Topics in Contemporary Culture of China

Catalog description

This repeatable course explores target cultures through a thematic or conceptual focus. Students critically analyze authentic documents through, for example, historical, biographical, filmic, artistic, literary, musical, and theoretical perspectives, while improving and expanding their language skills. Prerequisite: 82-332 S20: China has become the second largest economy in the world and is playing a more and more important role in the global society today. To have comprehensive knowledge and in-depth understanding of what has brought about the rapid changes, what is happening there and what to expect for the future is crucial to the professional life of anyone who intends to build up a career in the global community. This 400-level Chinese course aims at helping students obtain knowledge of and develop a deeper and broader understanding of the social, historical, political and cultural situation in China today through the study of materials selected from various media channels, including newspaper and journal articles, films, video clips and other online materials. Students will be able to use Chinese correctly and fluently to introduce, analyze, and comment on various issues in today's Chinese society and make comparisons between contemporary China and its past as well as between China and other countries today. Teaching activities will include classroom discussions and mini-reports. Students' self-reflection essays and semester-end research project will be the major forms of assessment of students' performance. Prerequisite: 82-332