Choose one from the following questions to write an essay (250-300 words). Cite texts to support your argument.
1)In his study of Rabelais, Bakhtin looked at 16th-century France as a site of competing languages and social groups. How does this have to do with Bakhtin's antipathy towards authoritarianism and his penchant for the folk culture and its emancipatory potential?
2)The word "grotesque" comes from the same Latin root as "grotto." Therefore, the many connotations of the grotto--earthiness, fertility, death--link to the various incarnations of the grotesque. Can you find these incarnations in Bakhtin's depiction of the carnivalized body? How? Explain.
3) The image of the Siamese twins is a recurring motif in CJ Chen's Revolt of Body and Soul (《魂魄暴亂》系列). The Siamese twins halppily killing one another, self-mutilating figures modelling on Chen himself, Chen as the executed and the executor, and so forth reveal that the seemingly oppositional relationship between Self and Other is in fact ambivalent. How do you interpret this Self-Other ambivalence in relation to the project of modernity? How do these grotesque images function as Chen's critique of the State Apparatus?
10/07/2010
在帝國的邊界上─陳界仁 編年展 1996-2010
今年最值得我們關注的展覽！
展期|2010/8/28 - 2010/11/14
地點|台北市立美術館 地下市 D~E~F
台灣當代藝術家陳界仁1960年生於台灣桃園，高職美工科畢業，目前生活在台灣台北。
1980年代─臺灣的冷戰/戒嚴時期，陳界仁曾以游擊式的行為藝術和策劃體制外的地下展覽，干擾當時的戒嚴體制。
1987年台灣解除戒嚴後，陳界仁停止創作沉寂了八年，這段期間他在擺地攤的弟弟支助生活下，開始經由重新審視自身的成長經驗、家族歷史和其生活環境中的軍法局、兵工廠、加工區、違章建築區等空間，省思台灣在歷經殖民統治、冷戰/戒嚴時期，成為資本主義生產鏈的加工基地和逐漸進入消費化社會的演變關係，以及解嚴後被納入新自由主義全球化的背後根源和台灣處於國際政治的「例外狀態」下，人的處境與其精神的變異過程。
陳界仁認為台灣在經過長期的被支配過程後，無論是在地的社會現實或歷史脈絡，已被新自由主義主導的主流論述層層遮蔽和抹除，並成為了一個「快速遺忘」和失去「歷史性地思考未來」的社會。
1996年重新恢復創作後，他開始通過平面影像和拍攝影片等藝術行動，對邊緣區域的現實處境、內在的精神狀態，以及如何翻轉新自由主義治理邏輯的可能性，進行各種「再書寫」、「再想像」和「再連結」的創作計畫。他認為通過與在地人民的合作，以及通過美學的實驗和影像詩學的開放性，可以與觀眾共同創造出多重對話的場域和相互連結的可能性；雖然他的作品背後總有其所關注的政治議題，但他認為藝術的意義，更在於將那些語言、文字難以訴說的氛圍、精神的幽微狀態、身體的記憶和感性經驗，通過藝術的想像性進行「書寫」；尤其是在被新自由主義日趨宰制的時代，創作不僅是為了抵抗遺忘，更在於如何對「人民書寫」的形式和「多元民主」的可能性提出新的想像。
陳界仁的作品曾個展於：台北市立美術館、洛杉磯Redcat藝術中心、馬德里蘇菲雅皇后國家美術館、紐約亞洲協會美術館、巴黎網球場國家畫廊等機構。參加過的聯展包括：威尼斯雙年展、里昂雙年展、聖保羅雙年展、利物浦雙年展、雪梨雙年展、伊斯坦堡雙年展、台北雙年展、光州雙年展、上海雙年展、福岡亞洲藝術三年展、布里斯本亞太三年展等當代藝術展覽，以及西班牙、里斯本、阿爾等攝影節與倫敦、溫哥華、愛丁堡、鹿特丹等電影節。曾獲2009年台灣國家文藝獎─視覺藝術類、2000年韓國光州雙年展特別獎。
演講會：
主講人/陳界仁(當代藝術家)
09/12(日) 14:30-16:30 在帝國的邊界上─我的游擊工作報告
主講人/林志明(台北教育大學藝術與造型設計學系)
10/24(日) 14:30-16:30 位於歷史極限的影像與記憶─閱讀陳界仁作品
(本文轉載台北市政府文化局)
展期|2010/8/28 - 2010/11/14
地點|台北市立美術館 地下市 D~E~F
台灣當代藝術家陳界仁1960年生於台灣桃園，高職美工科畢業，目前生活在台灣台北。
1980年代─臺灣的冷戰/戒嚴時期，陳界仁曾以游擊式的行為藝術和策劃體制外的地下展覽，干擾當時的戒嚴體制。
1987年台灣解除戒嚴後，陳界仁停止創作沉寂了八年，這段期間他在擺地攤的弟弟支助生活下，開始經由重新審視自身的成長經驗、家族歷史和其生活環境中的軍法局、兵工廠、加工區、違章建築區等空間，省思台灣在歷經殖民統治、冷戰/戒嚴時期，成為資本主義生產鏈的加工基地和逐漸進入消費化社會的演變關係，以及解嚴後被納入新自由主義全球化的背後根源和台灣處於國際政治的「例外狀態」下，人的處境與其精神的變異過程。
陳界仁認為台灣在經過長期的被支配過程後，無論是在地的社會現實或歷史脈絡，已被新自由主義主導的主流論述層層遮蔽和抹除，並成為了一個「快速遺忘」和失去「歷史性地思考未來」的社會。
1996年重新恢復創作後，他開始通過平面影像和拍攝影片等藝術行動，對邊緣區域的現實處境、內在的精神狀態，以及如何翻轉新自由主義治理邏輯的可能性，進行各種「再書寫」、「再想像」和「再連結」的創作計畫。他認為通過與在地人民的合作，以及通過美學的實驗和影像詩學的開放性，可以與觀眾共同創造出多重對話的場域和相互連結的可能性；雖然他的作品背後總有其所關注的政治議題，但他認為藝術的意義，更在於將那些語言、文字難以訴說的氛圍、精神的幽微狀態、身體的記憶和感性經驗，通過藝術的想像性進行「書寫」；尤其是在被新自由主義日趨宰制的時代，創作不僅是為了抵抗遺忘，更在於如何對「人民書寫」的形式和「多元民主」的可能性提出新的想像。
陳界仁的作品曾個展於：台北市立美術館、洛杉磯Redcat藝術中心、馬德里蘇菲雅皇后國家美術館、紐約亞洲協會美術館、巴黎網球場國家畫廊等機構。參加過的聯展包括：威尼斯雙年展、里昂雙年展、聖保羅雙年展、利物浦雙年展、雪梨雙年展、伊斯坦堡雙年展、台北雙年展、光州雙年展、上海雙年展、福岡亞洲藝術三年展、布里斯本亞太三年展等當代藝術展覽，以及西班牙、里斯本、阿爾等攝影節與倫敦、溫哥華、愛丁堡、鹿特丹等電影節。曾獲2009年台灣國家文藝獎─視覺藝術類、2000年韓國光州雙年展特別獎。
演講會：
主講人/陳界仁(當代藝術家)
09/12(日) 14:30-16:30 在帝國的邊界上─我的游擊工作報告
主講人/林志明(台北教育大學藝術與造型設計學系)
10/24(日) 14:30-16:30 位於歷史極限的影像與記憶─閱讀陳界仁作品
(本文轉載台北市政府文化局)
10/05/2010
【文讀】writing assignment #1(deadline: 10/15, 12 p.m.)
Choose one from the following questions to write an essay (200-250 words). Cite texts to support your argument.
1) In "Roman Fever," what are the hints of hidden conflict between Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley? What details in part 1 bring out the differences in their personalities and their lives?
2) In "The Cask of Amontillado," what can you infer about Montresor's social position and character from hints in the text? What evidence does the text provide that Montresor is an unreliable narrator?
3) The story "Araby" is about a boy's "epiphany." Describe it in relation to the story's setting and its atmosphere and its impact upon the boy.
4) Look closely at the setting of the story "The Birth-Mark," from the laboratory to the boudoir. Note teh similes, metaphors, and other figures of speech that help characterize these places. How do these different patterns of imagery contribute to the symbolism of teh story? to an allegorical reading of the story?
5)Some feminist critics argue that "A Rose for Emily" exposes the violence done to a woman by making her a lady? Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
1) In "Roman Fever," what are the hints of hidden conflict between Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley? What details in part 1 bring out the differences in their personalities and their lives?
2) In "The Cask of Amontillado," what can you infer about Montresor's social position and character from hints in the text? What evidence does the text provide that Montresor is an unreliable narrator?
3) The story "Araby" is about a boy's "epiphany." Describe it in relation to the story's setting and its atmosphere and its impact upon the boy.
4) Look closely at the setting of the story "The Birth-Mark," from the laboratory to the boudoir. Note teh similes, metaphors, and other figures of speech that help characterize these places. How do these different patterns of imagery contribute to the symbolism of teh story? to an allegorical reading of the story?
5)Some feminist critics argue that "A Rose for Emily" exposes the violence done to a woman by making her a lady? Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
9/17/2010
賀照緹作品 ＜我愛高跟鞋＞ 預告片(My Fancy High Heels trailer )
試映會
時間：9/27(一)下午兩點
地點：台北誠品敦南店B2視聽室
首播：9/28 晚上 10:00
重播：9/29 凌晨 03:00
紀錄觀點 公共電視13頻道
這是個關於願望的故事，也是一個由美麗高跟鞋串起來的故事。售價美金300-1000元的奢華名牌高跟鞋，到底是誰做出來的呢？從取得皮料、製作、代工到套進一雙雙白皙的腳上，要經過多少人的手？這些養牛的農婦、工人、代工管理者和穿高跟鞋的紐約名媛，都有自己生活上的難處和小小的快樂。本片以他們的願望為主軸，呈現出美麗高跟鞋背後的故事。
本片歷經兩年的拍攝，追著名牌高跟鞋的足跡，從中國和俄羅斯的邊境，一路拍到紐約的曼哈頓；從貧困的農村，殺牛取皮的血腥現場，到時尚奢華的大都會；春天，小牛的皮剛被割下，女工在生產線上，精心修飾每一個細節。到了那一年的冬天，那些細節就穿在紐約時尚女性的腳上。
全球化對這個世界的影響，從這一雙雙高跟鞋中顯現。每個製作高跟鞋的環節，是一個小短片，裡面有不同的故事主角。透過攝影機，看到了主角腳上所穿的鞋，價格從人民幣2元到美金600元不等。片中有女工的喜怒哀樂，也有台商作為代工者，和國際客戶協商的現場；有紐約名媛的內心世界，也有屠牛場的殘酷實境。這些主角的願望，顯示了他們生活處境上的差異性。全片在平靜中潛伏巨大能量，猶如一首浩瀚浮於世事的詩篇。
About the Film
This is a film about dreams, and a tale bound together by beautiful high-heeled shoes. Brand-name high heels costing anywhere from $300 to $1000 -- exactly who is it that makes them? From procuring the leather, to the assembly line, to the contract manufacturer, to the moment when lily-white feet slip into each pair of high heels, how many people's hands do these shoes pass through? The farming woman who tends the cattle, the worker, the manager of the contract manufacturing firm, the young New York woman from a wealthy family who wears the shoes -- they all have their own difficulties and little sources of happiness in life. This film adopts their dreams as its central theme, and reveals the story that lies behind a pair of beautiful high heel shoes.
Filmed over a period of two years, this documentary traces the footsteps of a pair of name-brand high-heeled shoes, from the border of China and Russia to the streets of Manhattan, from an impoverished farm town and the sanguinary spectacle of slaughtered cows and skinned hides, to the fashionable, prosperous metropolis. In the spring, the hide of the calves have just been skinned, and the woman assembly-line worker meticulously touches up every last detail of the shoes. By winter of the same year, those tiny details can be seen on the feet of a fashionable woman in New York City.
The impact of globalization on this world manifests itself in each pair of high heel shoes. Every link in the manufacturing chain is its own segment with its own story, and each has its own protagonist. Through the camera, we see the shoes the protagonists wear, ranging from 2 renminbi to 600 US dollars. The film reveals a young female assembly-line worker, with her own feelings of joy, disillusionment and sorrow; a Taiwanese businessman in China, managing a contract manufacturing firm and negotiating with international customers; the inner world of a fashionable, well-off young woman of New York; and the cruel realities of the slaughterhouse. The dreams of all these people reveal the disparities in their positions in life. Beneath the calm and quiet of the entire film lurks an enormous energy, like an immense poem floating amidst the affairs of the world.
9/13/2010
2010年秋【比較文學】課綱
Comparative Literature—the grotesque in art and literature
Fall 2010
Thursday 1:10-4:00, 文D221
Instructor: Prof. Jen-yi Hsu
Office hours: Fri. 2-4 p.m., and by appointment (jyhsu@mail.ndhu.edu.tw)
Course Description:
As an idea, “grotesque” is hard to pin down and capable of assuming many forms. The word itself comes from the same Latin root as “grotto,” meaning a small cave or cavern. Therefore, the many connotations of the grotto—earthiness, fertility, femininity, darkness, death—link to the various incarnations of the grotesque. In this class, we will explore the grotesque in art and literature. Three forms of the grotesque will be examined: 1) the grotesque as a way of challenging authority and official order, 2) the grotesque and its associations with the feminine, and 3) the grotesque and its racial representations.
Required Books: 1) course packages available at the Xerox Center 2) books to be purchased at the University Bookstore:
--《陰性顯影：女性攝影家的扮裝自拍像》
-- Waiting for the Barbarians
-- The Bluest Eye
Grading Policy:
Midterm 30%, final exam 30%, presentation and class participation 30%, blog entries 10% (http://literarycollage.blogspot.com/)
Course Schedule:
Week1: 9/16 Introduction
Part I: The grotesque as a way of challenging authority and official order
Week2: 9/23 〈大眾文化的狂歡節〉(in《對話的喧聲：巴赫汀文化理論述評》by劉康)(Zark, Andy, Tim) ; ”The Banquet, the Body and the Underworld” (in The Bakhtin Reader)(Kevin)
Week3: 9/30 〈陳界仁的歷史肢解與死亡鈍感〉(Lena, Joanne)，〈症狀─賤斥─恐懼──另外一種觀看的方式〉(怡安&怡潤) (both in 《心的變異：現代性的精神形式》by劉紀蕙); “Approaching Abjection” (in Julia Kristeva’s Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection)
Week4: 10/7 “In the Penal Colony” by Kafka (Connie, Dalia); 〈狂人日記〉(“A Madman’s Diary) by 魯迅 (Lu Xun)
Week5: 10/14 The Metamorphosis (Jasmine, Abby, Stacie), and "First Sorrow" by Kafka
Week6: 10/21 selections from Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio (1919): “The Book of the Grotesque,” “Hands”(Jodie), “Paper Pills”(Stacy), “Mother”(Norah), “The Strength of God,” “Death”
Part II: Female grotesques
Week7: 10/28 《陰性顯影：女性攝影家的扮裝自拍像》by劉瑞琪( Ch3&4, pp.143-243)(Nina &Emma); “Female Grotesque: Carnival and Theory” by Mary Russo (in Writing on the Body: Female Embodiment and Feminist Theory, edited by Conboy, Medina, and Stanbury)
Week8: 11/4 Orlando；〈兩種《歐蘭朵》──文字/影像互動與性別/文本政治〉by張小虹 (in 《性別越界：女性主義文學理論與批評》)(Angela, Maggie)
Week9: 11/11 midterm (take-home exam)
Week10: 11/18“A Temple of the Holy Ghost” by Flannery O’Connor; “Freak Photography” by Rachel Adams (in Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination)(Bella, Maggie, Vanessa)
Week11: 11/25 no class
Week12: 12/2 The Ballad of Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers (Claudia, Brant)
Week13: 12/9 finish The Ballad of Sad Cafe; “Two Bodies in One” by Sarah Gleeson-White (in Strange Bodies: Gender and Identity in the Novels of Carson McCullers) (Alvis, Monica)
Part III: Racial grotesques
Week14: 12/16 Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee (Sasha, Susan)
Week15: 12/23 finish Waiting for the Barbarians (Sharyl)
Week16: 12/30 The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Chet, Mike)
Week17: 1/6 finish The Bluest Eye
Week18: 1/13 final exam
Fall 2010
Thursday 1:10-4:00, 文D221
Instructor: Prof. Jen-yi Hsu
Office hours: Fri. 2-4 p.m., and by appointment (jyhsu@mail.ndhu.edu.tw)
Course Description:
As an idea, “grotesque” is hard to pin down and capable of assuming many forms. The word itself comes from the same Latin root as “grotto,” meaning a small cave or cavern. Therefore, the many connotations of the grotto—earthiness, fertility, femininity, darkness, death—link to the various incarnations of the grotesque. In this class, we will explore the grotesque in art and literature. Three forms of the grotesque will be examined: 1) the grotesque as a way of challenging authority and official order, 2) the grotesque and its associations with the feminine, and 3) the grotesque and its racial representations.
Required Books: 1) course packages available at the Xerox Center 2) books to be purchased at the University Bookstore:
--《陰性顯影：女性攝影家的扮裝自拍像》
-- Waiting for the Barbarians
-- The Bluest Eye
Grading Policy:
Midterm 30%, final exam 30%, presentation and class participation 30%, blog entries 10% (http://literarycollage.blogspot.com/)
Course Schedule:
Week1: 9/16 Introduction
Part I: The grotesque as a way of challenging authority and official order
Week2: 9/23 〈大眾文化的狂歡節〉(in《對話的喧聲：巴赫汀文化理論述評》by劉康)(Zark, Andy, Tim) ; ”The Banquet, the Body and the Underworld” (in The Bakhtin Reader)(Kevin)
Week3: 9/30 〈陳界仁的歷史肢解與死亡鈍感〉(Lena, Joanne)，〈症狀─賤斥─恐懼──另外一種觀看的方式〉(怡安&怡潤) (both in 《心的變異：現代性的精神形式》by劉紀蕙); “Approaching Abjection” (in Julia Kristeva’s Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection)
Week4: 10/7 “In the Penal Colony” by Kafka (Connie, Dalia); 〈狂人日記〉(“A Madman’s Diary) by 魯迅 (Lu Xun)
Week5: 10/14 The Metamorphosis (Jasmine, Abby, Stacie), and "First Sorrow" by Kafka
Week6: 10/21 selections from Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio (1919): “The Book of the Grotesque,” “Hands”(Jodie), “Paper Pills”(Stacy), “Mother”(Norah), “The Strength of God,” “Death”
Part II: Female grotesques
Week7: 10/28 《陰性顯影：女性攝影家的扮裝自拍像》by劉瑞琪( Ch3&4, pp.143-243)(Nina &Emma); “Female Grotesque: Carnival and Theory” by Mary Russo (in Writing on the Body: Female Embodiment and Feminist Theory, edited by Conboy, Medina, and Stanbury)
Week8: 11/4 Orlando；〈兩種《歐蘭朵》──文字/影像互動與性別/文本政治〉by張小虹 (in 《性別越界：女性主義文學理論與批評》)(Angela, Maggie)
Week9: 11/11 midterm (take-home exam)
Week10: 11/18“A Temple of the Holy Ghost” by Flannery O’Connor; “Freak Photography” by Rachel Adams (in Sideshow U.S.A.: Freaks and the American Cultural Imagination)(Bella, Maggie, Vanessa)
Week11: 11/25 no class
Week12: 12/2 The Ballad of Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers (Claudia, Brant)
Week13: 12/9 finish The Ballad of Sad Cafe; “Two Bodies in One” by Sarah Gleeson-White (in Strange Bodies: Gender and Identity in the Novels of Carson McCullers) (Alvis, Monica)
Part III: Racial grotesques
Week14: 12/16 Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee (Sasha, Susan)
Week15: 12/23 finish Waiting for the Barbarians (Sharyl)
Week16: 12/30 The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Chet, Mike)
Week17: 1/6 finish The Bluest Eye
Week18: 1/13 final exam
開工大吉：2010年秋《文讀》課綱
Approaches to Literature ( 文學作品讀法 )
Fall 2010
Tuesday 9:10-12:00, 共二講堂
Instructor: Prof. Jen-yi Hsu
Office hours: Friday 2-4 p.m., and by appointment (jyhsu@mail.ndhu.edu.tw)
Course Description: This class will introduce students to fiction, poetry, and drama and open up a complex field of interpreting and analyzing literature. While the first semester focuses on fiction, the second semester will focus on poetry and drama. We will learn how to approach literature as a distinctive genre with its own specifications and acquaint ourselves with the cultural and historical contexts surrounding the texts. The concern of this class is to engage literature with a critical eye and to introduce students to the complex interactions of region, gender, race, class, and narrative technique. Some basic knowledge of critical theory and its terminology will also be introduced as a preparation for further study.
Required Text:
The Norton Introduction to Literature (Shorter 10th Edition)—to be purchased at the University Bookstore
Course Requirements:
1. Class Prep: You are expected to finish the reading assignments before each class meeting.
2. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory; you are responsible for coming to class on time. Excessive and consistent lateness will also harm your grade. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. You will automatically fail the course if you miss more than 2 classes. If you must be absent for an extended period of time, you must consult with me to determine the best alternative for completing the course.
3. Oral Report: Two students as a group will be assigned one text for your group report. In the report, you have to introduce the biographical information of the author, summarize the plot of the story, analyze the main characters, and select passages that play crucial roles in the whole development of the story. I encourage creative presentation ideas. You are expected to present in front of the class, ready to take questions.
4. Midterm and final exams: Remember, there will be no make-up exams. Missing the exams will result in failing the course.
5. Blog entries: You are expected to submit 10 blog entries throughout the semester. Deadlines will be announced on the blog: http://literarycollage.blogspot.com/
Grading Policy:
Midterm 30%, final exam 30%, presentation and class participation 30%, blog entries 10%
Course Schedule:
Week 1: 9/14 Intro
Week 2: 9/21 (Plot) “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin (63-85); “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton (85-94)
Week 3: 9/28 (Narration and Point of View): “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe (101-5,Linda and Erica); “Araby” by James Joyce (503-7,Stanley and Bert)
Week 4: 10/5 “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (213--24,Patty and Una); “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner (391-7, Peace and Lily)
Week 5: 10/12 (Setting): “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov (169-80, Sherry, Sammi, and Ethan); “Flowering Judas” by Katherine Anne Porter (180-88, Winni, Fion, and Vedran)
Week 6: 10/19 (Symbol and Figurative Language): “The Thing in the Forest” by A.S. Byatt (224-38, Celina, Katherine, Judy)
Week 7: 10/26 Film Screening: Age of Innocence
Week 8: 11/2 (Theme): “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Marquez (271-5, Nick and Edison); “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (354-65, King, Sai, 徐浩嚴)
Week 9: 11/19 Midterm
Week 10: 11/16 no class
Week 11: 11/23 “A Hunger Artist” by Kafka (507-13, Beatrice, Maggie, Daphnie); “The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges (463-9, Joanna Taphy, 劉黃芸芸)
Week 12: 11/30 “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence (513-24, Daniel, Jim, Jamison); “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (353-4, Jojo, 洪睿琦)
Week 13: 12/7 “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison (139-52, Jenny, Linda, Alice); “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro (570-9, Ashley, Cherry, Sammy); “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid (116-7, Clare and Vera)
Week 14: 12/14 Film Screening: Beloved
Week 15: 12/21 “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” (299-310, Andrew and Jeffrey), and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor (323-33, Andy and Bruce)
Week 16: 12/28 “The Management of Grief” by Bharati Mukherjee (559-70, 岑藹欣and黃翊紘); “The Prophet’s Hair” by Salman Rushdie (579-89, Ben and James)
Week 17: 1/4 Film Screening: The Namesake
Week 18: 1/11 final exam
Fall 2010
Tuesday 9:10-12:00, 共二講堂
Instructor: Prof. Jen-yi Hsu
Office hours: Friday 2-4 p.m., and by appointment (jyhsu@mail.ndhu.edu.tw)
Course Description: This class will introduce students to fiction, poetry, and drama and open up a complex field of interpreting and analyzing literature. While the first semester focuses on fiction, the second semester will focus on poetry and drama. We will learn how to approach literature as a distinctive genre with its own specifications and acquaint ourselves with the cultural and historical contexts surrounding the texts. The concern of this class is to engage literature with a critical eye and to introduce students to the complex interactions of region, gender, race, class, and narrative technique. Some basic knowledge of critical theory and its terminology will also be introduced as a preparation for further study.
Required Text:
The Norton Introduction to Literature (Shorter 10th Edition)—to be purchased at the University Bookstore
Course Requirements:
1. Class Prep: You are expected to finish the reading assignments before each class meeting.
2. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory; you are responsible for coming to class on time. Excessive and consistent lateness will also harm your grade. I do not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences. You will automatically fail the course if you miss more than 2 classes. If you must be absent for an extended period of time, you must consult with me to determine the best alternative for completing the course.
3. Oral Report: Two students as a group will be assigned one text for your group report. In the report, you have to introduce the biographical information of the author, summarize the plot of the story, analyze the main characters, and select passages that play crucial roles in the whole development of the story. I encourage creative presentation ideas. You are expected to present in front of the class, ready to take questions.
4. Midterm and final exams: Remember, there will be no make-up exams. Missing the exams will result in failing the course.
5. Blog entries: You are expected to submit 10 blog entries throughout the semester. Deadlines will be announced on the blog: http://literarycollage.blogspot.com/
Grading Policy:
Midterm 30%, final exam 30%, presentation and class participation 30%, blog entries 10%
Course Schedule:
Week 1: 9/14 Intro
Week 2: 9/21 (Plot) “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin (63-85); “Roman Fever” by Edith Wharton (85-94)
Week 3: 9/28 (Narration and Point of View): “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe (101-5,Linda and Erica); “Araby” by James Joyce (503-7,Stanley and Bert)
Week 4: 10/5 “The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (213--24,Patty and Una); “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner (391-7, Peace and Lily)
Week 5: 10/12 (Setting): “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov (169-80, Sherry, Sammi, and Ethan); “Flowering Judas” by Katherine Anne Porter (180-88, Winni, Fion, and Vedran)
Week 6: 10/19 (Symbol and Figurative Language): “The Thing in the Forest” by A.S. Byatt (224-38, Celina, Katherine, Judy)
Week 7: 10/26 Film Screening: Age of Innocence
Week 8: 11/2 (Theme): “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Marquez (271-5, Nick and Edison); “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (354-65, King, Sai, 徐浩嚴)
Week 9: 11/19 Midterm
Week 10: 11/16 no class
Week 11: 11/23 “A Hunger Artist” by Kafka (507-13, Beatrice, Maggie, Daphnie); “The Garden of Forking Paths” by Jorge Luis Borges (463-9, Joanna Taphy, 劉黃芸芸)
Week 12: 11/30 “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence (513-24, Daniel, Jim, Jamison); “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin (353-4, Jojo, 洪睿琦)
Week 13: 12/7 “Recitatif” by Toni Morrison (139-52, Jenny, Linda, Alice); “Boys and Girls” by Alice Munro (570-9, Ashley, Cherry, Sammy); “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid (116-7, Clare and Vera)
Week 14: 12/14 Film Screening: Beloved
Week 15: 12/21 “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” (299-310, Andrew and Jeffrey), and “Everything That Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Connor (323-33, Andy and Bruce)
Week 16: 12/28 “The Management of Grief” by Bharati Mukherjee (559-70, 岑藹欣and黃翊紘); “The Prophet’s Hair” by Salman Rushdie (579-89, Ben and James)
Week 17: 1/4 Film Screening: The Namesake
Week 18: 1/11 final exam
8/18/2010
【轉貼】移工小劇場 展演真實壓迫
【立報記者李宜霖台北報導】「不是家人不能一起吃飯。」菲籍看護工Anna用不流利的中文說著。Anna蜷居在小閣樓裡，沒有自己的房間，還受到雇主爺爺的性騷擾。這是編導兼演員藍貝芝的《無枝nostalgia離家行動計畫》裡，呈現的台灣社會底層移工情況。
藍貝芝提到，她的戲想處理外籍看護工的生存狀態，以及曖昧、無法分辨是非的情感流動。運動的論述很清楚看到壓迫者與被壓迫者，但比較難看到移工幽微情感的部分，她認為，戲劇可以去探索複雜、灰色地帶的東西。
藍貝芝試著探索看護工在照顧老人時，跟這一個家庭的關係是什麼？她是家人？勞雇關係？因為有情感的付出，讓勞雇關係更加複雜，權利的關係更不清楚。
糾結的家庭關係
藍貝芝的創作緣起於再拒劇團公寓聯展，主題是家，不同組的創作者，在公寓的各個角落，包括廚房、客廳、臥房演出，每組選擇家裡不同成員，用不同故事去呈現。藍貝芝選擇在儲藏室，處理外籍幫傭這個角色。
藍貝芝對性別議題感興趣，她的外婆中風多年，家裡面長期請外籍看護，因此聯展對藍貝芝來說是一個機會，從親人的經驗出發去思考這個議題。
藍貝芝演出獨角戲，一人分飾二角，劇情跨越時空。她飾演菲籍看護工Anna。Anna在擁擠的家中移動，幫阿公搧風講故事、處理家務，或者到自己的小臥鋪望著家鄉的照片。她也飾演雇主太太，在客廳跟一群貴婦講話。
藍貝芝提到，如何在同一空間，讓觀眾感受到不同的對象，而觀眾本身也是不同的對象，有時候演員把觀眾當成朋友，有時候是貴婦，有時候是旁觀者。她認為，單人表演跟觀眾的距離，有很多範圍可以調整，可以很近，也可很遠，可以讓觀眾感受不同層次的敘事觀點。
空間的權力
《無枝》劇第一版的呈現是在特定的空間裡，藍貝芝說，空間處理是這個戲的重點之一，《無枝》劇在台北小地方酒館演出，前兩個月在澳門，接下來要去花蓮巡演，每一個場地都不相同，但她認為，演出需要小的場地，去呈現出外傭生活、工作所面臨的擁擠與壓迫，實體空間的壓迫，隱喻了移工所面臨壓迫的處境。
由於每個地方空間不一樣，必須做調整。藍貝芝說，澳門演出是在藝廊的客廳，比較舒適，但她還是把20幾個觀眾擠在客廳裡；台北小地方酒館的2樓，有閣樓的感覺，她把桌椅全部堆疊，好像住在雜物堆裡，有觀眾反映，就如同外傭住在家裡的閣樓。
《無枝》劇是彈性的做各種改變，不像一般劇場會有一個固定場景。藍貝芝說，花蓮的展演，將會在辦公室的小儲藏室，屆時感覺又會不同。
移工知識問答
《無枝》劇中，Anna想要放假，想要出去玩，可是她無法休假，這也是移工普遍的狀況。Anna只能幻想到哪裡去玩。她幻想黃金計程車電視節目的情境，只要你答對問題，計程車就可以帶你想去的地方。藍貝芝藉著電視問答這個機會把觀眾帶進來，她認為，戲需要有跟觀眾互動的部分，去詢問觀眾對於移工的常識。
例如，藍貝芝問觀眾：四方報沒有哪種語言？答案是四方報目前有越文、泰文，沒有印尼、菲律賓語，讓大家知道台灣有發行東南亞語言、關注移工的報紙。
藍貝芝在機智問答中，曾問到誰不能捐血。她認為，過去曾規定同性戀、外勞、性工作者不能捐血，她想藉由機智問答，暴露出原來台灣社會有這樣荒謬與歧視的規定，可是一般人平常不會知道。
藍貝芝表示，目前還有很多人不知道最低工資是多少，現在基本工資調高為1萬7,280元，但仍有很多移工拿的是未調的工資1萬5,840元，她希望藉由問答去呈現移工的狀況。
《無枝》劇中有類似紀錄片《T婆工廠》的部分，有著移工同性伴侶的關係。藍貝芝在寫劇本時，曾遇到這些同性伴侶，有一些移工可能在母國有男友、先生及小孩，當她們來到台灣，她們選擇同性伴侶的關係。藍貝芝認為，在一個離鄉背井的環境裡，人需要溫暖跟支持，同性伴侶的關係其實是常態，戲劇可以呈現這樣的生存樣態。
藍貝芝本來試圖演爺爺角色，賦予爺爺聲音，但一直沒有找到對的方式呈現。藍貝芝說，Anna跟爺爺有著勞雇權力不對等關係，爺爺是雇主比較強勢，爺爺希望Anna幫他性服務，但爺爺另一面在體能上實際上非常弱勢，年紀老且生病，需要Anna的協助，Anna在這一層面看來又具有權力。
藍貝芝回憶，她自己的外婆跟外籍看護的關係，有時也會有微妙的轉變，外婆心情不好，責備看護，看護在外婆下次需要服務時，會假裝沒有聽見，這種情況就會出現誰比較有力量的權力關係。
藍貝芝後來決定不賦予爺爺聲音，爺爺在性騷擾上很強勢，但另外一方面又很弱勢，他不能說話，他的發言沒有人想聽，不賦予爺爺真實的聲音，具有這層意義。
藍貝芝認為，戲劇未來還會持續發展；仲介在移工的勞動關係上是很重要的角色，她以後會在劇情上處理這層關係。她也希望戲劇在與台灣移工處境類似的國家，如東亞香港、新加坡、韓國地方巡演，在國際上交流彼此工作、政策上的異同，讓更多人理解移工的身分。
10月15到17日晚上7點半，《無枝》劇在花蓮的乙皮畫廊（原心關係畫廊）演出。
藍貝芝提到，她的戲想處理外籍看護工的生存狀態，以及曖昧、無法分辨是非的情感流動。運動的論述很清楚看到壓迫者與被壓迫者，但比較難看到移工幽微情感的部分，她認為，戲劇可以去探索複雜、灰色地帶的東西。
藍貝芝試著探索看護工在照顧老人時，跟這一個家庭的關係是什麼？她是家人？勞雇關係？因為有情感的付出，讓勞雇關係更加複雜，權利的關係更不清楚。
糾結的家庭關係
藍貝芝的創作緣起於再拒劇團公寓聯展，主題是家，不同組的創作者，在公寓的各個角落，包括廚房、客廳、臥房演出，每組選擇家裡不同成員，用不同故事去呈現。藍貝芝選擇在儲藏室，處理外籍幫傭這個角色。
藍貝芝對性別議題感興趣，她的外婆中風多年，家裡面長期請外籍看護，因此聯展對藍貝芝來說是一個機會，從親人的經驗出發去思考這個議題。
藍貝芝演出獨角戲，一人分飾二角，劇情跨越時空。她飾演菲籍看護工Anna。Anna在擁擠的家中移動，幫阿公搧風講故事、處理家務，或者到自己的小臥鋪望著家鄉的照片。她也飾演雇主太太，在客廳跟一群貴婦講話。
藍貝芝提到，如何在同一空間，讓觀眾感受到不同的對象，而觀眾本身也是不同的對象，有時候演員把觀眾當成朋友，有時候是貴婦，有時候是旁觀者。她認為，單人表演跟觀眾的距離，有很多範圍可以調整，可以很近，也可很遠，可以讓觀眾感受不同層次的敘事觀點。
空間的權力
《無枝》劇第一版的呈現是在特定的空間裡，藍貝芝說，空間處理是這個戲的重點之一，《無枝》劇在台北小地方酒館演出，前兩個月在澳門，接下來要去花蓮巡演，每一個場地都不相同，但她認為，演出需要小的場地，去呈現出外傭生活、工作所面臨的擁擠與壓迫，實體空間的壓迫，隱喻了移工所面臨壓迫的處境。
由於每個地方空間不一樣，必須做調整。藍貝芝說，澳門演出是在藝廊的客廳，比較舒適，但她還是把20幾個觀眾擠在客廳裡；台北小地方酒館的2樓，有閣樓的感覺，她把桌椅全部堆疊，好像住在雜物堆裡，有觀眾反映，就如同外傭住在家裡的閣樓。
《無枝》劇是彈性的做各種改變，不像一般劇場會有一個固定場景。藍貝芝說，花蓮的展演，將會在辦公室的小儲藏室，屆時感覺又會不同。
移工知識問答
《無枝》劇中，Anna想要放假，想要出去玩，可是她無法休假，這也是移工普遍的狀況。Anna只能幻想到哪裡去玩。她幻想黃金計程車電視節目的情境，只要你答對問題，計程車就可以帶你想去的地方。藍貝芝藉著電視問答這個機會把觀眾帶進來，她認為，戲需要有跟觀眾互動的部分，去詢問觀眾對於移工的常識。
例如，藍貝芝問觀眾：四方報沒有哪種語言？答案是四方報目前有越文、泰文，沒有印尼、菲律賓語，讓大家知道台灣有發行東南亞語言、關注移工的報紙。
藍貝芝在機智問答中，曾問到誰不能捐血。她認為，過去曾規定同性戀、外勞、性工作者不能捐血，她想藉由機智問答，暴露出原來台灣社會有這樣荒謬與歧視的規定，可是一般人平常不會知道。
藍貝芝表示，目前還有很多人不知道最低工資是多少，現在基本工資調高為1萬7,280元，但仍有很多移工拿的是未調的工資1萬5,840元，她希望藉由問答去呈現移工的狀況。
《無枝》劇中有類似紀錄片《T婆工廠》的部分，有著移工同性伴侶的關係。藍貝芝在寫劇本時，曾遇到這些同性伴侶，有一些移工可能在母國有男友、先生及小孩，當她們來到台灣，她們選擇同性伴侶的關係。藍貝芝認為，在一個離鄉背井的環境裡，人需要溫暖跟支持，同性伴侶的關係其實是常態，戲劇可以呈現這樣的生存樣態。
藍貝芝本來試圖演爺爺角色，賦予爺爺聲音，但一直沒有找到對的方式呈現。藍貝芝說，Anna跟爺爺有著勞雇權力不對等關係，爺爺是雇主比較強勢，爺爺希望Anna幫他性服務，但爺爺另一面在體能上實際上非常弱勢，年紀老且生病，需要Anna的協助，Anna在這一層面看來又具有權力。
藍貝芝回憶，她自己的外婆跟外籍看護的關係，有時也會有微妙的轉變，外婆心情不好，責備看護，看護在外婆下次需要服務時，會假裝沒有聽見，這種情況就會出現誰比較有力量的權力關係。
藍貝芝後來決定不賦予爺爺聲音，爺爺在性騷擾上很強勢，但另外一方面又很弱勢，他不能說話，他的發言沒有人想聽，不賦予爺爺真實的聲音，具有這層意義。
藍貝芝認為，戲劇未來還會持續發展；仲介在移工的勞動關係上是很重要的角色，她以後會在劇情上處理這層關係。她也希望戲劇在與台灣移工處境類似的國家，如東亞香港、新加坡、韓國地方巡演，在國際上交流彼此工作、政策上的異同，讓更多人理解移工的身分。
10月15到17日晚上7點半，《無枝》劇在花蓮的乙皮畫廊（原心關係畫廊）演出。
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