PHIL 430 Seminar on Chinese Philosophy: Women and Virtue in China

Course Description

Unlike many traditional Western thinkers, most early Chinese philosophers believed that women had the ability to be virtuous, and that they could develop complete forms of a full range of virtues. This seminar explores Chinese perspectives on women and virtue through Chinese philosophical writings, film, and literature. We will read traditional texts from the Zhou dynasty (1045-256 B.C.E.) through the Song dynasty (1279 C.E.)—some of them authored by women—which seek to convey women’s basic identities, their distinctive virtues, their ultimate purpose in life, and the social roles and responsibilities they might anticipate. We will then examine the development of these themes in later Chinese history through film and novel. Although we will focus primarily on traditional Chinese sources, students will also read sources that explore the potential for constructive engagement between Chinese philosophy and Western feminism.