Research Methodology in Chinese Studies
Postgraduate course
- ECTS credits
- 15
- Teaching semesters
- Autumn
- Course code
- KIN302
- Number of semesters
- 1
- Teaching language
- English and Chinese
- Resources
- Schedule
Course description
Objectives and Content
This specifically developed course offers a synthesized approach of philological investigation, aesthetic evaluation, hermeneutic analysis, theoretical reflection, translation criticism, and comparative perspective. Above all, this course introduces students to and train them in "prompted transreading", a critical theory developed to explore how history, literature, philosophy, and art generate and reshape one another.
"Transreading" encompasses four simultaneous and interdependent activities¿close and slow reading, literary translation, creative writing, and cultural hermeneutics. These practices are instrumental to understanding the cosmopolitan figures in modern Chinese intellectual history that continue to inform our world with works that are often cryptic, but foundational. Each student will become a transreader: a close reader, poetic translator, creative writer, and cultural critic in one.
The optimal way to serve this purpose is to combine theory and practice, methodology and exercise. This course explores shorter Chinese texts that exemplify linguistic complexity, intellectual stimuli, and cultural characteristics. Readings include modern poetry and prose, contemporary lyric, and novella.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the course:
Knowledge
The student:
- will demonstrate knowledge of Chinese language, literature, and philosophy, which aids in effective cross-cultural communication
- will demonstrate insight into additional disciplines such as anthropology, economics, history, international business, media studies, political science, and translation studies, which deepens cross-cultural comprehension
Skills
The student
- will be able to translate a complex Chinese text into an English/Norwegian version that demonstrates their grasp of the basic meanings of the original, their sharpened sensitivity to the Chinese language, and their refined taste for Chinese literature
- will be able to identify, analyze, and evaluate prompts - twists, controversies, paradoxes, enigmas, palimpsestic traces, historical-cultural allusions, among others - embedded in the Chinese original. Prompts are evidence of language innovation that demands thorough investigation
- will be able to explore different ways of transplanting the Chinese prompts into Western cultural contexts or translate certain English/Norwegian-language versions back into Chinese for a constructive comparison with the original
General knowledge
The student
- will demonstrate critical thinking, initiative, and resourcefulness in leading future intellectual exchanges
- will demonstrate literacy through information inquiry and application of knowledge in the humanities and arts
ECTS Credits
Level of Study
Semester of Instruction
Place of Instruction
Required Previous Knowledge
Recommended Previous Knowledge
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
Access to the Course
Teaching and learning methods
The main teaching methods include lectures and seminars (altogether 12 weeks, 24 hours). The students¿ learning involves preview, group homework, oral presentation, individual research project, etc.
The course is taught in English, with considerable examples in Chinese. The instructor uses innovative pedagogical tools and techniques to enable students to explore how history, literature, philosophy, and art generate and reshape one another, both in the Chinese context and in the global, comparative context. The instructor also supervises research projects on an individual basis.
Students are required to prepare for class by reading closely and thoroughly the literature outlined in the syllabus, by fulfilling small, regular assignments at home (e.g., response papers, online forum posts, discussion proposals and reports), by acquiring new vocabulary to understand Chinese literature used in class, and by conducting independent research on specific topics. Moreover, each student must conduct an individual research project on a self-chosen topic related to the main themes covered in the course. The project must be developed into a term paper and submitted for final assessment.
Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
The students must attend at least 75% of the classes.
The topic of the term paper must be approved by the course instructor. Each student must also hold an oral presentation on the topic of the term paper in class to gain feedback from the instructor and their peers. Supervision is mandatory.
Compulsory assignments are valid for one semester following the semester of instructions, and all compulsory assignments must be completed in the same semester.
Forms of Assessment
Course assessment consists of a supervised term paper in English of about 3000 words (+/- 10%), excluding references, bibliography and appendices. The topic of the paper is chosen by the student and approved or adjusted by the instructor on an individual basis.
The student must follow the conventions of academic writing and familiarize themselves with the rules that apply to the use of sources and citations. If the rules are violated, the student may be suspected of cheating/attempted cheating.
A student who does not submit the term-paper in the autumn semester can resit the exam in the subsequent semester if the student fulfills all the compulsory requirements for the course. No further supervision will be given. It is not possible to resubmit the same paper submitted in the teaching semester.
Grading Scale
Assessment Semester
Reading List
A tailored collection of state-of-the-art articles in the field will be provided digitally.
Content may vary slightly from semester to semester, in accordance with the development of the core discipline and its academic circles in different geographical-cultural contexts.
The reading list will be available by 1 July for the Autumn semester.