Summer 2008 Courses

Duke University awards credit equivalent to two semester-length courses for successful completion of the program. If you are not a Duke student please check with your university to see if these credits will be accepted and to find out about the process for transfering credits.

Each student will take one of the following Chinese courses which are equal to two semester-length courses.

Chinese 111A - 111B              
Intensive Progress in Chinese (Equivalent to 2nd year Chinese)
Text Used: A New China: Intermediate Reader of Modern Chinese
Students will practice basic comprehension, speaking, and reading. There will be an emphasis on spoken language patterns used in everyday life in contemporary China. Special attention will be given to cultural and environmental topics and issues.

Chinese 112A - 112B
Advanced Progress in Chinese (Equivalent to 3rd year Chinese)
Text Used: All Things Considered: Advanced Reader of Modern Chinese
This course will further develop the students' listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Students will expand the sophistication of their grammar usage and vocabulary, work on reading comprehension, and produce texts of greater length and complexity. By focusing on issues of social and cultural significance in China, students will experience a deepening of cultural literacy and interpretive skills.

Chinese 127A -­ 127B
Intensive Advanced Chinese (Equivalent to 4th year Chinese)
Text Used: Selected readings appropriate for the proficiency background of the students
This course provides an introduction to more complex syntax with special attention given to Chinese cultural and socio-political issues and topics. Content for the course is drawn from newspaper articles, essays, films, television, radio broadcasts, and websites.

Chinese 129A - 129B
Special Topics in Modern Chinese (Equivalent to 5th year Chinese)
Text Used: Selected readings appropriate for the proficiency background of the students
This course will expand and deepen cultural literacy and interpretive skills by focusing on issues of social, cultural, and political significance in contemporary China. Faculty will use cultural and literary texts from a variety of media and genre. The texts will be analyzed in social and cultural contexts. The course will consist of intensive work on vocabulary, sentence structure, and patterns of expression.