Chinese Course Descriptions
- First-Year Chinese
Full course for one year. A beginner’s course in standard (Mandarin) modern spoken and written Chinese, aimed at building a solid foundation in all its aspects: pronunciation (especially the tones), syntax, and basic vocabulary. Attention is given to a balanced development of all the basic skills of the language: listening and reading comprehension, speaking, and writing. Pinyin is the romanization system used in this and all other Chinese language courses. Both the traditional and simplified characters are taught. Students are expected to read both and write one of the two versions. Lecture-conference.
- Second-Year Chinese
Full course for one year. This course continues to build students’ basic skills and take them to intermediate-level proficiency. Prerequisite: Chinese 110 or acceptance through placement test. Lecture-conference.
- Third-Year Chinese
Full course for one semester, designed to develop all the four skills to higher levels of proficiency. Particular emphasis is placed on reading and speaking. Greater facility in writing Chinese characters and competence in simple essay writing are the aims of written work in this course. Prerequisite: Chinese 210 or acceptance through placement test. Conference.
- Classical Chinese
Full course for one semester. Intensive introduction to the grammar of classical Chinese through the study of selections from ancient literary, historical, and philosophical texts. Readings include the
, and Tang-Song prose essays. Conducted in Chinese. Prerequisite: Chinese 210 or equivalent. Conference.
- Songs to Lost Music: Readings in Ci-Poetry
Full course for one semester. This course investigates the rise and the development of
-poetry, a genre related closely to music. The formal features and their emotional qualities, major modes of expression, and different stages of its development from the ninth to thirteenth centuries are the foci in the close reading of selected poems. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 325. Not offered 2006-07.
- Chinese Narrative Tradition
Full course for one semester. This course surveys the narrative tradition in Chinese literature, including narrative poetry, storytelling, short story, and full-length narrative in the context of the narrative tradition in China. While primary emphasis is on the late imperial period that produced the monumental works, such as
Outlaws of the Marsh
Romance of the Three Kingdoms
Journey to the West
, and the
Dream of the Red Chamber
, works of the earlier periods are also introduced to show early stages of the development, formation of the source materials, and the continuity of the tradition. Readings in English. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 326. Not offered 2006-07.
- Representations of the Cultural Revolution
Full course for one semester. The Cultural Revolution (1966–76), the longest single political crisis in recent Chinese history, has been amply represented, even in English, by its victims, critics, and contemporary eulogists in various forms of expression, including official and unofficial historiography, personal memoirs, fiction, cinema, visual arts, and icons turned into memorabilia. Using selected texts and items from these different genres, the course explores representation, memory, reality, genre, sign, and interpretation. Although much of the material is sociopolitically oriented, the focus of the course is within the realm of literary and cultural criticism. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Lecture-conference. Not offered 2006-07.
- The Yijing: Text and Tradition of the Book of Changes
Full course for one semester. The
Book of Changes
, is a text of limitless possibilities. This course explores various strategies of reading the text and examines philosophical, religious, historical, and literary critical implications of the text and the tradition associated with it. The system and the language of the 64 hexagrams and various layers of attached verbalization are the focus of investigation. Readings are in English. Students who take the course for Chinese credit meet for additional tutoring to read parts of the text in the original. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 334. Not offered 2006-07.
- Chinese Drama and Theater
Full course for one semester. This course examines two interwoven subjects: the literary values of classical and modern Chinese drama, and the multidimensional forms of Chinese theatrical art. Texts include classics of Yuan and southern drama and representative works of the present century. Both primary and secondary materials are in English. Film adaptations and documentaries on video are also used for close study. Tutoring is available for students taking the course for Chinese credit. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 345. Not offered 2006-07.
- Avant-Garde Fiction and Contemporary Chinese Cinema
Full course for one semester. This course investigates interactions between avant-garde writers and contemporary Chinese cinema since the 1980s. Issues to be explored include loss and gain through movie adaptation, representations of reality, and modes of narration. Through a comparative analysis of literary works and related movies, negotiation between individuality and conformity will be discussed in the context of a commercializing society. Readings are in translation, and films selected are subtitled in English. No Chinese language training is required. Readings in the original Chinese and additional instruction will be offered for students taking this course for Chinese credit. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 346. Not offered 2006-07.
- Generations of Chinese Cinema
Full course for one semester. The course examines the growth of Chinese cinema in the hands of five “generations” of filmmakers and beyond, focusing on the development of aesthetics of Chinese film and the changing role of film as social commentary and cultural critique. Most of the films on tape have English subtitles. Readings include basic film theories and materials specific to Chinese film. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 347. Not offered 2006-07.
- Early Chinese Philosophical Texts
Full course for one semester. This course examines various philosophical discourses in the early period leading to the unification in 221 B.C. It will be a selective discussion of a few major philosophical texts and schools of thought. We will investigate the predominant interest in human nature and cultivation, the epistemological models for understanding such emphases, and the implications of Chinese epistemology. Readings in translation. Students taking the course for Chinese credit will meet for additional hours for the guided reading of selected texts in the original Chinese. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 355. Not offered 2006-07.
- Literature and Culture of Late Imperial China
Full course for one semester. This course examines the major authors, genres, literary works and textual and cultural artifacts of late imperial China (fourteenth to nineteenth centuries), a period marked by distinctive modes of urban life, material connoisseurship, and expanding commercialism. We will read popular literary forms such as fiction, drama, and encyclopedias as well as works in classical traditions, focusing on issues such as gender and masculinity, desire and homo/hetero-eroticism, theater and print, and text and commentary. All readings will be in English. Additional instruction will be arranged for students taking the course for Chinese credit. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 368. Not offered 2006-07.
- Chinese Mainland Women Writers Since the 1980s
Full course for one semester. This course introduces representative women writers from mainland China since the 1980s with a focus on their projections of women’s image in conflict either with traditional values and expectations or official ideology. Their search for self and individuality will be discussed in the context of a fast-changing society in which Western influences find various expressions in and beyond literature. This course is a window towards a better understanding of Chinese women and Chinese culture. Readings in translation. Readings in the original Chinese and additional instruction will be offered for students taking this course for Chinese credit. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 378. Not offered 2006-07.
- Selected Readings and Essay Writing
Full course for one semester. This is an advanced-level Chinese language course aimed at further developing reading knowledge and writing skills. All reading texts are unadapted originals in twentieth-century Chinese literature. Regular exercises in narrative and expository writing. Conducted in Chinese. Prerequisite: Chinese 311, 316, or equivalent. Conference.
One-half or full course for one year.
- Independent Study
One-half or full course for one semester. Prerequisite: approval of
instructor and division.
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