Chinese Through Film

Catalog description

This course is designed for students who finish Level Two Chinese or higher and aims to help them develop Chinese proficiency through movies. CHNS 410 Chinese Through Film (3) (IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course aims to provoke students' critical thinking on China-related issues and improve their Chinese language proficiency by encouraging them to reenact and remake selected scenes from the movies, investigate and discuss the social issues as shown from the movies. This is a three credit course designed to go beyond the day-to-day topics to further develop students' understanding of the social issues in contemporary China and thus enhance their Chinese language proficiency. Through watching movies in Chinese, students will listen to authentic Chinese and expose to broader aspects of Chinese people's lives and Chinese society. In addition, they will have opportunities to conduct culture comparisons between China and the U.S., East and West, which will enable them to make in-depth analysis when examining a complex social, political or economic issue in China. The follow-up class activities include both speaking and writing assignments. Depending on the topics, speaking assignments may include: reenactment or recreation of a selected scene from the movies, class or group discussions, debates and presentations. Writing assignments may include: writing a new story or different ending for the movies, and reflection essays.