Spring 2008 Courses

Students on the spring program receive credit equivalent to four courses: two Chinese courses and two non-language courses. Descriptions of those classes are below.

Each student on the program will be enrolled in one of the following sections of Chinese, which is equal to one full year of language study, (two semesters of Chinese).

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. Students will also work on reading comprehension and will 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 genres. 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.

Each student will be enrolled in the following two non-language classes.

Cultural Anthropology 163 / History 163G / Political Science 100G Themes in Chinese Culture and History: A Multi-disciplinary Approach

This course will develop the student's understanding of Chinese society by exploring a series of historical and contemporary issues using an interdisciplinary approach. Please click on the link below for a detailed description.

Cultural Anthropology 163 / History 163G / Political Science 100G

Chinese 193R
Independent Directed Research Study on Contemporary China

Guided studies culminating in a research paper. These studies will be supervised by the non-language professor and will include field trips focusing on cultural and social changes in contemporary China. Students are strongly encouraged to incorporate interviews in Chinese into the research for their project. Please click on the link below for a detailed description.

Chinese 193R