The following are examples of relevant literature on China and East Asia:
- Perry Link: An Anatomy of Chinese: Rhythm, Metaphor, Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013.
- Barbara Mittler: A continuous revolution : making sense of Cultural Revolution culture. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2012.
- Chen Lai: Tradition and Modernity: A Humanist View. Transl. Edmund Ryden. Leiden: Brill, 2009.
- James Wilkerson and Robert Parkin (eds.): Modalities of Change: The Interface of Tradition and Modernity in East Asia. Berghahn Books, 2012.
The following are examples of theoretical literature that may be relevant:
- Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger (eds.): The Invention of Tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013 [1983].
- Benedict Anderson: Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism. Revised edition. London: Verso, 2006 [1983].
- Josef Pieper: Tradition: Concept and Claim. Transl. E. Christian Kopff. St. Augustine's Press, 2010.
- Edward Shils: Tradition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1981.
- Joseph R. Gusfield: Tradition and Modernity: Misplaced Polarities in the Study of Social Change. The American Journal of Sociology 72 (1967), 4: 351–362.
Examples of topics we may look at include:
- The Mainland Chinese band Zi Yue 子曰, the Taiwan singer Zhou Jielun 周杰倫 and his text writer Fang Wenshan 方文山, the former Taiwan singer Deng Lijun 鄧麗君…
- Various film, TV, animation, cartoon versions of Honglou meng 紅樓夢, Shuihu zhuan 水滸傳, Sanguo yanyi 三國演義, Xiyou ji 西遊記…
- Martial arts novels (such as Luding ji 鹿鼎記 by Jin Yong 金庸) and films (such as Yidai zongshi 一代宗師 by Wong Kar-wai 王家衛 and Tuishou 推手 by Ang Lee 李安)…
- TV programmes on classical philosophy by Yu Dan 于丹 and Yi Zhongtian 易中天…
- The language of political and commercial slogans, newspaper headings, dish names…
You do not have to read a lot before the course begins, but do think about what topic you might want to write about.