学位论文开题报告审批表
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AND CONFLICTS BETWEEN CHINA AND AMERICA FROM A STUDY OF THE JOY LUCK CLUB
由《喜福会》看中美文化差异与冲突
开题报告人姓名： xxxxxxxxxx
申请学位类别： 文学学士
所 在 院 系： 外国语学院
年 级： 2009级
学 科 专 业： 英语 (英日)
指 导 教 师： xxxx 讲师
开题报告时间： 2012年9月1日
开题报告填表说明和要求
1.本科生阅读论文、资料的篇数一般不少于10篇（其中外文资料不少于5篇）。
2.文献综述报告不少于500字。
3.本科生开题报告一般在第七学期内进行。
4.本科生的开题报告应不少于1000字，用英语书写，字体Times New Roman、标题小三号字加粗，正文小四号字，行距1.25倍，A4纸打印。
5.此审批表要求用微机打印。
6.此表与论文共同保存。
学生论文开题报告审批表
一、阅读文献
二﹑文献综述报告
The Joy Luck Club is the first novel of Amy Tan, a famous Chinese-American writer. In the novel she mainly describes the relationship between The Joy Luck Club mothers and their daughters as well as cultural conflicts. The novel is set in the age of globalization and in the multicultural American society. It represents the process of misunderstanding, conflicts, understanding and blending between the mothers and daughters. This paper mainly discusses cultural differences and conflicts between China and America. As a rule, intercultural communication refers to the communication between people from different cultures. Under different cultural circumstances, there are tangible differences in people’s both values and modes of thinking. Consequently, cultural differences and conflicts are apt to come into being. From this point of view, this paper intends to approach and analyze some concrete manifestations of differences in Chinese and American cultures by means of the novel, The Joy Luck Club.
The paper explains the definition of intercultural communication and similarly the history of studying in both China and America in the first part. In the second part mainly introduces the author Amy Tan, the plot summary of the novel and the characters in the Joy Luck Club. It analyzes the concrete manifestations of distinguishable cultures between China and America in the third part. Firstly, there are differences between Chinese and American values. Chinese culture advocates collectivism, on the contrary, American culture supports individualism. Secondly, Chinese concept of family differs from American one. Thirdly, it is impossible to doubt that the ways of speaking and behavior are different for Chinese and American cultures. In the fourth part the author looks forward to the future of the cultural prospects between China and America. This author puts emphasis on the significance of the cultural differences and conflicts between China and America in the environment of “global village” as a conclusion.
Amy Tan had thus written The Joy Luck Club in an attempt to unveil the mysteries of Chinese culture and to present to the western society the traditions of China through the novel. The novel, The Joy Luck Club delves into the complicated relationship between four Chinese immigrant mothers and their first generation American born daughters. The novel alternates from the shocking lives of the mothers in pre-Revolutionary China to the complex and chaotic life of the daughters in the twentieth century San Francisco. And additionally this novel gives prominence to conflicts between mothers and daughters, husbands and wives owing to differences in cultures. Apparently, Amy Tan draws support from describing real life vividly to reveal the possible consequences, namely differences, conflicts and coexistence caused in the period of intercultural communication. In summary, The Joy Luck Club clearly shows to the readers the cultural differences and conflicts between Chinese and American cultures even within the family
As the international connection, we have more chance than before to meet foreigners, or to communicate with them, even many people would like to be his or her life companion to better understand their cultures. So understanding others’ cultures prove to be more and more important. As an English major student, culture difference is also a big project for us. There is a saying, do as Romans do, which tells us that if we have a better understanding to others’ culture, we can have a good behave even in others’ countries. And we will be better that if we have an interest in other cultures, we may know more about something interesting that we have never known before. So in a word, culture difference may provide a choice for us to know the world better.
I. Purpose of the Study
As a student of English major, I know learn a lot of knowledge is very necessary, so to learn different culture is very necessary. To understand cultural differences and conflicts between China and America better, the differences in cultural values, concepts of family and marriage, and ways of speaking and behavior will be analyzed respectively in the novel, The Joy Luck Club in the following part.
II. Present Study Conditions
Nowadays the culture and conflicts difference between China and America is very popular in the world. Every human group needs not only to adjust to the natural world but also decide and order relationships among members of the group. Because of the influence of the cultural context, the relationships among members of the group in China and America are completely different. That is, Chinese people advocate collectivism while Americans propagate individualism.
III.Significance of the Study
From The Joy Luck Club, we can learn the cultural differences and conflicts between China and America, which center on significant differences regarding social relations and concept of universe from different perspectives such as language, food, dress, attitude towards time, work habits, social behavior that can cause frustration in communications and contacts. What is revealed in this novel about cultural differences and conflicts can help to bridge the gap between both cultural and linguistic differences. As the world is becoming a “global village”, its significance is becoming more and more self-evident.
IV. Important Points, Difficult Points and Innovative Points
As to our Chinese culture, it faces many challenges in the context of globalization. Although learning new technologies from other countries and absorbing the essence of other cultures are necessary. Chinese cultures should be protected. History and present interacts each other, and they inherit each other. There’s no country in the world which can ignore the past with today’s prosperity. If anyone forgets his past, will loses his history, and he will become a person without tradition and history, and he cannot really locate himself in the multi-cultural society, and he will lose the base of development. The Chinese nation has an old and long history, the Chinese-American’s history which is bestowed by their nature shouldn’t be ignore. In this sense, the aim of recalling the history is to grasp the present and the further better. In the novel The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan describes the conflicts between the mothers and the daughters. The misunderstandings between the mothers and the daughters in the novel are caused by different cultural backgrounds and experiences.
V. Outline
I. Introduction
II. Amy Tan and Her Novel The Joy Luck Club
2.1 Amy Tan
2.2 Plot Summary of the Novel
2.2.1 Feathers from a Thousand Li Away
2.2.2 The Twenty-Six Malignant Gates
2.3. Characters
III. The Cultural Differences and Conflicts between China and America
3.1 Different Values
3.2 Different Concepts of Family
3.3 Different Ways of Speaking and Behavior
IV. The Future Cultural Prospects between China and America
4.1 The Principles to Avoid and Alleviate Cultural Differences and Conflicts
4.2 The Coexistence between Chinese and American Cultures
V. Conclusion
VI. Research Method
1 Reading the related materials and the references especially in the libraries
2 Searching the information through the Internet
VII. Procedure
周 日期（20##）
Week 1 8.27-8.31 拟题，提纲，交开题报告
Week 2 9.03-9.07 一稿
Week 3 9.10-9.14 一稿
Week 4 9.17-9.21 交一稿，返一稿
Week 5 9.24-9.28 二稿
Week 6 10.1-10.05 二稿
Week 7 10.08-10.12 交二稿，返二稿
Week 8 10.15-10.19 三稿
Week 9 10.22-10.26 交三稿，返三稿
Week 10 10.30 交稿，定稿