Courses

CHI 101. Beginning Chinese I. An introduction to spoken and written modern Chinese. Conversation and comprehension exercises in the classroom and laboratory provide practice in pronunciation and the use of basic patterns of speech. Normally offered every year. S. Yang, Staff. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 102. Beginning Chinese II. A continuation of Chinese 101 with increasing emphasis on the recognition of Chinese characters. By the conclusion of this course, students know more than one quarter of the characters expected of an educated Chinese person. Classes, conducted increasingly in Chinese, stress sentence patterns that facilitate both speaking and reading. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 101. Normally offered every year. S. Yang, Staff. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 201. Intermediate Chinese. Designed to enable students to converse in everyday Chinese and to read simple texts in Chinese. Classes conducted primarily in Chinese aim at further development of overall language proficiency. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 102. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Miao. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 201-202. Intermediate Chinese. Designed to enable students to converse in everyday Chinese and to read simple texts in Chinese. Classes conducted primarily in Chinese aim at further development of overall language proficiency. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 102. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Miao. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 202. Intermediate Chinese. Designed to enable students to converse in everyday Chinese and to read simple texts in Chinese. Classes conducted primarily in Chinese aim at further development of overall language proficiency. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 102 Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Miao. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 207. Traditional Chinese Literature in Translation. An exploration of Chinese literature through reading and discussion of some of its masterworks of poetry, drama, fiction, and belles-lettres prose from ancient times through the premodern era. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 25. Normally offered every year. S. Yang. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 209. Modern China through Film and Fiction. This course explores modern China through a number of short stories and feature films produced in the twentieth century, from Lu Hsun's fiction of the 1920s to recent films directed by such directors as Zhang Yimou and Ang Lee. The course focuses on ways of interpreting different cultural products of modern China, but students also gain a general knowledge of the history of modern Chinese fiction and film. All readings, lectures, and discussions are in English. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 35. Normally offered every year. S. Yang. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 211. Film and Chinese Modernity. This course explores the role film has played in China's ongoing construction of modernity since the end of the nineteenth century. Discussion focuses not only on the social and historical context of Chinese films, but also on various kinds of cinematic languages through which Chinese filmmakers articulate their ideas, especially those involving debates concerning tradition, modernity, revolution, gender, sexuality, and national identity, as well as Chinese filmmakers' responses to constructions of the cultural "other" in Western films. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 25. Normally offered every year. Staff. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

INDS 212. Writing/Righting Chinese Women. This course is a survey of major writings by Chinese women, from Ban Zhao (40–120 C.E.), whose nujie is considered the early canon of female moral virtues, to the most recent novels by women writers who pride themselves in their audacity to write about their bodies. The course emphasizes ways women writers across time have countered various masculine constructions of silenced femininity and developed their own literary sensibility, especially in the context of China's modern development. Literary works explore topics that resonate with women's experience such as family, marriage, gender identity, sexuality, revolution, nation, and modernity. Conducted in English. Cross-listed in Asian studies, Chinese, and women and gender studies. Open to first-year students. H. Su. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 261. Self and Society in Chinese Culture: Classics and Folk Tales. An introduction to Chinese culture and civilization through reading and discussion of a number of classical texts of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist thought, as well as traditional tales, popular stories, and legends in which these basic philosophies are reflected. Readings and lectures are all in English. Open to first-year students. S. Yang. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 301. Upper-Level Modern Chinese. Designed for students who already have a strong background in spoken Chinese, the course gives an intensive review of the essentials of grammar and phonology, introduces a larger vocabulary and a variety of sentence patterns, improves conversational and auditory skills, and develops some proficiency in reading and writing. The course makes extensive use of short texts (both literary and nonfictional) and some films. Classes are conducted primarily in Chinese. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 202. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Miao. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 301-302. Upper-Level Modern Chinese. Designed for students who already have a strong background in spoken Chinese, the course gives an intensive review of the essentials of grammar and phonology, introduces a larger vocabulary and a variety of sentence patterns, improves conversational and auditory skills, and develops some proficiency in reading and writing. The course makes extensive use of short texts (both literary and nonfictional) and some films. Classes are conducted primarily in Chinese. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 202. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Miao. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 302. Upper-Level Modern Chinese. Designed for students who already have a strong background in spoken Chinese, the course gives an intensive review of the essentials of grammar and phonology, introduces a larger vocabulary and a variety of sentence patterns, improves conversational and auditory skills, and develops some proficiency in reading and writing. The course makes extensive use of short texts (both literary and nonfictional) and some films. Classes are conducted primarily in Chinese. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 202. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. L. Miao. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 360. Independent Study. Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester. Normally offered every semester. Staff.

CHI 365. Special Topics. Designed for the small seminar group of students who may have particular interests in areas of study that go beyond the regular course offerings. Periodic conferences and papers are required. Instructor permission is required. Staff.

CHI 401. Advanced Chinese I. This course is designed to further enhance students' ability to understand and speak idiomatic Mandarin Chinese. Included are readings of modern and contemporary literary works, journalistic writings, and other nonliterary texts. Classical texts may also be studied upon students' request. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 302. Recommended background: three years or more of Chinese. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. S. Yang, Staff. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 402. Advanced Chinese II. A continuation of Chinese 401. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 302 or 401. Recommended background: three years of Chinese or more. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. Staff. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 415. Readings in Classical Chinese. An intensive study of classical Chinese through reading selections of ancient literary, historical, and philosophical texts in the original, including excerpts from the Analects, the Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Shiji, Tang-Song prose, and poetry. Conducted in Chinese. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 302 or 401. Open to first-year students. S. Yang. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 421. Readings in Modern Chinese Culture. An intensive study of modern Chinese culture through reading selections of literary and non-literary texts in the Chinese original. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 401 or 415. New course beginning Winter 2010. One-time offering. Staff.

CHI 457. Senior Thesis. An extended research or translation project on a topic in Chinese literature, culture, or language utilizing some source materials in Chinese. Qualified students may choose to write the thesis in Chinese. Before registering for either 457 or 458, the student should consult with his or her advisor and submit a concise description and a tentative bibliography. Students register for 457 in the fall semester or for 458 in the winter semester unless the program gives approval for a two-semester project. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Chinese 457 and 458. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff. Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 457, 458. Senior Thesis. An extended research or translation project on a topic in Chinese literature, culture, or language utilizing some source materials in Chinese. Qualified students may choose to write the thesis in Chinese. Before registering for either 457 or 458, the student should consult with his or her advisor and submit a concise description and a tentative bibliography. Students register for 457 in the fall semester or for 458 in the winter semester unless the program gives approval for a two-semester project. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Chinese 457 and 458. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff. Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI 458. Senior Thesis. An extended research or translation project on a topic in Chinese literature, culture, or language utilizing some source materials in Chinese. Qualified students may choose to write the thesis in Chinese. Before registering for either 457 or 458, the student should consult with his or her advisor and submit a concise description and a tentative bibliography. Students register for 457 in the fall semester or for 458 in the winter semester unless the program gives approval for a two-semester project. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both Chinese 457 and 458. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff. Interdisciplinary Programs.

Short Term Courses

CHI s24. Chinese Language and Culture in China. Students pursue four weeks of intensive Chinese language study at Yunnan National University in Kunming, Yunnan, China, or Nanjing Normal University in Nanjing, China. Language study is complemented by field trips to famous historical sites in the Yunnan and Beijing areas or in other provinces. Recommended background: Chinese 101 and 102. Enrollment limited to 15. L. Miao, S. Yang.

CHI s30. Chinese Calligraphy and Etymology. A study of Chinese calligraphy through practice in the use of the brush-pen and through analysis of the aesthetics as well as the historical development of this graphic art. Calligraphy or brushwriting (shufa in Chinese and shodo in Japanese) is considered in East Asia as a spontaneous yet premeditated act of self-expression, which embraces philosophy, religion, culture, and an artistic tradition thousands of years old. Conducted in English. Prerequisite(s): Chinese 101 or Japanese 101. Recommended background: some knowledge of Chinese characters or kanji. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 20. S. Yang. Concentrations.   |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

CHI s50. Independent Study. Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term. Normally offered every year. Staff.