Lectures: MW 1:25-2:50pm, Houghton House Library
Office Hours: W 3:00-4:00pm, Th 1:30-2:30pm, or by appointment, 106A Houghton House

How are the feminine and masculine represented in art? This seminar will consider the role of gender in Chinese painting, focusing on the Song and Yuan dynasties (spanning the tenth to fourteenth centuries). Topics will include the setting of figure paintings in gendered space, the coding of landscapes and bird-and-flower paintings as masculine or feminine, and ways that images of women (an often marginalized genre of Chinese art) help to construct ideas of both femininity and masculinity. Throughout, we will examine the differing roles of men and women as patrons, collectors, and painters. The course is cross-listed with Asian Studies and Women's Studies.

Textbooks:
* Patricia Buckley Ebrey, The Inner Quarters: Marriage and the Lives of Chinese Women in the Sung Period (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993).
* Burton Watson, ed. and trans., The Columbia Book of Chinese Poetry: From Early Times to the Thirteenth Century (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984).
* Marsha Weidner, ed., Flowering in the Shadows: Women in the History of Chinese and Japanese Painting (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1990).

Coursepack: Available at Blackboard (many books also on reserve at the Library). It includes:
* Patricia Buckley Ebrey, "Shifting South: The Song Dynasty 907-1276," and "Alien Rule: The Liao, Jin and Yuan Dynasties 907-1368," Chapters 6 and 7 of The Cambridge Illustrated History of China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 136-189.
* Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard, "Introduction: The Expanding Discourse," in The Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art History, ed. Norma Broude and Mary D. Garrard (New York: IconEditions, 1992), 1-25.
* Lisa Raphals, "Yin and Yang," in Sharing the Light: Representations of Women and Virtue in Early China (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998), 139-168.
* Lisa Raphals, "Nei-wai: Distinctions between Men and Women," in Sharing the Light: Representations of Women and Virtue in Early China (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998), 195-213.
* M. H. Abrams, "Figurative Language," "Imagery," and "Motif and Theme," in A Glossary of Literary Terms, 6th ed. (Fort Worth: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1993), 66-70, 86-87, 121.
* Martin J. Powers, "Discourses of Representation in Tenth and Eleventh Century China," in The Art of Interpreting, ed. Susan C. Scott (University Park, Pa.: The Department of Art History, The Pennsylvania State University, 1995), 88-127.
* Lara C. W. Blanchard, "Lonely Women and the Absent Man: The Masculine Landscape as Metaphor in the Song Dynasty Painting of Women," in Gendered Landscapes: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Past Place and Space, ed. Bonj Szczygiel, Josephine Carubia and Lorraine Dowler (University Park, Pa.: The Center for Studies in Landscape History, The Pennsylvania State University, 2000), 33-47.
* Richard Barnhart, "Figures in Landscape," Archives of Asian Art 42 (1989): 62-70.
* Susan Bush and Hsio-yen Shih, comp. and ed., "The Significance of Landscape" and "Figures in Landscape," in Early Chinese Texts on Painting (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard University Press, 1985), 150-156.
* Burton Watson, "The Poetry of Reclusion," Chapter 5 of Chinese Lyricism: Shih Poetry from the Second to the Twelfth Century, with Translations (New York: Columbia University Press, 1971), 68-89.
* Hans H. Frankel, "Man in His Relations with Other Men," Chapter 3 of The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 33-40.
* Li Chi, "The Changing Concept of the Recluse in Chinese Literature," Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 24 (1962-1963): 234-247.
* Hui-shu Lee, "Art and Imperial Images at the Late Southern Sung Court," in Arts of the Sung and Yüan, ed. Maxwell K. Hearn and Judith G. Smith (New York: Department of Asian Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1996), 249-69.
* Robert E. Harrist, Jr., "Ch'ien Hsüan's Pear Blossoms: The Tradition of Flower Painting and Poetry from Sung to Yüan," Metropolitan Museum Journal 22 (1987): 53-70.
* Hsio-yen Shih, "Poetry Illustration and the Works of Ku K'ai-chih," in The Translation of Art: Essays on Chinese Painting and Poetry, ed. James C. Y. Watt (Hong Kong: Centre for Translation Projects, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1976), 6-29.
* Susan E. Nelson, "Tao Yuanming's Sashes: Or, The Gendering of Immortality," Ars Orientalis 29 (1999): 1-27.
* Julia Ching, "Sung Philosophers on Women," Monumenta Serica: Journal of Oriental Studies 42 (1994): 259-74.
* Martin J. Powers, "Love and Marriage in Song China: Tao Yuanming Comes Home," Ars Orientalis 28 (1998): 51-62.
* Marsha L. Wagner, "Popular Tz'u Poetry in the Entertainment Quarters after 755," Chapter 4 of The Lotus Boat: The Origins of Chinese "Tz'u" Poetry in T'ang Popular Culture (New York: Columbia University Press, 1984), 79-103.
* Ellen Johnston Laing, "Chinese Palace-Style Poetry and the Depiction of A Palace Beauty," Art Bulletin 72, no. 1 (March 1990): 284-95.
* Anne M. Birrell, "The Dusty Mirror: Courtly Portraits of Woman in Southern Dynasties Love Poetry," in Expressions of Self in Chinese Literature, ed. Robert E. Hegel and Richard C. Hessney (New York: Columbia University Press, 1985), 33-69.
* Hans H. Frankel, "Lonely Women," Chapter 6 of The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976), 56-61.
* Stephen Owen, "The Snares of Memory," Chapter 5 of Remembrances: The Experience of the Past in Classical Chinese Literature, (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1986), 80-98.
* Marsha Weidner, "Women in the History of Chinese Painting," in Views from Jade Terrace: Chinese Women Artists 1300-1912 (Indianapolis: Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1988), 12-29.

Week 1. Sept. 2-4. Introduction.
Text: Patricia Ebrey 1996a, 1996b.
Sept. 2. Overview of the course.
Sept. 4. An outline of Song and Yuan history.

Week 2. Sept. 9-11. Setting the terms.
Text: Norma Broude and Mary Garrard 1992; Lisa Raphals 1998a, 1998b; M. H. Abrams 1993; Martin Powers 1995.
Sept. 9. Western and Chinese theories of gender.
Sept. 11. Western and Chinese theories of representation.

Week 3. Sept. 16-18. Gendered space.
Text: Inner Quarters, 21-44; Lara Blanchard 2000.

Week 4. Sept. 23-25. Men on the road: court and literati paintings of landscapes and river scenes.
Text: Richard Barnhart 1989; Susan Bush and Hsio-yen Shih 1985.

Week 5. Sept. 30-Oct. 2. Reclusion and homosociality: landscapes of scholars in the wilderness.
Text: Burton Watson 1971; Hans Frankel 1976a; Li Chi 1962-63; Columbia Book 129-131, 134-136, 142-143.

Week 6. Oct. 7-9. Bird-and-flower paintings as feminine or masculine.
Text: Hui-shu Lee 1996; Robert Harrist 1987; Columbia Book 54-66.

[Oct. 14, FALL RECESS]

Week 7. Oct. 16/21. The immortal figure.
Text: Hsio-yen Shih 1976; Susan Nelson 1999; Columbia Book 54-66, 116-121.

Weeks 8-9. Oct. 23/28-30. Marriage, motherhood and women's work: representations of female virtue.
Text: Inner Quarters 114-187; Flowering in the Shadows, 27-53; Julia Ching 1994; Martin Powers 1998; Columbia Book 82-92, 176, 320, 365.

Week 10. Nov. 4-6. Transgression and femininity: courtesans, concubines and female musicians.
Text: Marsha Wagner 1984; Inner Quarters, 217-254; Columbia Book 249-252.

Week 11. Nov. 11-13. Loneliness and femininity: abandoned women.
Text: Ellen Johnston Laing 1990; Anne Birrell 1985; Hans Frankel 1976b; Columbia Book 176.

Week 12. Nov. 18-20. Female patrons and collectors.
Text: Stephen Owen 1986; Flowering in the Shadows, 55-80.

Week 13. Nov. 25. Female painters in Song and Yuan texts.
Text: Marsha Weidner 1988.

[Nov. 27, THANKSGIVING RECESS]

Weeks 14-15. Dec. 2-11. Presentations.

Exam Week. Dec. 19. Research papers due.

Course Requirements

1. Class Participation (20%). This includes regular and punctual attendance (see attendance policy) and participating in class discussions, especially important in a seminar! I grade participation on a daily basis, as follows: A for speaking up in class (even to ask a question or to answer one of my questions incorrectly), B for showing up to class but not speaking, C for not paying attention or coming in late, 0 for not coming to class at all.

2. Discussion (10%). Once in the term you will lead a discussion of one of the readings.

3. Response papers (20%). Throughout the semester you will write several one-page papers responding to some of the readings. More details to follow.

4. Research paper (30%), due Thursday, Dec. 19, 11:30am. This is to be a long research paper. More details to follow.

5. Presentation (20%), Dec. 2-11, TBA. This is to be a slide presentation based on your research paper. More details to follow.

Office Hours
I am happy to meet with you outside of class during my office hours, Wednesdays from 3:00 to 4:00pm and Thursdays from 1:30 to 2:30pm, or at another time that is convenient for you, in 106A Houghton House. The best way to reach me to set up an appointment is by calling my office, x3893.

Attendance Policy

I consider attendance in a seminar to be mandatory. That said, if you have a reasonable excuse for missing a class, I expect you to notify me as soon as possible--preferably in advance--and to turn in an essay on the topics covered on the day of your absence, within a week. Not doing so will directly impact your participation grade. If you are absent three times or more, you should be prepared for me to notify the Deans about your performance. I will be taking attendance daily.

Format for Written Work
One of the things you will learn in an art history class is the importance of presentation. This applies to your written work as well:

1. Type all work in a 12-point font.
2. Double-space.
3. Leave one-inch margins on all sides.
4. Number your pages.
5. Staple your work.
6. Put your name on every page and the date on the first page.
7. Check that your spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct-these are crucial to effective communication of your ideas. Your grade will drop if you have excessive errors.
8. If you cite another source, you may use either parenthetical references or footnotes. (See A Note about Cheating and Plagiarism below.)
9. Include a picture with a caption if appropriate (and please attach it to a clean sheet of paper--do not give me a loose postcard, an illustration torn from a magazine, or a copy of the book you found the picture in. Black-and-white photocopies are okay).

A Note about Cheating and Plagiarism
I will not tolerate any form of academic dishonesty. Not only does it destroy the trust that I have in you to do your best, it is unfair to the other students, and obviously you will not learn anything if you resort to cheating. If I find that you have cheated on any coursework, you will receive a zero for the assignment and I will contact the Deans and/or the Committee on Standards about your case.

Now, just in case you are not clear about what plagiarism is: plagiarism is the use of someone else's words or ideas without giving that person credit. In application, this means that in your writing assignments, you need to cite your sources. When quoting directly from a text--say, five words or more in succession--you need to put those words in quotation marks and include a parenthetical reference or footnote citing the source. When rewriting a passage from a text in your own words, you don't need the quotation marks but you do still need the parenthetical reference or footnote. If you don't understand exactly what constitutes plagiarism, or how to use parenthetical references or footnotes, please ask me. I would prefer to explain what it is and how to avoid it before it happens rather than after.

Grading
The research paper and presentation will receive a letter grade. Response papers and discussions will not receive a letter grade, but a check, check-plus or check-minus. Make-up written assignments, which count as part of your participation grade, will receive a check or a check-minus. If you are unsatisfied with a grade, please prepare a written statement explaining what grade you think you should have received and why, and submit it to me along with the assignment for review.

Assignments are due during the class period on the due date. You may bring your assignments to class or send them to me via e-mail before class (not during, and not after!). I mark down for lateness. If you think you will need an extension, you should talk to me as early as possible. If you have trouble printing out your paper, you should use the e-mail option instead.

Websites
There are two websites for this course: one at my homepage, http://people.hws.edu/blanchard/Art403/; and one at Blackboard, http://courses.hws.edu. This syllabus, the paper assignments and links to online resources for Chinese art can be found at both. The Blackboard site also has a course calendar, selections from the coursepack, an online gradebook and an image library.