 Hello everyone, my name is Grace Ko and I teach Korean Literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures here at SOAS. Welcome to this video where I will be introducing one of my modules which is Trajectories of Modernity in Korean Literature. This is a 15 credit module usually taught in Term 2 and as a level 5 module it can be taken by students in the pre-final or final year of their degrees. It is one of the non-language Korean options for the BA Korean and Korean Studies programs but it is also available as an open option to students of other BA degrees. And no prior knowledge of Korean language or literature is required as all texts on the course are in English translation. So any student interested in examining Korean society, history and culture through his literature is very much welcome to take this module. Out of over 10 weeks each weekly session consists of a one hour lecture and a one hour seminar for which a set of literary works and secondary sources are assigned. And through them we consider thematic and theoretical conceptions that have seemingly characterised modernity in the Korean context. Through this module it is our aim to examine issues surrounding representation, identity, landscape and cultural memory reflected in diverse forms of Korean prose and fiction from the Japanese colonial period, that is the early 20th century, up to the present day, the 21st century, through the following syllabus. As you can see from the table there are these broad four thematics, aesthetics of representation, refiguring identity, reimagining landscapes and cultural memory under which there will be more specific topics that we'll be exploring over two weeks per topic including sociopolitical and aesthetic ideologies of modern literature, rendering reality, national imaginary, narrating the self, views from the margins, borders, migration and liminality, trauma, remembrance and dissent, and translation and transculturation. Through the syllabus the module aims to provide students with the skills to read, analyse and understand different examples of modern Korean literary texts against past as well as present socio-historical context. Now in the lectures the convener, I, will provide key information and perspectives on the assigned texts and topics while in the seminars students, you, will be asked to share your reactions to the readings in small groups which form the basis of further discussion as a class. Faithful attendance and diligent reading preparations will help you get the most out of the lectures to acquire knowledge of the content and active seminar participation will help develop your analytical and presentation skills. So summative assessment for this module consists of one textual analysis or reaction paper that is due just before reading week and then one group presentation to be presented in the last class session and finally one research paper due on the first day of the following term. For further details and information please check the module web page. Thank you very much for your attention and if you have any questions you are also welcome to contact me, my email is gk5atsoas.ac.uk Thank you.