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.

CHI 102 Beginning Chinese II

A continuation of CHI 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..

CHI 131 Chinese Popular Culture

This course explores the varied cultural landscapes of the Chinese-speaking world through the lens of popular culture. Students are introduced to key approaches in cultural studies, while learning to critically interpret literary, musical, and visual texts in the Chinese-speaking world in social and historical context. Topics include modernity and tradition, technology and culture, media and society, and the local and the global. Students emerge from the course with a new set of tools in thinking about “culture,” both familiar and unfamiliar. No previous knowledge of Asia is required.

CHI 201 Intermediate Chinese I

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.

CHI 202 Intermediate Chinese II

A continuation of CHI 201.

CHI 207 Traditional Chinese Literature in Translation

This course is 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 to the nineteenth century. The focus of the course is as much on general knowledge of the history of Chinese literature as on ways of reading literary texts from a different culture. Topics we will investigate include: How do we approach a literary text? What is the role of translation in shaping our understanding? In what ways are the works we read products of their own times and places, and how do they speak to universal themes of human experience? No prior knowledge of Chinese language is required, but those who wish to do so are welcome to consult the texts in their original language.

CHI 223 Communism, Capitalism, and Cannibalism: New and Emerging Voices in Chinese Literature

A survey of Chinese literature since 1911, including a wide range of fiction, poetry, and drama from mainland China and texts from the Chinese diaspora as well. Students gain a greater understanding of China’s history and literary culture in three major periods: the May Fourth shift from traditional language and forms to vernacular literature; Socialist Realism and the Marxist theory of the first three decades of the People’s Republic; and China’s Reform Era, including expatriate authors like Ha Jin and China’s two controversial Nobel Prize winners, Gao Xingjian and Moyan. Recommended background: AS/CI 207.

CHI 225 Art and Politics in China

Winnie-the-Pooh is blocked on China’s internet after memes appear of President Xi and the bear walking side by side. A Chinese artist is held without charges and then welcomed by foreign hosts into exile. The Western media clings to a narrative of Chinese art as authoritarian critique, but this is only one aspect of a complex relationship between art and politics in Chinese culture. What does "censorship" really mean? What are China’s mechanisms of control? Is there Chinese art that is neither dissent nor propaganda? This course considers these questions through close analysis of China’s visual arts, theater, and literary texts.

CHI 287 Chinese Drama and Storytelling

This course provides an introduction to the vibrant traditions of Chinese drama and storytelling. What are the social, historical, and cultural contexts of these traditions? What can stories and plays tell us about the worlds from which they came? While learning to read the texts as literary works, we will also pay attention to their lives in performance. The first half of the course is devoted to dramatic literature of the 14th to 19th centuries; the second half focuses on modern Chinese drama, in conjunction with the history of Chinese film and the continued interactions between literature, stage and screen. Recommended background: prior coursework in Asian studies, film studies, or theater. Crosslisted in Asian studies, Chinese, and theater.

CHI 301 Upper-Level Modern Chinese I

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.

CHI 302 Upper-Level Modern Chinese II

A continuation of CHI 301.

CHI 360 Independent Study

CHI 401 Advanced Chinese

This course is designed to enhance students’ proficiency in Mandarin Chinese in all areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students develop confidence in their ability to narrate, describe, and articulate their opinions while engaging with a range of topics on Chinese culture and society. Recommended background: three years of college-level Mandarin or permission of the instructor.

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 with the help of English translations. Readings include excerpts from the Analects, the Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Shiji, Tang-Song prose, poetry, and short stories. Grammar and syntax of classical Chinese are also covered. Prerequisite(s): CHI 201.

CHI 450 Special Topics in Advanced Chinese

Through the discussion and study of literary and nonliterary texts on topics of student interest, faculty expertise, and current events, the course seeks to utilize, develop, and integrate skills acquired in the earlier stages of language learning. Through class presentations and discussion, students further develop oral skills and expand their understanding of Chinese culture. Students may repeat the course for credit with instructor permission. Prerequisite(s): CHI 401.

CHI 457 Senior Thesis

An extended research project on a topic in Chinese literature, culture, or language utilizing some source materials in Chinese. Qualified students may, with approval of the Committee on Asian Studies, choose to write the thesis in Chinese. Students register for 457 in the fall semester or for 458 in the winter semester unless the committee gives approval for a two-semester project. Majors invited to pursue honors register for 457 and 458, contingent on the approval of the committee.

CHI 458 Senior Thesis

An extended research project on a topic in Chinese literature, culture, or language utilizing some source materials in Chinese. Qualified students may, with approval of the Committee on Asian Studies, choose to write the thesis in Chinese. Students register for 457 in the fall semester or for 458 in the winter semester unless the committee gives approval for a two-semester project. Majors invited to pursue honors register for 457 and 458, contingent on the approval of the committee.

CHI S20 Philosophy of the Body

What is the relationship between mind, spirit, and body? What constitutes the boundaries between health and illness? Traditional Chinese philosophy and contemporary science and medicine have very different answers to these questions. In this course, students explore conceptions of the body in diverse contexts, with readings drawn from the fields of medical anthropology, literature, philosophy, religion, and gender studies. In the spirit of embodied practice, the course culminates in a week-long practicum in the Chinese martial arts tradition of xinyi (“heart and mind”).

CHI S23 Science Fiction from China: From the Rabbit in the Moon to The Three-Body Problem, and Beyond

China has been looking to the stars for thousands of years. Now the science fiction world is looking to China. Chinese writers recently won major Hugo awards, and a constant flow of science fiction story and novel translations into English has followed. This course considers stories and films representing major periods in the history of Chinese science fiction with a strong focus on the past decade. What is “Chinese” about science fiction from China? How can popular fiction reflect the history and politics of a nation? Taught in English.

CHI S50 Independent Study