University of St Andrews

Key information

SCOTCAT credits : 15

ECTS credits : 7

Level : SCQF level 9

Semester: 1

Availability restrictions: This module is restricted to 35 students.

Planned timetable: To be arranged

This module explores the emergent field of ‘Sinophone’ studies through the lens of art and cinema. We will critically examine the definition of the Sinophone as the study of Sinitic-language cultures outside and on the ‘margins’ of China, including communities in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and other overseas diasporic sites, as well as non-Han groups within the borders of mainland China. Although visual art and cinema provide the primary focus and unifying thread of the module, indigenous performing arts genres, commercial blockbusters, avant-garde theatre, and intermedial experiments involving performance, music, and video will also be explored in order to gain a more comprehensive picture of the multiple aesthetic discourses at play in the ‘Sinophone’.

Relationship to other modules

Pre-requisite(s): Entry to Honours in Chinese Studies, or equivalent level of Chinese language competence

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact: 1.5 hours

Scheduled learning hours: 15

Guided independent study hours: 135

Assessment pattern

As used by St Andrews: Exam = 50%, Coursework = 50%

As defined by QAA
Coursework: 100%

Re-assessment: 50% Coursework, 50% Written Examination

Personnel

Module coordinator: Dr C Weber
Module teaching staff: Dr Yvonne Chi, Dr Caterina Weber
Module coordinator email cw277@st-andrews.ac.uk

Intended learning outcomes

• The student will gain a comprehensive knowledge of the critical debates, key trends, and genres in Chinese-language cinema, visual art and performance culture
• The student will be able to read screenplays, artists’ statements, reviews, critical essays and other relevant texts in simplified and traditional Chinese and translate them into English
• The student will understand different theoretical approaches and critical methods in visual culture and film studies
• The student will be able to use the acquired theoretical approaches to analyse and interpret a range of artworks and cinematic texts