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CCHU9033 – Countries of the Mind: Texts that Shape the World

This course explores how literature and film inform the ways we understand, communicate, and reimagine our experiences in art and life. How might something become real, from patterns and variations in sound, image and text? We will travel together through universes that range from microcosmic and parallel to the invented and surreal, to discover how we not only consume stories when we encounter them; we participate at the same time in producing these worlds, via pathways such as expectation, translation and memory.

Topics
  1. Sight and sound
  2. The shapes of stories 
  3. Point of view
  4. Worldbuilding
  5. Myths and retellings
  6. Public and private worlds 
Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes – On completing the course, students will be able to:

Alignment with Common Core Programme Learning Outcome(s)

1.

Demonstrate an awareness of different narrative forms in literature, as both shaped by concrete situations and shaping responses to such situations.

CC PLO(s): 1, 2, 4

2.

Engage in critical analysis of different modes of worldbuilding, in relation to the dynamics between storyteller and audience. 

CC PLO(s): 1, 2, 4

3.

Identify key conventions in storytelling and trace their histories across different cultural traditions. 

CC PLO(s): 1, 2, 3, 4

4.

Recognize distinct patterns and representations of reality in literature and engage in arguments about their relevance across a multiplicity of time and space.

CC PLO(s): 1, 2, 3, 4
Study

Activities

Number of hours

Lectures

24

Tutorials

10

Reading / Self-study

50

Film viewing

4

Assessment: Written assignments

40

Total:

128
assessment

Assessment Method

Details of Assignment

Weighting

Alignment with Course Learning Outcome(s)

Journal writing 

Reflective response to weekly reading; 200 words each; for 10 weeks (total 2,000 words) 

30%

CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4

Oral participation

Tutorial and class participation; online and offline 

20%

CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4

Critical writing 

2-part assignment: critical essay of ~1,500 words, to which is added a reflective response (~1,000 words) prompted by i) a storytelling tradition; or ii) a narrative element or iii) a retelling of a work that was discussed in the course. 

50%

CLOs: 2, 4
Required

A Course Reader will be provided, which will include excerpts such as:

  • Borges, J.L. (1998). Collected Fictions. 
  • Calvino, I. (1979). Invisible Cities. 
  • Chiang, T. (2002). Stories of Your Life and Others. 
  • Ginzburg, N. (2017). Family Lexicon. Translated by McPhee, J. 
  • Homer. (1996). The Odyssey. Translated by Fagles, R. 
  • Kaminsky, I. (2019). Deaf Republic: Poems 
  • Kincaid, J. (1988). A Small Place. 
  • Lorde, A. (1997). The Cancer Journals. 
  • Ng, C. (2017). Little Fires Everywhere. 
  • Ogawa, Y. (2013). Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales. Translated by Snyder, S. 
  • Pasaribu, N. E. (2021). Happy Stories, Mostly. 
  • Silko, L.M. (1989). Storyteller. 
  • Tse, D. (2017). The Door. Translated by Bruce, N. 
  • Xi Xi. (2021). The Teddy Bear Chronicles. Translated by Sanderson, C. 

Various film clips will accompany lectures. Two film viewings will be organised:

  • Shindō, K. (1960). Naked Island. [96 mins] 
  • Villeneuve, D. (2016). Arrival [116 mins] 
Instructor(s)

Ms. Yvonne Yu

Semester

2026-2027 First Semester

Credits

6

Contact Hours per week

3

Form of Assessment

100% Coursework

Time

Wednesday , 5:00 pm – 6:50 pm , CPD-LG.01

Prerequisite

None. This is a Common Core course.