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China & Inner Asia

Modern Film From Taiwan And The Chinese Diaspora

Course Code:
15PCHH002
Unit value:
0.5 unit
Directors such as Hou Hsiao-hsien, Ang Lee, Edward Yang, and Tsai Ming-liang have given Taiwan a cinematic presence which is little less than extraordinary given the island’s small size and historically marginalized status. Fêted consistently on the international festival and arthouse circuits, these directors – along with many others – have won numerous prizes over the last twenty years; and in Ang Lee’s case, this critical success has been matched by record-breaking box office takings across the world. Film from the Chinese diaspora has made a similarly striking impact in recent years, as immigrant and exiled filmmakers such as Wayne Wang and Dai Sijie have explored the changing meaning of Chinese identity in a range of acclaimed films.

Yet despite this acclaim, university courses on “cinematic China” still tend to give short shrift to films produced outside the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong. This two-part course offers the opportunity to study film from Taiwan and the Chinese diaspora in real depth, and is the first of its kind to be offered in the UK. The course explores these emerging cinematic traditions in thematic terms, analyzing such topics as national history, colonialism, the urban condition, millennial panic, gender and sexuality, queer culture, transnationalism, exilic memory, Chinatown, and the myth of the so-called “model minority”.

Qualification for entry

The course is deliberately wide in scope and is suitable for students from a range of academic backgrounds. For students from Chinese-speaking countries or graduates of Chinese studies programmes, the course offers training in film theory and methodology, and provides a point of entry into one of the most exciting and fast-moving disciplines in the China field. The course also welcomes students – with or without a film studies background – who wish to study film from Taiwan and the Chinese diaspora alongside some of the many other screen studies options available at SOAS. No knowledge of Chinese is required (all films screened are subtitled in English), and extensive contextualization is provided throughout.

Workload

4 hours per week, of which 2 hours are for film-screening and 2 hours for seminar-based lecture and discussion

Method of assessment

One two-hour written examination taken in May/June (50%); one essay of 3,000 words to be submitted on day 1, week 1, term 3 (50%).

Required reading

A comprehensive reading list will be made available to students at the beginning of the course.