Chinese Classes

This class is designed for beginners. Students will study Mandarin pronunciation, master pinyin, learn how to hand-write roughly 200 Chinese characters, and conduct simple conversations about dates and times, birthdays, family, hobbies, etc.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This class is designed for beginners. Students will study Mandarin pronunciation, master pinyin, learn how to hand-write roughly 200 Chinese characters, and conduct simple conversations about dates and times, birthdays, family, hobbies, etc.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This class is designed for beginners. Students will study Mandarin pronunciation, master pinyin, learn how to hand-write roughly 200 Chinese characters, and conduct simple conversations about dates and times, birthdays, family, hobbies, etc.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This class is designed for beginners. Students will study Mandarin pronunciation, master pinyin, learn how to hand-write roughly 200 Chinese characters, and conduct simple conversations about dates and times, birthdays, family, hobbies, etc.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This class is designed for beginners. Students will study Mandarin pronunciation, master pinyin, learn how to hand-write roughly 200 Chinese characters, and conduct simple conversations about dates and times, birthdays, family, hobbies, etc.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

How do technologies—from early writing tools to artificial intelligence—shape the way we read, write, and think? This course traces three thousand years of innovation in China, from oracle bones and paper to printing, the Chinese typewriter, Unicode, and AI. By exploring China’s major contributions to writing, literature, and the humanities, students gain historical perspectives for critically evaluating today’s algorithmic technologies, their ethical implications, and their impact on learning and human creativity.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is offered in the Fall semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 203, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-14 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1 and Integrated Chinese, Volume 2. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in the Fall semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 203, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-14 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1 and Integrated Chinese, Volume 2. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in the Fall semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 203, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-14 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1 and Integrated Chinese, Volume 2. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in the Fall semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 203, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-14 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1 and Integrated Chinese, Volume 2. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in the Fall semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 203, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-14 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1 and Integrated Chinese, Volume 2. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

How are masculinity and femininity defined and transformed in modern and contemporary Chinese culture? How is the social construction of gender related to a larger social context? Through a rigorous analysis of the content and structure of modern and contemporary novels and films, this course examines the literary representation of gender and sexuality and its relation to tumultuous social transformations. Themes to be explored include: May Fourth enlightenment, anti-Japanese war, Socialist construction, the Cultural Revolution, and the liberalization of the post-Mao era. This course seeks to help students develop critical views of Chinese society and culture from a gendered perspective and gain familiarity with major authors, genres, and literary movements. This course assumes no prior knowledge of China or Chinese, and all reading materials are in English.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is offered Fall semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 305, students should be able to read, speak (with standard, accurate tones), understand, and write from memory the characters in chapters 8-10 of Integrated Chinese, Vol. 3 and chapters 11-15 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 4. This amounts to roughly 700-900 characters. This course is conducted entirely in Chinese. From the start, students should be able to tell a simple story in Chinese, summarize a passage, and begin to formulate and express opinions on a wide variety of topics, including travel, Chinese holidays, education, and the environment. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 204.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is offered Fall semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 305, students should be able to read, speak (with standard, accurate tones), understand, and write from memory the characters in chapters 8-10 of Integrated Chinese, Vol. 3 and chapters 11-15 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 4. This amounts to roughly 700-900 characters. This course is conducted entirely in Chinese. From the start, students should be able to tell a simple story in Chinese, summarize a passage, and begin to formulate and express opinions on a wide variety of topics, including travel, Chinese holidays, education, and the environment. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 204.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered Fall semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 305, students should be able to read, speak (with standard, accurate tones), understand, and write from memory the characters in chapters 8-10 of Integrated Chinese, Vol. 3 and chapters 11-15 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 4. This amounts to roughly 700-900 characters. This course is conducted entirely in Chinese. From the start, students should be able to tell a simple story in Chinese, summarize a passage, and begin to formulate and express opinions on a wide variety of topics, including travel, Chinese holidays, education, and the environment. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 204.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in the Fall semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 407 students should be able to read, speak (with accurate tones), understand, and write by hand most of the characters in chapters 1-4 of Reading Into a New China, Volume 1 and should be able to discuss and write essays on intellectually and linguistically challenging topics such as social issues and current events. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 306.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 102, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 102, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 102, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 102, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 102, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and all the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 1. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 204, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and most of the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 3. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 203.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 204, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and most of the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 3. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 203.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 204, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and most of the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 3. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 203.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 204, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and most of the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 3. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 203.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 204, students should be able to read, speak (in accurate tones), understand, and write by hand and most of the characters in chapters 1-7 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 3. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 203.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

China is known for its grueling examination culture. How did this culture evolve? This course examines the imperial civil service examination system, the benchmark of social and political success in imperial China. We will read the core texts of the Confucian curriculum - the Four Books and the Five Classics -  to examine the values these texts promoted. We will also study frustrated scholars' fictional accounts of the unfairness of the exam system, Europeans' praise of it as a model meritocracy, and women's struggles to participate in a system that explicitly excluded them. The course invites reflection on contemporary educational practices, and culminates in a recreation of the civil service exam.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is offered in the Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 306, students should be able to  read, speak (with accurate tones), understand, and write by hand most of the characters in Chapters 8-10 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 3. and chapters 15-20 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 4. From the start, students should be able to tell a story in Chinese, summarize a passage, and express opinions on a wide variety of topics, including travel, Chinese holidays, education, population and the environment. In this course, students are expected and encouraged to further advance their oral proficiency while developing reading and writing skills. The discussion topics go beyond everyday routines and include intellectually and linguistically challenging topics such as social issues and historical and current events. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 305.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is offered in the Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 306, students should be able to  read, speak (with accurate tones), understand, and write by hand most of the characters in Chapters 8-10 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 3. and chapters 15-20 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 4. From the start, students should be able to tell a story in Chinese, summarize a passage, and express opinions on a wide variety of topics, including travel, Chinese holidays, education, population and the environment. In this course, students are expected and encouraged to further advance their oral proficiency while developing reading and writing skills. The discussion topics go beyond everyday routines and include intellectually and linguistically challenging topics such as social issues and historical and current events. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 305.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is offered in the Spring semester only. As a prerequisite for entering Chinese 306, students should be able to  read, speak (with accurate tones), understand, and write by hand most of the characters in Chapters 8-10 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 3. and chapters 15-20 of Integrated Chinese, Volume 4. From the start, students should be able to tell a story in Chinese, summarize a passage, and express opinions on a wide variety of topics, including travel, Chinese holidays, education, population and the environment. In this course, students are expected and encouraged to further advance their oral proficiency while developing reading and writing skills. The discussion topics go beyond everyday routines and include intellectually and linguistically challenging topics such as social issues and historical and current events. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 305.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

What aspects of texts are selected and translated? How is translation conducted, contained, and transformed in larger cultural, social, and historical contexts? What kinds of power dynamics and ideology are involved in the process of translation? This course is to develop a critical awareness of the practice of Chinese-English translation as a cross-cultural dialogue. It will critically examine major concepts and issues such as equivalence, faithfulness, invisibility, etc. Along with different translation theories, the course will follow the chronological order of Chinese literature being translated at different historical periods. Students will learn theories of translation and do hands-on practice in translation. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 305 or its equivalent.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

What is Chinese in news reporting? How is Chinese used differently in TV reality shows and sitcoms? How is Chinese employed and manipulated online and in virtual reality? The aim of this course, which is equivalent to Fifth Year Chinese, is to learn about Chinese society and culture in different contexts: students will watch Chinese sitcoms and reality shows, read original Chinese novels, and communicate through Chinese Weibo. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 407 or equivalent.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials