Outcomes and Aims For The 17/18 School Year

To appreciate the career trajectories and outcomes associated with competencies and capacities associted with narrative writing.   

To appreciate the linguistic, stylistic and formative differences between fictional narrative and nonfictional journalistic narratives.

To read and appreciate narrative accounts of major historical events.

To become more fully aware of the qualities of contemporary writers in journalism of narrative accounts of current events.

To be able to conduct independent research of a major historical milestone in China (or a country of your choosing), reference source material in APA format and compose an embellished docu-drama style narrative piece that outlines the manner in which chosen event unfolded as well as dialogic interactions between major players.

To appreciate segments of longer memoirs and relate elements of the lives of memoir writers to oneself in personally reflective compositions.

To master phases of the writing process as they relate to both fictional and nonfictional narrative writing forms.

To be able to use rich detail in narrative form to describe a major event of time period in Chinese history including the rein / death / conquest activities of major emperors, periods of historical transition such as the Mao years, reformations of Ding Xiao Ping, etc.

To be able to compose pieces of fictional narratives in order to improve skills in creating characters that are dynamic, sympathetic and exemplify the flawed nature of the human animal ; To furthermore be able to paint a detailed portrait of a fictional setting including  

Nonfictional narrative writing draws its influences from fiction, magazine journalism, memoir, and personal essays. Writers use many of the same tools as fiction writers, including scene shifts, dialogue, vivid description, character development, nonlinear structure, and shifts in tense, time and points of view

To explore and study the multicultural tradition of oral narratives which predate the written word exemplified in the Vedic stories of India and traditions of many cultures globally. 

To compose a written analysis of an oral narrative presented in class focusing on the more theatrical elements of narrative

To use ‘story elements from a hat’ activity to utilize teacher-prepared handouts to produce well-prepared oral narratives / storytelling on various themes and fictional events such as:

·       The landing of a mission / colonization of Mars and establishment of Martian human colony, government, culture and religion. This scenario shall be told from the omniscient perspective of a future leader of the Martian colony in the year 2100 reflecting on the first establishment of a colony and will require loads of creativity.

·       An elderly couple telling the story of their lives, major life events and birth of their first child.   


(2018) This intensive course is open to members and auditors. It offers a comprehensive introduction to major directions in cultural and literary theory, as they have developed in recent decades. In many cases, these two dimensions of theory cover similar ground and have some impact on each other. At least some of the theories will be illustrated with a variety of literary texts from various genres (poetry, short story and novel, drama). Students will be asked to do preparatory reading before the course begins, and wherever possible to collect their own questions on the materials. They should circulate these questions to members by making use of the SISU e-learning online platform. The actual course sessions will then include an important focus on students’ own questions. A part of the course sessions will be devoted to examining theoretical approaches for their potential application regarding literary works, and possible modifications of approaches.

This course aims at equipping students intellectually to approach the Chinese culture in comparison with its Western counterparts. To better understand the Chinese culture requires an inter-cultural perspective. What is China like? What are the Chinese people like? What are they thinking about? Why do they do what they do? What are the primary assumptions for understanding this country and its people? This course will tell you, with interesting examples, things you need to know about China and the Chinese people which you would not easily find in textbooks. Different topics in this course illuminate the differences and similarities between Chinese culture and Western culture in terms of values, customs, traditions, mindsets, cultural and artistic representations, interpersonal relationships, communication styles, etc. In the form of seminar, this course provides students with not only information but also fresh insights and perspectives.