Week 11: Dragons

Nov. 7 – Nov. 13

This week we look at dragons! But like so many things in this course: there may be a whole world of difference between what you thought you knew, and what Chinese dragons actually were up to!

Unless otherwise noted, all assignments and tasks are due by 11:59PM. I strongly suggest you keep a healthy life-work balance and make sure to get enough sleep. Check the “best-before dates” policy in the syllabus.

Monday
  • □ Look ahead at the readings and tasks for this week, and plan in when you will do them.
  • – This prevents last minute panic, and means you can make the most of our time together in class.
  •  
  • □ Feedback on your fellow students’ posts
  • – Read through and use Hypothes.is (Group HST107) to comment on your fellow students’ First Post: everybody likes some encouragement! Here is a random selection of three posts. If two or more posts are the same, or one is your own, just refresh the page for a different set. It’s all random, it’s all good!
  • * Post 1:
  • * Post 2:
  • * Post 3:
Tuesday
  • □ Prepare before class: Readings
  • – Textbook: Johnson, Nyjah. “Dragons”. In China’s Magical Creatures (and where to find them). Second edition, Muhlenberg College, 2022. https://open.muhlenberg.pub/chinasmagicalcreatures/chapter/dragons/ 
  • – Nappi, Carla S.The Monkey and the Inkpot: Natural History and Its Transformations In Early Modern China. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2009. (PDF)
        • Annotated translation of the section on dragons from a seventeenth century text on medicinal drugs, with an in-depth commentary from the translator. Beware of the differences between the original text in translation, and the notes from the translator. On p. 6/7 of the PDF (printed page 55-56) of the PDF I provide tips how to tell them apart.
        • Reading questions: What do you find surprising, strange, remarkable or interesting about the use of dragons in medicine? What are some of their properties? Do you see connections with materials we saw earlier?
  • – Melvin Bragg and guests. “Li Shizhen”. In Our Time, BBC. Nov. 28, 2019. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000bp3g  [Duration: 45 mins + bonus material]
                • This podcast introduces you to the man who wrote the original text in the previous bullet point.
                • Question: How do dragons fit into the wider framework of his book?
    • Optional extra:  Dragons in popular literature:
      • Chapter 10 and 11. In Journey to the West, translated Anthony C. Yu, 126-167. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 2006. (PDF)
          • We may or may not read the start of Journey to the West (Xiyouji or Hsi-yu-chi) this semester, with the story of Monkey (I’m still debating a change to the schedule). In any case, in these chapters, a dragon shows his powers- and his limitations!
      • Romance of the Gods “Nezha and His Father”. In Owen, Stephen. An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. 1st ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. (PDF)
          • Similar to the dragon in the previous story, a dragon plays an important element in driving the plot in an early part a novel that brings a highly fictionalized account of the Shang-Zhou transition.
  •  
  • □ Meeting: Ettinger 204, 3.30PM
  • Slides
Wednesday
  • □ Catch up, and/or prepare for Thursday!
Thursday
  • □ Prepare before Thursday: 
  • – Get together with your team (in 3D or virtually/async) to plan for briefly presenting what you’ve done so far. Check the detailed instructions.
  • – To prepare for the in-class activity: read this short article on “specifying the end” (sometimes also named “backward design”: with the remaining time and your task for the textbook this week is: plan out very concretely what your team wants/needs to do with the textbook and how you will get there within the remaining time this semester.
  •  
  • □ Meeting: TREXLER B06 (The Hive) 3.30PM (Can’t guarantee chocolate)
  • – To use during the session: planning instructions (Google doc)
Friday
  • □ Catch up with any missing tasks or help a fellow student! Check in the Discord chat.
Saturday
  • □ Rest day
Sunday

Where to get help:

  • Tea Room on Discord:
    • open anytime for you
    • I will be hosting Tue 2PM-3PM; Wed. 11AM-12PM, or at other times by appointment via Google Calendar. You can also find me in my office during Tea Room times.
    • Private room for confidential chat available on request.
  • Discord Channel #hst107 and the (anonymous) Padlet (both also useful for chatting, sharing fun stuff)
  • DLAs: Digital Learning Assistants: check the schedule!
  • Writing Center: Sunday-Wednesday: 3:30 – 5:30 pm and 7-11 pm; Thursday: 3:30 – 5:30 pm and 7-9 pm; drop in or make an appointment
  • Trexler Library Course Subject Guide: our own dedicated subject guide for the course 
  • Safety on/around campus: report an incident