Courses

Language Courses

AS 110f--AS 111s Elementary Chinese
This course introduces Mandarin Chinese and emphasizes development of oral proficiency as well as gradual acquisition of reading and writing skills. Supplements class work with laboratory practice. Uses a computer program to practice pronunciation and Chinese characters.
Satisfies language requirements; does not satisfy a distribution requirement.; 6 credits; 5 meetings (50 minutes).
Y. Wang
Audio Online

AS 212f--AS 213s Intermediate Chinese
This course continues elementary Chinese. Emphasizes equally speaking, listening, reading, and writing modern Chinese. Supplements class work with audio- and videotapes. Uses Chinese software to write journals in Chinese.
Satisfies language requirement; does not satisfy a distribution requirement. Prereq. Asian Studies 111 or equivalent. 6 credits; 5 meetings (50 minutes).
Y. Wang
Audio Online

AS310f-AS311s Third Year Chinese
This course helps studenst to build both linguistic and communicative competence in Mandarin Chinese through reading, discussiong, and writing about authentic texts. Newspapers, essays, and short stories will be the teaching materials for the course. An interactive approach will be incorporated into the curriculum to improve students' conversational skills. The class will be conducted mostly in Chinese, and class hours will be supplemented by individual work in the language Rescource Center.
Satisfies Language requirement; does not satisfy a distribution requirement. Prereq. Asian Studies 213 or equivalent; 4 credits ; 2 meetings (75 minutes).
A. Kao

AS312f-AS313s Fourth Year Chinese
A continuation of Asian Studies 310-311, this course will advance students' abilities in Chinese language reading, listening, speaking and writing through close study of contemporary Chinese short stories and nonfiction works. Focusing on material by writers such as Yu Hua, Su Tong, and Wang Meng, the course will also introduce supplementary materials such as films, television dramas, and newspaper articles. The class will be conducted entirely in Chinese.
Meets multicultural and Language requirements; does not meet a distribution requirement; Prereq. Asian Studies 311 or equivalent . 4 credits ; 2 meetings (75 minutes).
D. Huang

Literature Courses

AS 240 Women in Chinese Literature
This course examines various modes of representation by which women have been portrayed in traditional Chinese literature. Through our close reading of a wide range of materials, including poetry, fiction, essays, and drama from 600 BC to the end of 19th century, the course seeks to explore new perspectives on issues relating to gender studies, such as how the image(s) of women changed throughout Chinese history, what kind of heroines were favored by Chinese writers, and whether "women" becomes a literary trope for Chinese society in the imperial China.
Satisfies Humanities I-A requirements, 4 credits.
Y. Wang

AS248 Contemporary Chinese Fiction
A study of representative Chinese fictional writings from 1949 to the present focusing on the ways in which issues of individual and national identity, modernity, and gender have been probed and represented by different generations of Chinese writers. A particular emphasis will be placed on the novels and short stories published since the 1980s, in which both traditional ideology and literary styles are seriously questioned and challenged. Readings include works by Nobel Prize winner Gao Xingjian and other famous writers such as Wang Meng, Zhang Xianliang, Zhang Jie, Wang Anyi, Yu Hua, Su Tong, etc.
Satisfies Humanities I-A requirements, 4 credits.
Y. Wang

AS 340s Love, Gender-crossing, and Women's Supremacy: A Reading of The Story of Stone
A seminar on the 18th-century Chinese masterpiece The Story of Stone and selected literary criticism in response to this work. Discussions will focus on love, gender-crossing, and women's supremacy and the paradoxical treatments of these themes in the novel. We will explore multiple aspects of these themes, including the sociological, philosophical, and literary milieus of eighteenth-century China. We will also examine this novel in its relation to Chinese literary tradition in general and the generic conventions of pre-modern Chinese vernacular fiction in particular.
Satisfies multicultural requirement and Humanities I-A requirement. Prereq. Permission of instructor. 4 credits; 1 meeting (3 hours). Enrollment limited to 15.
Y. Wang