The Curriculum: Language Instruction

1401, 1402 Beginning Chinese: Introduction to spoken and written Mandarin Chinese. Course emphasizes foundation work through intensive drills in sounds and tones, sentence structure, and a vocabulary of about 600 characters. Students attend three weekly master plus two hours of practice in small groups. Individual sessions are also available. Computer, video, and audio assignments are required. Four credits per term.

2401, 2402 Intermediate Chinese: Enhances basic language skills learned in beginning Chinese but focuses on language proficiency, particularly in the areas of description, narration, correspondence, and comparisons based on situational context. Students are encouraged to spend summer or summer/fall in Beijing, China upon finishing second-year Chinese. Students attend four weekly classes. The course is conducted in Chinese and requires out-of-class reading and composition. Video and audio materials are used. Four credits per term.

3311 Advanced Chinese: Emphasizes the requirement of skills in Mandarin Chinese through the study of selected topics in contemporary Chinese culture and society. Students develop the ability to express themselves in sustained oral and written forms. The course is conducted in Chinese. Prerequisites: Beginning and Intermediate Chinese.

3312 Advanced Chinese: Enhances students’ proficiency in Mandarin Chinese through a multimedia software program. Special concentration is given to China’s current affairs through the use of authentic journalistic materials—television news and newspaper reports. Prerequisite: CHIN 3311.

The Curriculum: Courses in English on Chinese Culture, Literature, and Cinema

FL 3325/CF 3365 Perspectives on Modern China--survey of China in the 20th-century in terms of cultural trends, literature, and cinema. The course explores the interactions between reality and representation, between author and reader/audience, and between text and interpretation. Close reading of texts or viewing of films followed by critical analysis. No prerequisites.

FL 3310/CF 3390 Transnational Chinese Cinema--introduces students to films produced in the People's Republic, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. In considering cinema as a sign system for the construction of socio cultural and aesthetic meanings, this course examines different national identities and film genres. Students will learn to understand non-Western cultural texts and to analyze cinematic representations. No prerequisites.

FL/Perspective 3312 Women, Writing, & Identity in 20th-Century Chinese Literature--introduction to the subject of women and writing in 20th-century China. This course examines two major periods of women's writings: the May Fourth era (c. 1920-1940) and the new era (c. 1970-present). Literary works by Asian American women writers are included on the reading list. The approach of the course emphasizes close reading of texts, viewing films, and critical analysis. No prerequisites