KSCA605 Anthropology of China

Filozofická fakulta
podzim 2025
Rozsah
1/1/0. 5 kr. (plus 1 za zk). Ukončení: zk.
Vyučováno kontaktně
Vyučující
doc. Wei-lun Lu, Ph.D. (přednášející)
Garance
doc. Wei-lun Lu, Ph.D.
Seminář čínských studií – Centrum asijských studií – Filozofická fakulta
Kontaktní osoba: doc. Wei-lun Lu, Ph.D.
Dodavatelské pracoviště: Seminář čínských studií – Centrum asijských studií – Filozofická fakulta
Rozvrh
Út 10:00–11:40 B1.206, kromě Po 17. 11. až Ne 23. 11.
Předpoklady
The student needs a proficiency level of CEFR B2 for English and B1 for Chinese to take the course.
Omezení zápisu do předmětu
Předmět je určen pouze studentům mateřských oborů.

Jiné omezení: Zápis mimo Čínská studia je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujících.
Mateřské obory/plány
Cíle předmětu
This course introduces main approaches to the linguistic anthropology of Chinese-speaking societies, along with key notions in linguistic anthropology.
Výstupy z učení
At the end of the course, the student should be able to understand the complexities of Chinese-speaking societies from the perspective of linguistic anthropology. S/he will be able to recognize and describe various phenomena where language shapes or reflects elements in social life and will be able to analyze how cultural forms, social relations and societal activities are maintained, constantly negotiated and reproduced through language.
Osnova
  • 1. Course overview
  • 2. Language as culture (Duranti 2003, teacher as discussant)
  • 3. Language and thought (Lucy 1997, student as discussant (sd, teacher actively helps)
  • 4. Linguistic anthropology of Chinese (E 2019; sd)
  • 5. Language and politics (Lu & Ahrens 2008; Lams and Lu 2018; sd uses either one)
  • 6. Politics, linguistic commodification and Chinese scripts (Su and Chun, 2021; sd)
  • 7. Language in rituals (I): weddings, funerals and other religious practices (Lu 2017a, 2017b; sd)
  • 8. Language in rituals (II): language use in funerals (Lu, 2020a, 2020b; sd)
  • 9. The language of food: The language of Chinese menus and foods (Depner 2019; Yao & Su 2019; sd)
  • 10. Variation in world Chineses and Chinese diaspora (Lin et al. ed., 2019; sd)
  • 11. Linguistic creativity in Chinese semiotics: puns and visual arts (Huang et al., 2019; sd)
  • 12. Rhythm in Chinese (Link, 2013, Ch. 1; sd)
  • 13. Officialese in Chinese (Link, 2013, Ch. 3; sd)
Výukové metody
For each week, there are assigned readings. The student is expected to finish the reading PRIOR TO class. For each assigned reading, the student needs to write a critique (0.5-1 page A4) and upload it to the Homework Vault of the course by noon 13:00 two calendar days before the class.
The critique should contain the following points:
1. What are the author’s main ideas? Give one short sentence for each thesis.
2. Are there any fallacies in reasoning?
3. What evidence is given in support of each thesis? How adequate is the evidence?
4. What additional linguistic or non-linguistic evidence can you bring to bear on this issue?
5. Can the main idea be extended to other linguistic or non-linguistic phenomena of Chinese? If so, are there limitations? If not, why not?
6. What questions remain?
The in-class discussion of each assigned reading is chaired by two student discussants (one primary and the other secondary), who went through the critiques PRIOR TO the class meeting, ready for managing the discussion. In addition, there will be two student recorders, who take notes of the discussion. The primary recorder organizes the notes after the class meeting and sends the recording to the seminar tutor by the end of the next day.
Metody hodnocení
Active discussion and punctual attendance is expected. Each student will act as the discussant two times (1 x primary, 1 x secondary) and the recorder two times (1 x primary, 1 x secondary). One unexcused absence is tolerated; unpreparedness for the in-class discussion is judged as absence.
Grading of the course is based on the following components:
- Requirement 1: submission of ALL critiques to the Homework Vault in time. The critiques will be marked.
- Requirement 2: when acting as the primary recorder, the student submits the recording of the in-class discussion to the seminar tutor by the end of the next day. The recording and the performance of the discussant will be marked.
- Requirement 3: In the exam period, the student submits an extended critique. The extended critique will be marked.
When uploading the critique, use a doc. or rtf. format. Name the file as “SURNAME_ASSN_No.” so it may look like “Lu_ASSN_1”, for instance. Be noted that all assignments in the Homework Vault will be visible to all the students of the course to facilitate in-class discussion.
Grading scale: 100-91% = A; 90-81% = B; 71-80 % = C; 61-70 % = D; 51-60 % = E; 0-50% = F.
Vyučovací jazyk
Angličtina
Informace učitele
https://is.muni.cz/auth/predmety/sylaby
Další komentáře
Studijní materiály
Předmět je vyučován každoročně.
Posluchači Kulturních studií Číny povinně zapisují v 1. semestru studia.
Předmět je zařazen také v obdobích podzim 2015, podzim 2016, jaro 2018, jaro 2019, jaro 2020, jaro 2021, podzim 2021, podzim 2022, podzim 2023, jaro 2025.
  • Statistika zápisu (nejnovější)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/predmet/phil/podzim2025/KSCA605