MUSC 2180 - The Other China: the History, Arts, andýCuture of Taiwan

4 Semester Hours
This course will connect you to culture; a contradiction: a ‘country’ that is not recognized by the UN as a country, an island that has produced prosperity; creativity disproportionate to its size,; an important place in the context of the growing might of mainland China, its neighbor 90 miles away Taiwan’s human history stretches back to prehistoric times The island has been inhabited by Austronesian aborigines, the Dutch, the Spanish, the British,; Han Chinese since the Qing Dynasty Taiwan was a Japanese colony for fifty years,; become the Republic of China while under martial law by Chiang Kai-Shek’s Nationalist Party from 1949 to 1984 The shadow of the 1947 White Terror still hangs over the political history of Taiwan, when more than 30,000 people were massacred by the Nationalist government Since 1984 Taiwan has been a vibrant democracy with two main rival political parties, the Nationalist Party (KMT, or Guomindang); the newer Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) The primary language of Taiwan Mandarin Chinese, but Taiwanese Hokkien (Fujianese); Hakka are also spoken widely, especially in South Taiwan Taiwan’s challenges with the assimilation of native peoples parallel our own in the US, with aborigines often living in high mountain villages outside the reach of urban prosperity Taiwan offers the chance to engage in political dialog with citizens eager to express their views,; large (peaceful) political demonstrations are common Taiwan is set to legalize gay marriage, the first of any country in Asia Taiwan is widely viewed as the most progressive of the East Asian countries In the arts, Taiwan has an outsize presence on the world stage Traditional Chinese music; Beijing Opera thrive alongside Western classical music Taiwan is a major stop on the international concert circuit,; the Chi Mei Foundation in Taichung has one of the world’s important collection of 17th; 18th-century Italian string instruments Taiwan’s New Wave Cinema movement has spawned acclaimed directors like Tsai Ming-Liang, Edward Yang,; Ang Lee (“Sense; Sensibility,” “Brokeback Mountain,”; “Life of Pi,” which was filmed completely in Taiwan) The world’s greatest collection of Chinese art resides in Taipei at the National Palace Museum, thanks to the Nationalist “theft” (or rescue, depending on your perspective) of 696,000 art; historical objects from the National Palace in Beijing in 1933 The contemporary art scene in Taiwan is vital; thriving, as is the contemporary music; club scene In our short time there, we will immerse ourselves as much as possible in Taiwanese/Chinese culture, both ancient; contemporary