Universität Wien
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150130 SE Cultural Studies Seminar (2023W)

A Life on Stage: Jiang Qing andher Biographiesfrom a Performative Perspective

6.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 15 - Ostasienwissenschaften
Continuous assessment of course work
ON-SITE
Moodle

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: German, English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

No class on Monday 30.10.2023

Session of 30.10 replaced by class on Tuesday 7.11.2023

  • Monday 02.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 09.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 16.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 23.10. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 06.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Tuesday 07.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 13.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 20.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 27.11. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 04.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 11.12. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 08.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 15.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 22.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05
  • Monday 29.01. 09:45 - 11:15 Seminarraum Ostasienwissenschaften 1 UniCampus Hof 5 2I-O1-05

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Jiang Qing, also known as Madame Mao, was a prominent CCP leader during the period of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) when she embarked on a nationwide reform of the performing arts, making strong, powerful female protagonists the central figures of the model works. While Chinese official historiography has blamed her for the excesses and horrors of the Cultural Revolution and erased her name from the public memory, the vast amount of biographies of Jiang Qing that have appeared since the early 1970s demonstrates the willingness to portray this historical figure from a variety of perspectives. This seminar focuses on the life of Jiang Qing and how it has been represented in biographical practices in different times, spaces, and genres. Through discussion and comparison of selected biographies, the seminar will explore the narrative strategies employed by a single biographer in the construction of a particular image of Jiang Qing. Discussions will highlight how these texts deconstruct official historiography while engaging with ‘private’ aspects of the life of the protagonist.
The relationship between life and performance will also be foregrounded. General theories of biography as well as Jiang Qing’s own thoughts on the representation of revolutionary lives in her model plays will be introduced to examine the relationship between fact and fiction in biography.
By attending this seminar participants will gain an understanding of the major contested issues surrounding the life and afterlives of Jiang Qing, as well as the value of biographical practices in engaging with these issues. They will develop an awareness of the aesthetic features and socio-political functions of biography as a transformative force. By the end of the seminar participants will have become familiar with aspects of performativity theory in cultural studies as well as methods of textual analysis and close reading.

Assessment and permitted materials

1) Preparation of assigned materials and active participation 20%
2) Assignments 35%
3) Final written paper 45%

Detailed information about the assignments will be given at the start of the course.

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Each session consists of a brief contextual introduction followed by presentations and discussions on the required reading. Active participation in class is essential to the successful completion of the seminar.

All assignments need to be fulfilled to attain a positive overall grade.

The final written report must be passed to pass the course, regardless of the partial grades achieved in the other assignments.

The final written paper should be 10 pages long (approx. 3,500 words), excluding bibliography.

No more than 3 unjustified absences (three sessions) are allowed.

Examination topics

Participants can choose their own topics for the final written paper. The topic should be agreed with the lecturer.

Reading list

Barlow, Tani. “Jiang Qing, Seriously.” The PCR History Review 2, no. 4 (2017): 1–3.

Min, Anchee. Becoming Madame Mao. London: Allison and Busby, 2001.

Terrill, Ross. Madame Mao: The White-Boned Demon. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1999.

* A detailed reading list will be provided at the start of the course. *

Association in the course directory

alt M7 SE LK

Last modified: Tu 14.01.2025 00:16