Critical Social Inquiry 0278 - Dreaming East, Dreaming West

This course traces the ways Chinese and Americans have perceived and portrayed each other over the last century through the writings of those whose dreams and aspirations led them to travel, study, and work across the Pacific: missionaries and diplomats, students and scholars, journalists and businessmen. Drawing on both Chinese and English language sources, we will read first person accounts-memoir, essay, letters, blogs-of Chinese sojourners in America and American travelers in China, asking: What is the place of "China" in the American dream and "America" in the Chinese imaginary? How have Chinese images of America and American images of China changed over time? And what can we learn from these shifting representations of "the other" about identity formation and power relations between China and the U.S.? This course is recommended for students of China Studies or Asian/Pacific/American Studies and counts toward the Five Colleges A/P/A Studies Certificate Program. Prerequisite: Students must have the equivalent of at least one year of college-level intensive Chinese language study.

Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research