We are beginning preparation of the projected volume *Approaches to Teaching
**The Story of the Stone (Dream of the Red Chamber)*, edited by Andrew
Schonebaum and Tina Lu, to be publsihed by MLA and would very much like you
to participate.

We ask that you respond to the brief questionnaire below. We are
particularly interested in your response to the final item concerning
whether you would be willing to contribute an essay to the volume. Like
other similar books published by the MLA, this will contain not only a
discussion of the most important and useful materials available to the
teacher of this work but also a selection of essays by instructors.

 We hope that you will be willing to share with other colleagues your
experience in teaching *The Story of the Stone (Dream of the Red Chamber). *We
ask that you return the questionnaire by 1 December 2006 directly to
Professor Schonebaum. We would appreciate whatever help you can offer to
this project and look forward to hearing from you.

Please return by 1 December 2006: e-mail responses to ads36_at_columbia.edu or
mail the completed form to Andrew Schonebaum, The Heyman Center for the
Humanities, Columbia University MC 5730, 2960 Broadway, New York, NY 10027.

Name: Dept.:

School :
Phone/Fax:

Address: E-mail:

We would be grateful to receive supplementary materials (course
descriptions, syllabi, bibliographies, and study materials, including
assignments). Please respond to questions relevant to your teaching
experience. In the published volume we will acknowledge all respondents.
Thank you very much for your help.

1. Please describe the course(s) in which you teach the *Story of the Stone
(Honglou Meng). *Please indicate the level of the course and whether you
teach the work in Chinese or English.**

2. How much time do you devote to the *Stone *(e.g., number of class
sessions, length of time in days or weeks)? Indicate whether you teach a
complete version of the work or excerpts.

3. If you teach only excerpts, which episodes or chapters do you teach? What
is your basis of selection?

4. Which text(s) do you use in class (e.g. Chinese edition, English
translation, anthology)? How satisfied are you with the text(s)?

5. What do you find are the primary challenges of teaching *Stone? *What
specific critical or pedagogical methodologies have you found useful for
overcoming these challenges?

6. Which critical and reference works, including historical, critical and
theoretical materials, would you recommend to beginning teachers of the *Story
of the Stone?*

* *

7. Which critical and reference works, including historical and theoretical
materials, do you assign/recommend to students?

8. How do you present or discuss the historical context of the novel in your
course?

9. What aspects of the text do your students find most accessible, engaging,
or stimulating? Most difficult or challenging? Briefly describe student
reaction to this book.

10. What primary texts, if any, do you like to pair with *Story of the
Stone? *How do they help your students better understand the novel?

11. If you introduce issues of genre (novel, *xiaoshuo, *etc.), please
discuss how you do so.

12. What types of written or oral assignments do you require? Which have
proven successful? unsuccessful? If you assign paper topics, please supply
examples.

13. What electronic and audio-visual materials have you found useful (e.g.,
Web sites, film, music, art, calligraphy, maps)?

14. What kind of information would you like to see in a volume on teaching *the
Story of the Stone? *What other issues would you like to see addressed?

If you would like to contribute an essay to the proposed volume, please
submit an abstract/proposal on a separate sheet and include a copy of your
curriculum vitae. The abstract should specify if it is a background essay
focusing on some aspect of the novel that would be useful for teachers or if
it is an essay suggesting a pedagogical approach. In either case, please
explain its usefulness to both teachers and students.

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Received on Sun Nov 19 2006 - 17:48:39 EST