Love and Trauma: Contemporary Novels by Chinese Women Writers
Through readings in feminist theories, psychology, philosophy, and religion, this course helps students explore, by means of a close textual analysis of the novels written by Chinese women writers, the roots of human sufferings and contentment, depression and jouissance in the forms of love and trauma that both empower and plague women universally. The interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives adopted in this course will shed light on the sub-conscious energy in human mind and how it gives rise to the feelings of love, passion, or conversely, the feelings of trauma, and depression as experienced by women.
This course raises and addresses the following questions: What are the ontological and psychological interpretations of love? What is the difference between love and desire? What is the connection between our deep consciousness and femininity? How can the traumatic wounds arising from love be self-healed? How does one’s Asian cultural background contribute to this goal? Selected films and power-point slides will be used to complement the lectures and in-class discussion. Students will complete several short writing assignments and a semester-long research project. This course fulfills second writing and group B.