CHST 531-532: Modern Chinese in Contemporary Mass Media
Our aim in the course is to become familiar with, discuss, and debate
some of the economic, political, and cultural situations of the contemporary
Chinese speaking-world through the modern mass media of newspapers, television,
and film. During the first semester of this course, our entry point to these
issues will be Chinese journalism (in print and on-line) and television
broadcasts (news and interview shows), while in the second semester we will
focus primarily on film. A secondary goal of this course is to train yourself
to become effective managers of your own learning so that you will be able to
function independently in Chinese culture in your future professional pursuits.
At this point in your Chinese language-learning careers, it is assumed that
you are sufficiently mature and responsible to manage your own language
learning with the guidance of the instructor and language tutor. With this
goal in mind, we will pursue three core projects in this class: first, students
will compile a portfolio of three Chinese newspaper articles with glossaries
drawn from on-line sources; second, students will organize three in-class
debates on topics based issues discussed in a Chinese interview program; and
third, students will produce a written and oral report on a topic of
contemporary interest in Chinese society based on the three articles they have
gathered in their portfolio. These projects are designed to train you to
understand the major media presentation formats, while also allowing you to
pursue your individual research and career interests.
CHST 590: Topics in Chinese Studies
Cr. 3. A variety of courses focusing on one aspect of Chinese history, economy,
literature, and politics. Can be repeated if deals with different topics. The
following six courses are currently being offered:
- CHST590/POLS590: Public Policies in China
This course examines the key issues involving public policy in China.
Using a case-study approach (with international comparison whenever
appropriate), this course will focus on such public policy domains as
health care, social security, income distribution, and environment
protection. Its goal is three-fold: 1) to introduce public policy
analysis as a field in Chinese studies; 2) to appreciate the scope and
complexity of the challenges facing Chinese public policy through three
or four case studies; and 3) to assess the success and failures of a
particular Chinese public policy through a research paper.
- CHST590/HIST541: The Making of Modern China
This graduate course allows students to explore the major themes in
Chinese history from the beginning of the nineteenth century to present.
Among the highlights of the period, we will take particular notice of
the Opium Wars, Boxer Rebellion, the influx of Western ideas into China,
the demise of the imperial system, the ascendancy of the Communist
Party, the cult of Chairman Mao, the Cultural Revolution, China's
appearance on the global stage, and the ways in which the People's
Republic has changed and failed to change Chinese cultural practices. We
will also learn the stories of those who shaped the period and those who
were eyewitnesses to it: from China's greatest modern writer Lu Xun to
Western "old China hands." Students will conduct research that attempts
to bring history to bear on issues of current concern in China. This
course will provide a solid foundation of knowledge about modern China
for more in-depth future study or as a complement to Chinese language
learning.
- CHST590/EAST590: Classic Chinese Novels
This course will examine three of the "Four Classic Chinese Novels,"
namely, Romance of the Three Kingdom (ca. 1330-ca. 1400), Journey to the
West (1590s), and The Story of the Stone (1791), all required readings
for any basic training in Chinese civilization. It will discuss the
texts' literary values as well as themes such as national unification,
heroism, justice, love, the individual and the community, the identity
of the intellectual, among others. Whenever appropriate, the course
strives to be comparative with Western literature. For example, there
will be an article that compares The Journey to the West with The Fairie
Queen. It will also compare The Story of the Stone with the European
Bildungsroman, particularly Goethe��s Wilhelm Meisters Apprenticeship.
Class requirements include active participation, one presentation, two
shorter papers, and a final paper.
- CHST590 E: Asian Economies
This course will focus on the economic story of the two fastest growing
economies in the world. India and China present a study in contrast for
their path to economic development, their history and the impact of
growth in each country. This course will explore the economic history
of both countries, their experiences with economic reform and the future
challenges for them. A central component of the course would be a
research assignment that will require a student to study a specific
segment of either economy in depth.
- CHST590/PSY590C: Psychology & Religion, Buddhist Perspectives
This course is being offered conjointly with PSY590B, Psychology and
Religion: Christian Perspectives. All students from both classes will
meet together on Tuesdays to hear lecture and discuss general issues,
and then they will meet the instructor separately in the Christian and
Buddhist sections on Thursdays, where they will read and discuss
original source material related to Buddhism (or Christianity, in the
other section). Students may elect to do both the Christian and Buddhist
materials, in which case they will need to attend both sessions on
Thursdays.
- CHST590/POLS590: Chinese Foreign Policy
This course examines Chinese foreign policies in the context of the rise
of China and the shifting trends in international relations especially
those related to East Asia. It will examine foreign policy making in
China and its relations with countries such as the US, Japan, Russia,
and its neighboring states.
- CHST590: Media and Culture in East Asia
This course will explore the relationship between culture and mass
media, focusing on the particular cases of modern Japan, China, and
Korea. From an anthropological vantage point we will ask in what ways
are media influenced by the culture in which they are produced, and can
media in turn affect culture. Inherent in these questions are issues
of cultural production, representation, and power. Examining film,
television, cartoons, and music, experientially as well as through
pertinent scholarly texts, we will address topics such as the role of
the state in structuring media, representations of gender and tradition
in contemporary media, new media and social movements, and the
implications of the global spread of media texts. Both in class and
through written assignments students will try their hand at several
approaches to critical media analysis.
CHST 607-608: Intensified Fourth-Year Chinese I
The primary goal of this two-term course is to train students to be able to
communicate with native speakers about your research and career interests in
authentic and formal language. Our aim is to expand your rhetorical skills in
speech and writing to accomplish the following high level communicative tasks
in Chinese: maintain sustained discourse, provide complex explanations, state
and defend opinions, make suggestions, and evaluate the arguments and claims of
others. In the first semester of this course we will focus mainly on a
sequence of essays from the Advanced Chinese textbook and mastering the
rhetorical styles that each essay emphasizes (such as narration, description,
persuasion, exposition, and lyrical expression). In the second semester we
will read and discuss a selection of literary works (including poetry,
short-stories, and drama) by some of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th
and 21st centuries. While students are helped to further improve command of
structure and vocabulary in a range of language styles, the primary emphasis of
this course is on reading comprehension and writing skills. The emphasis in
this class on reading comprehension and writing skills complements Chinese
Studies 531: Modern Chinese in Mass Media in which our primary activity will be
the discussion and debate of contemporary issues.
CHST 686: Internship in China
Cr. 1-3. Students are assigned to a local Chinese institution relevant to their
professional development under faculty and onsite supervision. Most
communications are done in Chinese. Minimum 100 contact hours.
CHST 690: Seminar in Chinese Studies
Cr. 1-3. Graduate seminar in special topics relating to a specific element of
Chinese society. May be repeated when topics vary.
CHST 695: Supervised Reading and Research in Chinese Studies
Cr. 1-3. Opportunity for students and faculty to collaboratively pursue topics
of common interest in the area of Chinese Studies.
CHST 696: Graduate Seminar in Chinese Studies (fall only)
Cr. 0.5. Weekly discussion sessions or lectures covering a variety of current
topics relevant to Chinese studies.
CHST 697: Career Development(spring only)
Cr. 0.5. Weekly discussion sessions or lectures covering a variety of issues relevant to Chinese studies and career development.