Chinese Culture in Child Lit

Catalog description

Children's literature reveals how a culture imagines itself and offers a window into other cultures for young readers. What a child reads and what is read to the child shows the values the child's nation holds dearly. However, in this rapidly changing world, national culture is fluid, ever changing and mixing with other cultures. Being a global citizen and a potential educator for children requires some level of familiarity with a diverse array of cultures. This course will introduce you to traditional Chinese culture and explore its representations in western children's literature. The class will first delve into the works of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism adapted for children. You will study the impact of these intellectual schools in Chinese society and develop a broad and coherent understanding of Chinese cultural values. From there, the class will examine western children's literature, focusing on voices that echo with or differ from Chinese culture. For example, Ursula K Le Guinn, author of the Earthsea fantasy series, claims that her work was inspired by the Taoist ideas of balance and equilibrium. Other western authors may not claim as fans of Chinese thinking, however, their works clearly echo with Chinese values and thus have been received by Chinese parents and children warmly. For instance, Winnie-the-Pooh is a model of a western Taoist, as observed by Benjamin Hoof, the author of The Dao of Pooh, for Pooh's simplicity and non-action. The spider in Charlotte's Web exemplifies the Confucian ideal of being faithful to friends. The Little Prince plays the mystery of Buddhist nirvana. Some western ideas may seem strange in traditional China such as the idea of the Savior. However, this idea has now become well-known through Aslan the Lion created by C. S. Lewis in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Since the early 20th century, western literature has quietly entered and enriched Chinese culture. By expanding your knowledge of traditional Chinese values, you will develop new perspectives to western children's literature. In the second half of the semester, you will write and illustrate a picture book embedded with your understanding of Chinese culture. You will design a curriculum appropriate for a preschool or early elementary classroom. Doing so, you learn how to help children appreciate different cultures, enhance their critical thinking through literature, and become aware of the connectedness among humans across the world.