Again, you could use any combination or permutation of these:
1. Intizar Husain, Basti, translated by Frances Pritchett -- this is a really powerful novel about Pakistan and the breaking away of Bangladesh in 1971. The novel was published in 1972. This translation carries all of the contextual material that you would need to make sense of the novel, as well as a recent interview, several decades later, with the author.
http://www.southasiabooks.com/basti-p-65890.html
2. Saadat Hasan Manto, Toba Tek Singh -- probably the best-known and arguably the most powerful short story about the Partition of South Asia in 1947 -- short enough to use in eighth grade, perhaps, and packs a punch!!
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urdu/tobateksingh/
Another possibility is the short story Open It! by the same author, the translation is further down the same webpage above.
3. Kristin, Roger, what would you recommend for twentieth-century China?
1. Intizar Husain, Basti, translated by Frances Pritchett -- this is a really powerful novel about Pakistan and the breaking away of Bangladesh in 1971. The novel was published in 1972. This translation carries all of the contextual material that you would need to make sense of the novel, as well as a recent interview, several decades later, with the author.
http://www.southasiabooks.com/basti-p-65890.html
2. Saadat Hasan Manto, Toba Tek Singh -- probably the best-known and arguably the most powerful short story about the Partition of South Asia in 1947 -- short enough to use in eighth grade, perhaps, and packs a punch!!
http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00urdu/tobateksingh/
Another possibility is the short story Open It! by the same author, the translation is further down the same webpage above.
3. Kristin, Roger, what would you recommend for twentieth-century China?
Lu Xun's most famous story, "The True Story of Ah Q" would be high on my list. The movie _The Opium War_ directed by Xie Jin and released in 1997 in honor of the return of Hong Kong to Chinese control is an excellent way to get into the question of nationalism.
ReplyDeleteIn regard to recent scholarship on modern Chinese nationalism, the work of William Callahan, a political scientist, is pretty interesting. Here's some info on his recent book that calls China "the Pessoptimist Nation": http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/China_The_Pessoptimist_Nation.html?id=xbchqXHQerkC