Chinese 213 Chinese cinemas: not only martial arts

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CHINESE 213    Chinese cinemas: not only martial arts  studies Chinese cinema (including: Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other areas of the Chinese Diaspora) as a complex cultural product (e.g., artistic expression, political statement, revolutionary message, avant-garde experiment, popular culture medium, commodity).The course is organized thematically and will focus on four main units: Popular Cinema, Cinema and the Nation, Art Cinema, and “Other” Chinese Cinema. Each of thesetopical divisions will critically examine gender issues (male and female sexuality in Chinese cinema), film genre (e.g., martial arts, drama, melodrama, comedies, ghost stories), and politics of filmmaking (i.e., the making of national and transnational Chinese identity).
 
All film showings will be with English subtitles and the paper will be taught in English.

This course is taught by Dr Paola Voci in the University of Otago and will be delivered as a distance learning course to students of Chinese and Asian Studies in the University of Auckland.

Lectures will be videoed and made available as podcasts; tutorials will be in real time using an AV classroom. The special topic number CHINESE 213 has been allocated for this course so that students can enrol in the normal way.

The lectures will be recorded in Dunedin, and available as a podcast for students in both Dunedin and Auckland. Details of where the podcasts will be available will be made nearer the commencement of the first semester. For students in Auckland, the lectures will also be available as a live streaming feed. Details of the URL for this feed will also be made available nearer the commencement of the first semester. Remote students will not be able to ask questions during the lecture. A standard broadband connection should suffice with a 384 Kb/sec stream being standard, but students should be aware that if they are viewing from home, they will need to ensure that they donot have a data cap. It is better to view from the University of Auckland.

Tutorials will take place in a videoconferencing setting which will allow a two-way interaction; remote students will also be able to ask questions during tutorial. Auckland students will receive more information on how participate in tutorials nearer the commencement of the first semester.

Further questions about this course should be addressed to the Head of the School of Asian Studies, DrHilary Chung (h.chung@auckland.ac.nz)
This course can be counted in Asian Studies and Chinese majors and minors.
This arrangement has been put in place for 2011as part of a pilot project run by the New Zealand National Network for Languages, funded by the Tertiary Education Commission.
 

Instructor:Dr Paola Voci
E-mail: paola.voci@otago.ac.nz
Phone: 03 479-5994

Lecture :by podcast  and lecture notes on Blackboard (university of Otago) 
Tutorial:Tue 11am - 12pm (from week 2)

Course Blog: http://chinaonvideo.org/wordpress/

Grades and Assignments:
This course is 100% internally assessed.
1. Response paper: one short paper (700-800 words on an assigned topic) in which students will review and rethink the material discussed in class. It is graded on a 100-point scale and it is worth a total of 20% of the final grade
2. Test: one review test (multiple choices and short answers). It will graded on a 100 point scale and will be worth 25% of the final grade. The test will be based on (1) films viewed in class (available at the library), (2) the assigned reading material, and (3) film analysis.
3. Oral/visual Presentation: students (individually or in group [2-3 students])  will research one assigned or self-selected topic and present to the class. Creative and/or visual presentations are encouraged. The presentation will be worth 15% of the final grade.
4. Annotated Bibliography Assignment: students will compile an annotated bibliography (justifying each entry with a short statement on its relevance) on the topic chosen for the essay. The assignment is worth 10% of the final grade.
5. Essay: one essay which will include both review of literature on the chosen topic and the students' critical perspective. Students can choose to write a traditional essay of 3500 words or to present their work as a blog, a website, or other media formats to be agreed with the course coordinator. The essay is worth 30% of the final grade.

Grading Summary    
20% Response Paper
25% Test
15% Oral/visual Presentation
10% Annotated Bibliography Assignment  
30% Final Essay
 
Course Organization and Requirements for Auckland Students
Supporting materials for the course including podcasts, PowerPoint presentations, course blog and so on will be accessible on Blackboard (BB), the Otago equivalent of Cecil.  You will given clear guidance as to how to access Blackboard at the beginning of the course.  Clear arrangements will also be made for the submission of assignments and the taking of tests.

All lecture and tutorials will be supported by Power Point Presentations.  You are strongly encouraged to read the assigned material before viewing the lecture. Every week, on Blackboard and on the class blog, I will post questions about the reading assigned for the following week. These questions should guide you in your film viewing and with the assigned reading while also enabling you to contribute your views and/or raise questions of your own in class. You are required to watch the weekly movie in your own time at the Auckland AVLibrary) before the tutorial when we will discuss the film and clarify any questions you might have about the reading material.

There will be no make-up test; no late assignments will be accepted without a valid excuse.

Texts and Films
All required readings will be available for you to read and/or download on Blackboard.

The main reference books for this course are (both books are on short loan at the Auckland University Library):
- Lu, S. & Yeh, E. (Editors), Chinese-Language Film: Historiography, Poetics, Politics, University of Hawaii Press, 2004
- Bordwell, D., Planet Hong Kong: Popular Cinema and the Art of Entertainment,Harvard University Press, 2000

We will also read a selection of articles from a Course Reader, as well as from the Internet
Films shown in clips during lecture time might not all be available at the library; if the film you need to re-watch or wish to see in its entirety is not available at the library, please let Paola Voci know.