CHI 4335 Course SyllabusCHI 4335 課程大綱

The famous historian Eric Hobsbawm called the twentieth century the “Age of Extremes.” This course, offered in Putonghua, adopts a comparative lens to explore how extreme experiences have been represented in world literature, with special attention to modern China. Through a selection of key texts, the course examines how different literary traditions and genres respond to natural and man-made catastrophes, extreme political ideologies, the darker aspects of human emotions, but also extreme happiness. Students will engage with different critical perspectives, including ecocriticism, trauma theory, cognitive literary studies, and gender studies, to analyze how literature not only reflects but also challenges the human condition in the face of extremity. Particular emphasis is placed on close reading: students will train the ability to describe literary phenomena with precision, not only to interpret them.

This course aims to train students to describe literary phenomena with precision through close reading and to engage in cross-cultural analysis of how literature represents and responds to the extreme. By analyzing and comparing key texts from various literary, philosophical, and cultural traditions, the course enhances students’ understanding of how literature documents, critiques, and shapes human responses to catastrophe and extremity. The course also encourages students to view literary texts as both artistic expressions and cultural documents that reflect and challenge societal values in times of crisis.

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

• Identify and critically engage with the main philosophical and social issues related to extreme experiences as portrayed in literature
• Recognize and articulate the defining features of literary responses to extremity across different cultures and genres
• Compare and contrast cross-cultural perspectives on catastrophe, trauma, and human resilience as expressed in literary and cultural texts
• Analyze literary and cultural texts with both precision and creativity, considering their broader historical, cultural, and philosophical contexts

The course is conducted fully in Putonghua. All primary sources (novels, stories, diaries, etc.) are in Chinese. However, some theoretical texts are in English, and you are expected to read them in English, unless a Chinese translation is available. The instructor might provide translated versions if needed. There are many AI tools that can help you translate theoretical texts free of charge (e.g., Perplexity, DeepSeek, Poe, Gemini). In-class discussions will be held in Putonghua, and students should complete and submit all assessed work in Chinese.

Students’ progress towards the learning outcomes will be measured by means of:

Component	Weight
In-class discussion and participation	20%
Comparative essays (2)	20%
Oral presentation (1)	20%
Final project	40%

Grading scale: A 85%–100%; A− 80%–84%; B+ 75%–79%; B 70%–74%; B− 65%–69%; C+ 60%–64%; C 55%–59%; C− 50%–54%; D+ 45%–49%; D 40%–44%; F 0%–39%

Students are expected to attend all classes. One unexplained absence (either lecture or tutorial) is permitted, no questions asked. Unexplained absences will not impact the final grade by more than 20% (the maximum you can get for in-class discussion and participation), unless a student misses more than eight (8) meetings, in which case there will be insufficient evidence of participation to award a passing grade. Lectures and tutorials are counted as separate meetings. Every unexplained absence (beyond the one everyone gets for free) will remove 10% from the participation component (which equals 2% of the final grade). For example, if you are absent two times without explanation (in addition to the one no-questions-asked absence granted to everyone), you will receive 100% − 20% = 80% of the total possible contribution from participation, which amounts to 80% × 20% = 16% of the final grade. Remember to come to class on time and prepared.

Students may use artificial intelligence (AI) when completing assignments for this course. However, every such use must be explicitly documented. Any assignment completed with the assistance of an AI tool must include a statement identifying the tool and explaining how it was employed. AI-generated output may not be reproduced in submitted work, whether verbatim or with only superficial modifications. Doing so constitutes academic misconduct and will affect the assessment of the work.

1. Lectures. Each week, the lecture will focus on the broader historical contexts and theoretical issues surrounding the selected texts.

2. Presentation. During the tutorial sessions, students will work individually or collaborate in small teams (comprising 2 members) to deliver one oral presentation (20–30 mins) on a selected primary text (novel or short story). The students presenting each week are topic experts who are expected to lead the discussion in tutorials and be active during lectures. The presentation should incorporate carefully chosen quotations and paraphrased content from the story, addressing one or more of the following questions:

• How does the text portray the impact of extreme experiences on individuals and society?
• How is the body represented?
• How does the author mix fictional and non-fictional discourse?
• How are women portrayed, and what roles are they assigned in the context of crisis?

The presentation should be comparative. You are expected to analyze the assigned text in relation to other primary works from the course, highlighting both significant continuities (shared themes, styles, or arguments) and departures (unique elements or innovations, cultural influences, etc.).

3. Comparative essays. Choose two of five topics and write comparative essays in Chinese (1,500–2,000 characters each) on the course’s primary texts. Focus on one or more key themes—the individual and society, the body, fictionality, womanhood—through close analysis, precise description, and quotations. Explain how features such as metaphor, dialogue, narrative perspective, imagery, and style shape meaning. Each essay must include at least one primary text from that block; you may also draw on texts from other weeks. Submit via Moodle. If you submit more than two essays, only the two highest scores will count.

4. Final project (not less than 3,000 characters). Choose one option and submit a PDF via Moodle.

• Option 1. A comparative analytical paper on at least two primary texts from the course. Give it a title, quote the texts, and cite sources properly. Secondary reading is welcome but not required. You may develop the paper from your essays, but do not copy them verbatim.
• Option 2. An interview with a protagonist from one of the texts, answered as they might have spoken in their own time. Questions should address topics covered in class.
• Option 3. A narrative continuation of one of the stories. Imagine what happened next, keeping to the course’s central questions (see above).

This course will engage with content that may be emotionally difficult for some students, including discussions of violence and trauma. If you find certain materials challenging, please do not hesitate to consult the instructor. We can explore alternative approaches, such as focusing on theoretical texts or supplementary readings. Your well-being is very important, and accommodations can be made to ensure a productive and supportive learning environment.

1. Students are expected to spend a total of 9 hours (i.e. 3 hours of class contact and 6 hours of personal study) per week to achieve the course learning outcomes.
2. Students shall be aware of the University regulations about dishonest practice in course work, tests and examinations, and the possible consequences as stipulated in the Regulations Governing University Examinations. In particular, plagiarism, being a kind of dishonest practice, is “the presentation of another person’s work without proper acknowledgement of the source, including exact phrases, or summarised ideas, or even footnotes/citations, whether protected by copyright or not, as the student’s own work.” Students are required to strictly follow university regulations governing academic integrity and honesty.
3. To enhance students’ understanding of plagiarism, a mini-course “Online Tutorial on Plagiarism Awareness” is available on https://pla.ln.edu.hk/.