Response Essay:
Response Essay (type-written): Students are expected to write a response essay (1500 words, typed) that reflects upon and/or critique some aspects of the course materials (lectures, readings, student presentations, etc.) and/or draw connections between some aspects of the course materials and real life experiences. For the response essay, you will be given several topics from which you choose ONE to respond to. Your score on the essay will be determined by (a) the extent to which you process, digest and synthesize course materials (readings and lectures), and (b) the extent of thoughtfulness, criticality and originality of your remarks.
There is not a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ response; but there is a big difference between an educated, thoughtful response and an uninformed, careless response. Please see Schedule of Classes for due date of submission. The essay is to be submitted via ‘SafeAssignment’ on Blackboard to prevent plagiarism. It should be submitted no later than 9:5oam (end of regular class meetings) on the due date.
Essays will be graded as follows:
5=excellent; 4=good; 3=fair; 2=poor; 1=unacceptable.
Suggested Topics for the Response Essay:
The New York Times correspondent Emily Eakin writes, “Western theories about Chinese writing have often been
tainted by ignorance and prejudice, oscillating between wide-eyed veneration and smug disdain. Though he could not read Chinese, Leibniz, for example, held it in high repute, dreaming of a universal script – intelligible to speakers of all languages modeled on Chinese characters. By contrast, Hegel dismissed Chinese ‘hieroglyphics ’as primitive. More recently, Ezra Pound, afamous admirer and translator of Chinese poetry, helped spread the still-popular misconception that Chinese characters are simnlv ‘ideoarams visual svmlmls of Suggested Topics for the Response Essay:
The New York Times correspondent Emily Eakin writes, “Western theories about Chinese writing have often been tainted by ignorance and prejudice, oscillating between wide-eyed veneration and smug disdain. Though he could not read Chinese, Leibniz, for example, held it in high repute, dreaming of a universal script – intelligible to speakers of all languages modeled on Chinese characters. By contrast, Hegel dismissed Chinese ‘hieroglytphics ’as primitive. More recently, Ezra Pound, afamous admirer and translator of Chinese poetry, helped spread the still-popular misconception that Chinese characters are simply ‘ideograms visual symbols of things and ideas. ” (May ()3, 2003, New York Times). What do you think is the role that the Chinese writing system has played in Chinese history? Has it promoted advancement and growth?
Or has it curbed creativity? With contemporary advancement in digital technology, what do you think is the future of the Chinese writing system?
2′ Read Ebrey, 82: “My children” (by Zhu Ziqing). What cultural values can you delineate from the writing? What strikes you as remarkable? What is your assessment of the author as a father? How does this ‘father’ compare with themain caregiver in your life when you were young?
3′ What is the relevance and usefulness of Confucianism in today’s world, if any? How? Why?
4′ The Chinese language is full of expressions ofhumility, modesty and politeness. Some people think that such language practices effectively embody and encode the long and rich Chinese civilization and should be promoted and properly
4′ The Chinese language is full of expressions ofhumility, modesty and politeness. Some people think that such language practices effectively embody and encode the long and rich Chinese civilization and should be promoted and properly maintained. Others feel that such expressions are formulaic, ritualistic, cumbersome, and even lacking in sincerity; they advocate for a more direct, transparent, and simple style of language use for contemporary purposes. Which side are you on? Why?
5′ Ready Ebrey 73 “Liang Qichao on his trip to America“. Focus on the section “Chinese flaws“. Do you find Liang Qichao’s characterizations of the weaknesses of the Chinese people honest? Accurate? Fair? Do you have any corroborative evidence/arguments? Do you have any counter-examples and counter-arguments?
6′ Language plays an irreplaceable role in international communication. In the past, people have tried to learn English. Nowadays, learning Chinese has become an option in many countries. Parents with resources are making their babies learn Chinese so that they will become competitive in the global economy when they grow up (see, for example, this piece:
https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer 11629/). According to a survey conducted by the Asia Society (https://asiasociety.org/), students in US kindergartens, high schools and universities are showing a “rapidly growing” interest in learning Chinese. According to the Chinese Ministry of Education, there are more than 30 million people learning Chinese overseas and over 2500 universities in 100 countries offering Chinese courses. Will the Chinese language fever last long and continue to spread around the world?
What makes you think so?