I have been teaching a variety of lower and upper division undergraduate courses as well as graduate seminars at CU Boulder since 2007. For a complete list of courses that I have taught since 1998 see my CV. Current syllabi and other materials are regularly posted on D2L.

CHIN 1051 Masterpieces of Chinese Literature in Translation (2007, 2010, 2012)

This course introduces the main literary traditions of China from the beginnings in the 2nd millennium B.C.E. to the 19th century, presented in English translations arranged in largely chronological order. Reading and discussing Chinese literature, we are confronted with a broad spectrum of subject matters, styles, and genres: Next to poetry, various genres of fictional prose, and drama we also encounter seemingly non-literary texts such as philosophical essays and historical chronicles. The format of this class includes short lectures that provide historical and cultural background information as well as presentations by students, but mostly consists of discussions focusing on the reading assignments.



CHIN 3351 Reality & Dream in Traditional Chinese Literature (2009, 2012)

This course aims at an understanding of dreams as a significant literary topic in ancient China. This focus provides a perspective on Chinese literature that is not as fragmentary as one might expect, because dreams and dreaming are surprisingly pervasive in major Chinese texts. We critically read, interpret, discuss, and write about the dreamscapes in philosophical, religious, medical, and historical writings as well as in poetry, fictional prose, and drama, all of them presented in English translations. Dreams being such a universal literary topic worldwide and through the ages, we also connect our findings to selected non-Chinese perceptions of dreams in literature, religion, and psychology. The questions we are discussing will be of a similarly broad range as the texts they are derived from: What did dreams mean to the ancient Chinese? What was assumed to cause dreams? Were they regarded as part of or rather as a counterpart to reality? Did the Chinese in antiquity dream different dreams than we do today? To what degree are dreams shaped by culture? This class largely consist of discussions, but also includes short lectures as well as presentations by students.



CHIN 3361 Women & the Supernatural in Chinese Literature (2010, 2012)

In this course we explore the relationship between the worlds of women and the supernatural in pre-modern Chinese literature. After a short theoretical introduction of the two main topics, we turn to selected works of classical and vernacular fiction from imperial China (mostly 3rd to 18th century C.E.), all of which are provided in English translations. The readings come from a variety of genres – ballad, short story, and drama – and are diverse in subject matter. We are meeting ghost lovers, celestial wives, filial daughters, a mother in hell, fox fairies, superwomen, and cross-dressers; we will follow their feats and fates, observing how they are treated by their almost exclusively male authors. This class will largely consist of discussions about our readings, but will also include lectures, mostly providing historical and literary background, as well as presentations by students.



CHIN 5010 Sinological Methods (2008, 2009)

This course aims to introduce and familiarize graduate students in Chinese studies with methods of conducting research related to traditional China. It will help you to identify, locate, evaluate, and use reference works, source materials as well as scholarly books and articles (in print & online) in a number of sinological fields, as well as give advise on their proper citation in scholarly writing. A secondary but not less important aim of this course is to inspire reflection on Western sinology – both as a science and profession (including its history in the West) and as our individual pursuit. The seminar will consist of lectures, exercises and students' presentations. For the final project, each student will prepare a research project prospectus with a select annotated bibliography, using material covered in class as well as located by additional research. Students should have a solid grounding in modern and Classical written Chinese.



CHIN 5330 Chinese Literary Thought (2010, 2013)

The goal of this graduate seminar is to study major developments in the history of pre-modern Chinese literary thought and their relevance in Chinese intellectual history. A good understanding of indigenous theoretical and critical approaches is necessary to gain a deeper and more appropriate understanding of Chinese literature than can be achieved through the knowledge of Western literary theory alone. We will aim at both an overview of the field – mainly based on Stephen Owen's Reader – and an in-depth study and close reading of some of the core texts. These are quite diverse in character and form, since Chinese literary and critical thought found expression in a broad spectrum of genres from rhapsody to poem, letter or treatise. Many of these core texts became influential parts of the literary canon. The close readings, along with selected commentaries and Western scholarship, will focus on medieval texts, among them a letter written by Cao Pi (187–226), Lu Ji's (261–303) "Wen fu" and two chapters of Liu Xie's Wenxin diaolong, 26 "Shen si" ("Spirit thought") and 42 "Yang qi" ("Nourishing vitality") - the latter will also provide an excellent opportunity to reflect on our own research and writing.



CHIN 5480 Topics in Medieval Literature: Accounts of the Strange (2007, 2011)

This graduate seminar is designed as an introduction to a literary genre that emerged and flourished in early medieval and medieval China, and proved to be of lasting importance during later centuries. Narratives, literary figures, and motifs of traditional zhiguai and chuanqi literature are immensely popular in China up to the present day and keep on inspiring literature, film, and newer media such as computer games. We critically read and discuss both primary texts and secondary literature, starting from the first large collection, Gan Bao's (fl. 317–22) Soushen ji and going on to Tang dynasty tales collected in the Taiping guangji (978) and elsewhere, covering the main motives and narrative modes.

While one focus of this course is on developing the ability to closely read and understand these texts as primary sources of medieval Chinese culture, another focus is on their interpretation. Secondary literature thus plays an equally important role in our readings and discussions of these tales. This is particularly relevant because the different Western approaches to the topic are quite illuminating with regard to important trends in Chinese Studies. The emphasis in this seminar is literary and to a certain degree comparative, although we also touch upon historical, anthropological, religious, and gender questions.




CHIN 5480 Topics in Medieval Literature: Wang Xizhi – Calligraphy and Beyond (2012)

This graduate seminar is an exploration of textual, calligraphic, and archaeological material related to Wang Xizhi (303–361) as well as to this great calligrapher's reception through the ages. We will read texts ascribed to Wang Xizhi (the famous "Lanting ji xu" as well as personal letters) along with records about him in various historical sources (such as Jin shu, Shishuo xinyu, etc.), while also taking archaeological evidence of the Wang family into account. A study of medieval and later writings dedicated to Wang's calligraphy (such as Fashu yaolu and Shupu) will serve as an introduction to the history of the canonization of Wang Xizhi as the "Sage of Calligraphy" and to an appreciation of his position in the history of Chinese calligraphy.