cultural interactions and receptions, and finally, writing and gender. For the past two millennia, East Asia has been a source of media innovation. As we migrate with the Chinese script from bamboo slips onto paper, from printed books onto computer screens, we will tackle the theoretical toolkit and historical precedents for examining our current age of media disruption.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 15

Crosslisted Courses:

Prerequisites: One course at the 200 or 300 level on East Asian literature, history or culture; or in Comparative Literature; or by permission of the instructor.

Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature; HS - Historical Studies

Typical Periods Offered: Every other year; Fall

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring

Notes: