Courses

The landscape of China is marked by sites that have acquired lasting cultural significance the interactions of the visual arts and myth, ritual, and literature.
Representations of these sites, which include sacred mountains, scenic areas, and tourist destinations, promoted habits of viewing that directed visitors to seek out unusual vistas, strange rock formations, or ancient monuments.  Memories of historical events or famous people associated with the sites added to their mystique.  Among the most notable sites that will be covered in the seminar are Mt. Tai, a mountain sacred in both Confucian and Daoist thought; Mt. Huang, an area of spectacular, rugged peaks that became a popular tourist site in the seventeenth century; Tiger Hill, a frequent destination of literati visitors from the Suzhou area; and the Orchid Pavilion, a site in Zhejiang Province that gained fame through its association with a famous calligrapher.

            The seminar will introduce students to a broadly interdisciplinary approach to the visual arts drawing on methodologies from art history, anthropology, the history of religion, and other fields.  No knowledge of Chinese is expected, but students who do know the language will be guided to appropriate sources.  Readings in the history and theory of landscape in the West also will be included in the seminar in order to broaden the range of questions that can be asked about the experience of landscape in China.