Topic: Chinese Culture through the Arts

Catalog description

: Chinese Theater is a living synthesis of essential cultural and aesthetic values that have been refined and shaped over thousands of years. This class will survey the historical development of Chinese performing arts and examine how they relate to social beliefs and cultural structures. The course will cover a wide range of readings and play scripts in English-translations of source material. In addition to weekly assigned readings, videotapes, field trips to live performance events and hands-on workshops, this course will give students a deep multi-leveled understanding of the history of Chinese performance culture in its varied forms and expressions.