Chinese Classes

A continuation of First Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

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Course Materials

A continuation of First Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A continuation of First Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A continuation of First Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A continuation of First Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 101.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A continuation of Second Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 203.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A continuation of Second Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 203.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A continuation of Second Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 203.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A continuation of Second Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 203.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

A continuation of Second Year Chinese I. 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

A continuation of Third Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 305 .

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

A continuation of Third Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 305 .

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

A continuation of Third Year Chinese I. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 305 .

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In Chinese, writing is synonymous with culture: the graph "wen" connotes not just written language but civilization itself. This course explores the central role of writing – especially the cultural history of Chinese characters – both in and beyond China from ancient times to the present. How did this unique writing system develop? How have the graphs changed over time? What binds these characters to other art forms – like painting, poetry, calligraphy, sculpture, and dance – or to ethical or spiritual self-cultivation? How do characters, incised in stone or brushed onto paper, transmit meaning? And how did they become the predominant writing system used throughout East and Southeast Asia in premodern times? What myths have been told about their origins, how have they been misconstrued, and what accounts for their extraordinary longevity? No knowledge of Chinese is required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

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Course Materials

This course is designed for students who have achieved general proficiency in all aspects of Mandarin: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. They are considered beyond the levels of proficiency of their 3rd year counterparts and are ready to delve deeper into more sophisticated tests including short works of fiction and journalism. Students will work to improve their listening skills while working with TV, movie, and news scripts and give greater attention to developing a more sophisticated writing style in Chinese. The language of instruction is Mandarin. This course may be repeated for credit. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 407.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course introduces students to Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture. It offers instruction and practice in basic sentence patterns and conversational expressions to enable students to speak, read, write, and understand Mandarin Chinese.

General Education Requirements:

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Course Materials

This course introduces students to Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture. It offers instruction and practice in basic sentence patterns and conversational expressions to enable students to speak, read, write, and understand Mandarin Chinese.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course introduces students to Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture. It offers instruction and practice in basic sentence patterns and conversational expressions to enable students to speak, read, write, and understand Mandarin Chinese.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course introduces students to Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture. It offers instruction and practice in basic sentence patterns and conversational expressions to enable students to speak, read, write, and understand Mandarin Chinese.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course introduces students to Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture. It offers instruction and practice in basic sentence patterns and conversational expressions to enable students to speak, read, write, and understand Mandarin Chinese.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

One woman discovers she’s secretly a snake; another becomes a man to save her country. This course examines Chinese tales of transformation from ancient times to the present. Students will probe the physical, moral, psychological, and gender transformations at the heart of these tales and also study the ways in which these classic tales themselves have mutated – from poetry and fiction to movies, comics, theater, and animation. Through close readings of primary texts and creative assignments – both visual and verbal – students will try their hands at further transforming these tales. And who knows – students may even undergo a transformation themselves!

General Education Requirements:
Writing WC

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

While the emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills, students continue their study of characters and begin to work with short texts. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102.

General Education Requirements:

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Course Materials

While the emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills, students continue their study of characters and begin to work with short texts. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

While the emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills, students continue their study of characters and begin to work with short texts. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

While the emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills, students continue their study of characters and begin to work with short texts. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

While the emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills, students continue their study of characters and begin to work with short texts. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 102.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course is an overview of China on the silver screen. Adopting the "nation" as its primary structuring device, the course examines how Chinese films represented the national identity, national issues, and the national past. The topics under discussion include how women's virtues became emblems of a nation that strived for modernity in the early 20th century; how films were politically appropriated for socialist purposes; how the revolutionary past was cinematically constructed, remembered and critiqued in the post-Mao era; how the national legacy and tradition were consciously or unconsciously re-created and revised as a spectacle to meet the curious gaze of the global market; and how Taiwan and Hong Kong cinema constantly reflected cultural and national identities. The course starts from the silent film period and extends to the fifth generation directors, underground filmmaking, and the revival of the martial arts genre in greater China. Feature films from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong will be screened and discussed. Secondary articles and books are also assigned in conjunction with the films. The course is organized thematically and moves chronologically. No prior knowledge of China or Chinese is required.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The Uyghur are Central Asian Turkic Muslims residing in a minority autonomous region called Xinjiang in northwest China, which many of its natives prefer to call East Turkestan. Conflicts between the Uyghur and the Chinese state have turned into suppression and resistance over the past few decades, calling into question issues of sovereignty, human rights, minoritized identity, and social justice. This course introduces Uyghur culture, history, language, and art with an interdisciplinary focus. It addresses topics such as indigenous nationalism, representation, Islamophobia, racism, and mass incarceration, while also taking a critical look at discourses of pluralism, terrorism, and the “Silk Road.” We will listen closely to major genres of traditional and modern Uyghur music, and may be involved in a small-scale performance of an early modern Uyghur drama. There is no prerequisite; no prior knowledge of music, Uyghur or Turkic languages, or Chinese is assumed.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

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Course Materials

A continuation of Second Year Chinese II. While the emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills, students continue their study of characters and expand work with texts. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 204 .

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

A continuation of Second Year Chinese II. While the emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills, students continue their study of characters and expand work with texts. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 204 .

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

A continuation of Second Year Chinese II. While the emphasis is placed on listening and speaking skills, students continue their study of characters and expand work with texts. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 204 .

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is designed for students who have achieved general proficiency in all aspects of Mandarin: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. They are considered beyond the levels of proficiency of their 3rd year counterparts and are ready to delve deeper into more sophisticated textual readings, including short works of fiction and journalism. Students will work to improve their listening skills while working with TV, movie, and news scripts and give greater attention to developing a more sophisticated writing style in Chinese. The language of instruction is Mandarin. This course may be repeated for credit. Prerequisite(s): CHIN 306.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials