Courses

The following courses are offered regularly by the Chinese Program. New courses are added on an experimental basis. Please consult the Emory College Course Atlas for courses offered each semester. Current course schedules and descriptions are here:

Fall 2009 |Spring 2009| Fall 2008 | Spring 2008 | Fall 2007 | Spring 2007 |
Fall 2006 |Spring 2006 Fall 2005 | Spring 2005 | Fall 2004 | Spring 2004 |

CHN 101: Elementary Chinese I (Mandarin)

4 credit hours

This is the first of two courses designed to introduce students to modern Mandarin Chinese. The course begins with an introduction to the sound system of Mandarin Chinese and moves on to training of basic skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Classes have an additional aim of introducing students to aspects of Chinese culture. By the end of the semester students are expected to 1) have a fairly good pronunciation, 2) recognize and write approximately 250-300 characters, and 3) carry out simple conversations about some of their daily activities.

CHN 102: Elementary Chinese II (Mandarin)

4 credit hours

This course is the second semester of the two-semester Elementary Chinese course. It is designed for those who have taken CHN 101. The course aims at further developing fundamental language skills. All four skills (speaking, reading, listening and writing) will be emphasized and learned in communicative context. Students are expected to actively participate in class by engaging in interactive activities and reading and writing practices. Many aspects of everyday Chinese culture will be introduced through these activities.

CHN 103: Elementary Chinese for Heritage Speakers

4 credit hours

This course is designed for students who already possess basic speaking skills of Mandarin Chinese but are not literate in Mandarin Chinese. It will focus on improving students' reading and writing skills.

CHN 105F: Language and Culture of Northwest China (Study abroad course)

In this course students learn practical Mandarin Chinese needed for living in China and practice their language skills in natural settings. Students are placed into different sections depending on their Chinese proficiency level. In addition to language instruction, a Chinese martial arts (wushu) master will provide instruction of martial arts twice a week to all who wish to participate.

CHN 190: Freshmen Seminar: Mind and Body in China

4 credit hours

This course will explore the theoretical and practical aspects of the concept of "Mind and Body" in Chinese religious traditions. As we explore how these traditional Chinese views fit into a modern context, students will have hands-on experience with this ancient wisdom, e.g., in Qigong, Tai-chi, seated and moving meditation, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, spiritual practice in nature, or Daoist methods of enhancing longevity.

CHN 190: Freshmen Seminar: Shanghai: Lure of the Modern

4 credit hours

This freshmen seminar focuses on the ambiguous image of Shanghai in China's discourses of modernization in the twentieth century. It will take Shanghai both as a real historical city that has played a crucial role in China's rise in the modern era and as a symbolic, transnational space where China's ambivalent experience of modernity was negotiated and represented.

CHN 201: Intermediate Chinese I

4 credit hours

This course is designed to help students to reach intermediate level communicative skill both in spoken and written Chinese and to establish a solid base for more advanced language learning. By increasing students' vocabulary and their knowledge of sentence patterns, the course focuses on speaking and writing in coherent and well-formed paragraphs. By the end of the semester students should be able to 1) carry out rather fluent conversations about daily activities, 2) write compositions of 300-500 characters on subjects of their daily life and personal experiences.

CHN 202: Intermediate Chinese II

4 credit hours

This course provides intermediate-level training in spoken and written Chinese in cultural context, based on language skills developed in CHN 201. Attention is given to complex grammatical patterns, discourse characteristics, and discussions of cultural topics.

CHN 203: Intermediate Chinese for Heritage Speakers II

4 credit hours

This course is designed for heritage speakers of Mandarin Chinese and is a continuation of CHN 103. The emphasis is on improving students' reading and writing skills. It prepares students for further study at the advanced level.

CHN 230: Description and Analysis of the Chinese Language (same as LING 230)

4 credit hours

The course aims to give students an overview of important elements of the Chinese language and its use. Students will gain an understanding of the long history of the language, as well as the phonological, semantic, and syntactic structures of modern Chinese. In addition, through discussions on language use in society, the course examines the cultural and social issues surrounding the Chinese language. Topics include its historical development, linguistic structures, dialects, writing system and calligraphy, and language use in society. The course is taught in English.

CHN 271: Modern China in Films and Fiction (same as ASIA 271)

4 credit hours

This course is an examination of twentieth-century Chinese society through cinematic productions and a critical reading of the writings of major Chinese writers in translation. Emphasis on self and society in a changing culture and the nature and function of literature in the modern nation-building. Satisfies G.E.R. post-freshman writing requirement and G.E.R. area V.C (Non-Western Cultures).

CHN 272: Literature in Early and Imperial China

4 credit hours

This course offers an introduction to Chinese literature from its beginnings through the end of the imperial era in 1911. Focussing on close readings of selected pieces in their literary and historical context, we will analyze representative works of individual eras, writers, and genres (in English translation) that occupy significant positions in the historical development of traditional Chinese literature. The aim of the course is to illustrate the beauty and diversity of classical Chinese literary voices and poetic sensibilities, and enable students to come to adequate terms with literary texts that were produced in an intellectual and cultural environment often portrayed as being "worlds apart" from our own. Satisfies G.E.R. post-freshman writing requirement and G.E.R. area IV.A (Humanities - Textual).

CHN 273: Heritage of China (same as ASIA 273)

4 credit hours

This course is a general introduction to Chinese history, culture and literary tradition. It is designed to acquaint the students to ideas, institutions, aspects of life, literature and arts that are essential to an educated understanding of the Chinese world. This course will begin with discussions of individual topics including geography, philosophy, language, art, family and daily life. The course will then proceed to a chronological introduction to Chinese literary tradition, and will focus on the discussion of significant Chinese literary and historical texts. Satisties G.E.R. area V.C (Non-Western Cultures).

CHN 274: Foreigners in Imperial China

4 credit hours

Far from being a closed empire encircled by an impenetrable Great Wall, China was always integrated in global circulations of goods, knowledge, and people. Foreigners were a constant presence in the Middle Kingdom throughout her history, even if they were not welcomed by everyone and at all times. In this seminar we will follow the trails and travails of some men and women, from Europe, Asia, and America, who fell prey to the "lure of Cathay" in their searches for riches, influence, employment, adventure, or spiritual gratification. Our aim is to explore not only the changing fortunes of individual travellers, but also to examine the historical origins of many ideas that continue to shape our understanding of Chinese civilization.

CHN 301: Advanced Chinese I

4 credit hours

This is the first semester of Advanced Chinese. The course places emphasis on communicative function of the language where advanced reading, grammar and conversation are stressed. The contents of the textbook focus on the rapidly changing attitudes and values of modern China. Authentic reading materials are included in each lesson, such as newspaper articles, television, news broadcasts, short works of fiction, and some film. Students will learn to read both traditional and simplified characters.

CHN 302: Advanced Chinese II

4 credit hours

This is the second semester of Advanced Chinese. The course places emphasis on the communicative function of the language where advanced reading grammar and conversation are stressed. Periodic translation exercises will provide students the opportunity to gauge how well they understand nuances in the language. The content of the textbook focuses on the rapidly changing attitudes and values of modern China. Authentic reading materials are included in each lesson, such as newspaper articles, television, news broadcasts, short works of fiction, and some film. Students will be expected to read complex and simplified characters. Satisfies G.E.R. post-freshman writing requirement.

CHN 314F: Study Abroad (Language course)

4 credit hours

CHN 315F: Study Abroad (Lecture course)

4 credit hours

CHN 351: Business Chinese

4 credit hours

This course is an introduction to basic written and oral communication skills for business and trade negotiations with Mainland China and Taiwan.

CHN 359: Women and Religion in China (same as ASIA 359, REL 352 and WS 359)

4 credit hours

This course will examine what impacts the religious traditions of China, including Confucianism, Taoism and Mahayana Buddhism, have had upon shaping the social experiences, roles and images of women in twentieth century China and Taiwan. We will be exploring dimensions of the modern encounter between women and traditional Chinese traditions such as the construction of genders and the roles given them in the Chinese religions, and the images of the "goddess" and the symbolism of the female in art. We will also engage contemporary Chinese women's responses to the traditional representations of their spiritual, sexual and social roles in various women's social movements, as well as a new presentation of the female body in contemporary Chinese cinema.

CHN 360: Chinese Women in Film and Fiction (same as ASIA 360 and WS 360)

4 credit hours

This course is an examination of woman as trope in modern Chinese cinema and literature in the twentieth century. It explores how "the modern woman" became a cultural construct and how that construct has redefined gender role and femininity. Special attention will be paid to such issues as self-identity, love, marriage, family, and social opportunities. All readings are in English translation. Knowledge of Chinese language is not required. Satisfies G.E.R. post-freshman writing requirement and G.E.R. area V.C (Non-Western Cultures).

CHN 373: Confucian Classics (same as REL 374 and ASIA 375)

4 credit hours

For more than two thousand years, a small set of texts associated with Confucius (551-479 BC) and his disciples formed the core of the Chinese educational curriculum. As a store of knowledge shared by all educated men and women, Confucian Classics shaped Chinese literati culture from late antiquity to the early 20th century. The goal of this course is to illustrate the diversity of the literary and cultural practices that evolved around this unique body of writings. The course is roughly divided into two parts. First, we will attempt to establish a framework for understanding the textual history and changing significance of the Classics throughout the premodern era. Drawing on a broad selection of primary sources (to be read in English translation), we will then examine how the canonized ideas were refracted in literary, philosophical, religious, and political discourse. Satisfies G.E.R. post-freshman writing requirement and G.E.R. area IV.A (Humanities - Textual).

CHN 375R: Special Topics in Chinese Studies

4 credit hours

Study of Chinese language, literature, thought or culture, alone or in conjunction with other literary or cultural trends. Topics to be announced in advance.

CHN 375D/MUS 372D: Chinese Music and Culture

1 credit hour

This is the language across the curriculum portion of MUS 372D Chinese Culture and Music. The class will meet one hour per week. Students will improve their Chinese proficiency by reading about Chinese music and learning the lyrics of Chinese songs. Students must have taken one year of Modern Chinese to register for this course.

CHN 376: Science in China

TBC

CHN 395: Time/Space/History in Chinese Cinema

(same as ASIA 395 and FILM 395)

4 credit hours

The course explores the history and development of Chinese cinema. It discusses "film in China" and "China in film" by focusing on the function of cinema and continual reconfigurations of time, space, gender, and history in Chinese films under different historical conditions since the early twentieth century.

CHN 397R: Directed Reading

Variable credit

Permission only, discretion of instructor.

CHN 401: Advanced Readings in Modern Chinese I

4 credit hours

Conducted in Chinese, this course focuses on readings and discussion of authentic reading material from a wide variety of writing styles, including social, political, journalistic texts as well as important works of modern Chinese literature. The goal of the course is to develop students' ability to understand and use Chinese at a more advanced level and to introduce modern Chinese culture through readings and discussions. Students are required to prepare in advance, then read and discuss the material in Chinese. Satisfies G.E.R. post-freshman writing requirement.

CHN 402: Advanced Readings in Modern Chinese II

4 credit hours

This course focuses on readings and discussion of material from contemporary works of Chinese literature in conjunction with the movies that are based upon them; reading of Chinese newspapers and viewing TV programs. Class is conducted in Chinese. Satisfies G.E.R. post-freshman writing requirement.

CHN 403: Introduction to Classical Chinese

4 credit hours

For more than three thousand years, down to the early 20th century, the vast majority of Chinese historical, philosophical, and literary texts were written in Classical (or Literary) Chinese (wenyan). Literature in Classical Chinese is an important part of cultural heritage of all humankind. This course is designed for students who have taken at least two years of Modern Chinese and are curious about the Chinese literary heritage. Students read selections of famous classical texts in their original language, such as Confucius' Analects, Laozi, early histories, and Tang poetry; and acquire basic knowledge of Classical Chinese grammar and lexicon.

CHN 404: Contemporary Chinese Literature

4 credit hours

This course is designed for those who have completed CHN 401 or the equivalent. The course materials are selected from post-Mao fiction in unabridged form to help students develop abilities to read literary works in the original. It exposes students to fictional writings in various styles and emphasizes strategies of extensive reading and vocabulary expansion beyond what usually appears in the media and other formal expository writings. Students will learn to appreciate the power of language in constructing meanings by doing close readings of literary pieces.

CHN 471: Tradition in Modern China

4 credit hours

This advanced seminar examines the multiple ways in which traditions have been attacked, defended, revised, and (re-)invented in twentieth-century China. Our aim is to disentangle the anxieties, interests, and rhetorical devices that have shaped modern Chinese answers to the question of historical continuity. In our explorations, we will scrutinize representations of the past in scholarly works, including histories of Chinese thought, science and literature, as well as in memories of historical events as reflected in historiography, film, fiction, music, monuments, and art. Satisfies G.E.R. post-freshman writing requirement.

CHN 495AS: Chinese Honors I (Seminar)

4 credit hours

Permission only, discretion of instructor.
See requirements for Honors Degree under Chinese Major.

CHN 495B: Chinese Honors II (Thesis)

4 credit hours

Permission only, discretion of instructor.
See requirements for Honors Degree under Chinese Major.

CHN 496R: Chinese Language Internship

Variable credit

Permission only, discretion of instructor.

Provides students of Chinese an opportunity to use their Chinese language skills outside the classroom, exposing them to a variety of native speakers in a number of different situations. Students will be assigned to a number of tasks: interpreting at appointments with social workers, doctors, dentists, welfare workers, food and clothing banks and at job interviews, as well as assisting customers and doing Chinese word processing in Chinese travel agencies and other types of businesses. Students are advised to be flexible as different tasks may be assigned each day.

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