63 courses with the subject CHIN, each shown exactly as we captured it from the college's catalog, with every element we hold. Where the wording looks broken, that is our reading of the catalog, not the college's text.
CHIN 001Introduction to Mandarin Chinese1.5
Students who start in the CHIN 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001. An intensive introduction to spoken and written Mandarin Chinese, with emphasis on oral Chinese practice. Designed to impart an active command of basic grammar. Introduces 350 to 400 characters and develops the ability to read and write in simple modern Chinese. Humanities. 1.5 credits. Fall 2026. Kang, Speidel. Fall 2027 Staff, Staff.
Students who start in the CHIN 001-002 sequence must complete 002 to receive credit for 001. An intensive introduction to spoken and written Mandarin Chinese, with emphasis on oral Chinese practice. Designed to impart an active command of basic grammar. Introduces 350 to 400 characters and develops the ability to read and write in simple modern Chinese. Humanities. 1.5 credits. Spring 2027. Staff, Staff. Spring 2028 Staff, Staff.
Designed for students who have mastered basic grammar and 350 to 400 characters. Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading in the modern language. Emphasis is on rapid expansion of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and thorough understanding of grammatical patterns. Prepares students for advanced study at the College and in China. Humanities. 1.5 credits. Eligible for ASIA Fall 2026. Tang, Speidel. Fall 2027 Staff, Staff.
Designed for students who have mastered basic grammar and 350 to 400 characters. Combines intensive oral practice with writing and reading in the modern language. Emphasis is on rapid expansion of vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, and thorough understanding of grammatical patterns. Prepares students for advanced study at the College and in China. Humanities. 1.5 credits. Eligible for ASIA Spring 2027. Staff, Staff. Spring 2028 Staff, Staff.
Designed for students of Chinese heritage who are able to communicate in Chinese on simple daily life topics and perhaps read Chinese with a limited vocabulary (about 100 characters). An intensive introduction to spoken and written Mandarin Chinese, with emphasis on the development of reading and writing ability. Prepares students for advanced studies at the College and in China.
Permission of the instructor. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA Fall 2026. Chiu. Fall 2027 Staff. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
CHIN 006Chinese for Advanced Beginners II1
Designed for students of Chinese heritage who are able to communicate in Chinese with a command of basic grammar and a vocabulary (about 800 characters). An intensive introduction at the intermediate level to Mandarin Chinese, with emphasis on the development of reading and writing ability. Prepares students for advanced studies at the College and in China.
CHIN 005 or CHIN 002 or equivalent language skills. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA. Spring 2027. Staff. Spring 2028 Staff. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
CHIN 007Chinese/Japanese Calligraphy0.5
(Cross-listed as JPNS 007 ) Calligraphy is the art of beautiful handwriting. This course will introduce students to the importance of calligraphy in East Asian Culture. In addition to being a valuable cultural skill, calligraphy is also a process of self-cultivation and self-expression, which reflects the mind-set of the writer. Thus, students will have the opportunity to learn Chinese/Japanese characters not only as linguistic symbols but also as cultural emblems and as an art form. Course objectives include learning to appreciate the beauty of Chinese/Japanese calligraphy, experiencing calligraphy by writing with a brush and ink, and studying various philosophies of calligraphy. In addition to learning several different calligraphic scripts, students will be introduced to the origin, evolution, and aesthetic principles of the Chinese and Japanese writing systems, as well as calligraphy’s close connections with painting and poetry. Persistent hands-on practice will be required of all students; course work will include in-class practice, individual/group instruction, reading assignments, and take-home assignments. This class is open to all students and has no language requirement. Due to the course’s practicum component, enrollment will be limited by lottery to 10 students. The course can be repeated for credit. 0.5 credit.
CHIN 008Beginning and Intermediate Supplementary Chinese Reading
This course is designed for students to improve their Chinese reading skills as well as to enjoy reading. It offers an opportunity for students to develop a taste for reading and to read from a selection of books collected by the Chinese Section (e.g. idioms and their stories, folktales, modern fiction, etc.). Multi-level texts allow students at various ability levels to engage in reading books according to their own individual interests. Students will develop their confidence and motivation, which will enhance their reading skills and their ability to use Chinese effectively. The instructor will offer guidance depending on the individual student’s strengths and needs. Students at the CHIN 002-004 levels and higher are welcome to enroll. Humanities. .5 credit.
CHIN 009First-Year Seminar: Heaven, Earth, and Man: Ways of Thought in Traditional Chinese Culture1
(Cross-listed as LITR 009CH ) This introductory course explores the most influential currents of thought and culture in traditional China, through directed readings and discussions of original sources in translation. Humanities. 1 credit.
Concentrates on strengthening and further developing skills in reading, speaking, and writing modern Chinese, through a diversity of materials and media. Classes are conducted in Chinese, with precise translation also a component.
CHIN 004 or equivalent language skills. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA Fall 2026. Wen. Fall 2027 Staff. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
CHIN 011AThird-Year Chinese Conversation0.5
This course meets once a week for 75 minutes and concentrates on the further development of skills in speaking and listening through multimedia materials (including selected movies and clips). Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials and short stories) and prepare assignments for the purpose of generating discussion in class. Moreover, students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in Chinese before they present them in class. The class is conducted entirely in Chinese.
CHIN 004 or equivalent language skills. 0.5 credit. Eligible for ASIA Fall 2026. Wen. Fall 2027 Staff. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
CHIN 012Advanced Chinese1
A multimedia course concentrating on greatly expanding skills in understanding and using modern Chinese in a broad variety of cultural and literary contexts, through a diversity of authentic materials in various media, including the Internet.
CHIN 011 or equivalent language skills. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA Spring 2027. Staff. Spring 2028 Staff. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
CHIN 012AAdvanced Chinese Conversation0.5
This 0.5-credit course meets once a week for 75 minutes and concentrates on the further development of skills in speaking and listening through multimedia materials (including movies and clips). Students are required to read chosen texts (including Internet materials and short stories) and prepare assignments for the purpose of generating discussion in class. Moreover, students will write out skits or reports for oral presentation in Chinese before they present them in class. The class is conducted entirely in Chinese.
CHIN 011 and/or CHIN 011A or equivalent language skills. 0.5 credit. Eligible for ASIA Spring 2027. Staff. Spring 2028 Staff. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
CHIN 015Intro to East Asian Humanities1
(Cross-listed as ASIA 015 , LITR 015CH ) This course is an introduction to the humanistic traditions of China, Japan, and Korea from antiquity to around 1600. We explore some of the foundational ideas, texts, and issues that reflect the East Asian experiences with the self and the world. Through close engagement with a wide variety of source materials selected from all three cultures, we will investigate both the deep connections shared among them and the unique trajectories of each as they approached modernity. To that end, this course focuses on the written artifacts broadly conceivable as literature, historiography, and philosophy, although we will also read some of the canonical works of East Asian religions. Our goal is not to survey everything there is, but to develop a critical ability in both understanding the East Asian traditions and in reflecting upon their relevance to the present day. No prior knowledge or experience with East Asia is required. Open to freshmen and seniors alike. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for GLBL-Paired
CHIN 016Substance, Shadow, and Spirit in Chinese Literature and Culture1
(Cross-listed as LITR 016CH ) This course will explore the literary and intellectual world of traditional Chinese culture through original writings in English translation, including both poetry and prose. Topics to be discussed include Taoism, Confucianism, and the contouring of Chinese culture; immortality, wine, and allaying the mundane; and the religious dimension, disengagement, and the appreciation of the natural world. The course also will address cultural and literary formulations of conduct and persona, and the expression of individualism in an authoritarian society. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA
This course aims to perfect the student’s Mandarin Chinese skills and at the same time to introduce a few major topics concerning Chinese literature and other types of writing since the May Fourth Movement. All readings, writing, and discussion are in Chinese.
Three years of Chinese or the equivalent. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA, CPLT Fall 2026. Gao. Fall 2027 Staff. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
Reading and examination of individual authors, selected themes, genres, and periods, for students with strong Chinese-language proficiency. All readings, writings, and discussions are in Chinese.
CHIN 020 or its equivalent. Humanities. Writing course. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA Spring 2027. Staff. Spring 2028 Staff. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
CHIN 022Representing Colonial Taiwan: City and Public Space in Print1
Cross-listed as LITR 022 This course introduces students to a variety of methods for approaching the visual images and literary work produced to represent the lived experience of people in colonial Taiwan. Acknowledging the role that print capital has played in the rise of modernization and its momentum to forge a new identity, the class will read in detail the maps, postcards, photos, and literary works available to the growing number of common readers in colonial Taiwan. Through analysis of various representations of public space, the course discloses how people perceived their world, and how representations of public space were articulated in relation to the colonial agenda and particular struggles to reconfigure the power relations among different communities. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA. CPLT
CHIN 023Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature1
(Cross-listed as LITR 023CH ) Modern and contemporary Chinese literature is not a national enterprise; it is a global network across diverging societies. From the neon-soaked alleyways of semi-colonial Shanghai to the tropical dreams of the Malaysian rainforest, and from Taipei’s queer undergrounds to Beijing’s high-tech dystopian vistas, Chinese literary culture has always been a sprawling, polyphonic, and dangerously fluid machine. This course invites students to analyze how writers from the early 20th century to the present participated in the making of a global Chinese modernity. We move beyond the “Great Wall” of national history to examine the Chinese script as a trans-border medium used to forge, dispute, and dismantle identities, norms of gender and sexuality, and Sinophobia. All readings are in English. No prerequisite. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA Fall 2026. Gao.
CHIN 024Advanced Chinese for Business and Technology
This course is aimed to enhance students’ language skills in a business context and to promote their understanding about business environment and culture in contemporary China. The text is developed from real business cases from real multinational companies that have successfully embarked on the Chinese market. Class will be conducted in Chinese. In addition to the course textbook, students will learn to read business news in Chinese selected from various sources including Wall Street Journal.
CHIN 012 CHIN 012A or equivalent language skills. Humanities. .5 credit. Eligible for ASIA. Spring 2027. Wen. Spring 2028 Wen. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: http://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
CHIN 025Contemporary Chinese & Sinophone Fictions and Social Change1
(Cross-listed as LITR 025CH ) This course examines critical social changes through literary narratives from China and Sinophone communities (such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia), with a primary focus on works published after the mid-1980s. The selected narratives articulate the historical specificity of ideological dilemmas and cultural dynamics through their imaginative engagements with desire, morality, politics, and environmental issues. Through textual analysis and class discussion, students will better understand contemporary Chinese and other Sinophone societies as well as become familiar with various means of interpreting literature. All lectures and discussions will be conducted in English, and all readings are in English translation. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA
(Cross-listed as LING 033 ) This is an introductory course on reading one of the world’s great classical languages. Classical Chinese includes both the language of China’s classical literature as well as the literary language used for writing in China for well over 2 millennia until earlier this century. Complemented with readings in English about Chinese characters and classical Chinese, this course imparts the principal structures of the classical language through an analytical presentation of the rudiments of the language and close reading of original texts. It is not a lecture course and requires active, regular participation on the part of the student, with precise translation into English an integral component. The course is conducted in English. The course is open to all interested students and has no prerequisites; no previous preparation in Chinese is required. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA, MDST Fall 2027 Staff.
CHIN 034Appreciation of Tang-Song Poetry in Chinese1
This course will lead students to learn how to read, comprehend, and analyze classical Chinese poetry from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties in its original language. Our goals will be to discuss and write about some of the landmark works of classical Chinese literature in modern Chinese and to become familiar with English language scholarship on major themes in middle-period literary history. We will explore two key genres of poetry (shi poetry and ci or song lyrics) and the major writers who have had an enduring impact on the Chinese cultural tradition. Students will learn how to read closely and intensively and how to analyze each work in terms of its formal conventions, it cultural and historical context, and its relation to other forms or to other individual pieces. Regular assignments include short papers and presentations in modern Mandarin about classical Chinese poetry, translations of classical Chinese into English, and a final presentation/paper that synthesizes knowledge of a classical Chinese genre, poet, or theme with the English/Chinese language scholarship on that topic.
Four years of Chinese or the equivalent. Humanities. 1 credit. Catalog chapter: Modern Languages and Literatures: Chinese Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/chinese Access the class schedule to search for sections.
(Cross-listed as LITR 036CH ) Contrary to our stereotypes about the silent, invisible woman of premodern China, women actually wrote and published their work in unprecedented numbers from the late 16th century to the early 20th century. This course will explore the literary and historical significance of this output, which mainly took the form of poetry and prefaces to poetry collections, letters, some drama, and novels in verse, and which was produced primarily by gentry women (e.g. women from elite families), courtesans, and nuns. A central theme will be the place and problem of women’s poetry in a male-dominated literary tradition and society. Topics to be addressed include the social function of poetry and women’s literary networks, women’s relationship to the publishing market as writers, editors, and readers, the forces driving male interest in women’s writing at certain historical moments, and the changing ideas about what kinds of styles of past poets should be offered to boudoir poets as a repertoire of available choices to read and imitate. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA, GSST
CHIN 038The Promise and Peril of Dialogues: Theory, Practice, Comparison1
(Cross-listed with ASIA 038 , LITR 038CH ) Dialogue often connotes inclusiveness, openness, conflict resolution, and truth-seeking. It is both a civic process and a literary form most famously associated with the philosophical writings of Plato. Nonetheless, even in the Platonic dialogues not every voice or perspective is always equally represented, thereby exposing the hidden dangers of a seemingly democratic form. This course looks into the promise and peril of the dialogic form through a diverse selection of premodern Chinese writings we now separate into different genres: poetry, history, philosophy, as well as more technically-oriented works like medicine, civil engineering, and military strategies. It highlights a vibrant tradition of dialogic compositions that are not always recognized as such but has tremendous implications for our understanding of the form. In addition, students also read foundational works from both other literary traditions and from modern theories for context and comparison. All readings in English, with Chinese originals available to the more advanced students. Humanities. 1 credit.
(Cross-listed as LITR 055CH ) In the Chinese-speaking world, the film screen has been an important media device for social, political, and cultural transformation. This course invites students to examine Chinese and Sinophone film cultures from the silent era to the digital age. Traveling across mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong through the screen, students will learn essential tools for analyzing film images and sound. Students will also discuss how cinema took roots in China, how the critics took advantage of the attraction of the film screen to instigate political movements, and, most recently, how the digital screen introduced a set of new techniques in crafting and exploiting the self-image in the digital economy. This course will give students opportunities to engage with media production, such as making music videos and video essays, as a new mode of critical thinking and practice. Students are encouraged to use both old and new media technologies and experiment with unorthodox ways of looking at the world through their own lenses. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA, CPLT, ASAM, FMST Fall 2027 Staff.
CHIN 056Travel and Relocation in Sinophone Literature1
Cross-listed as LITR 056CH This course introduces students to different perspectives and approaches that record and reflect upon experiences involving travel and relocation. A journey between leaving and returning is not merely a pause or an escape, but rather it often launches a sequential inquiry that will reshape one’s ways of perceiving the world. Relocation, regardless of the reason for doing so, impacts both the migrant and the local residents in the host country. Actions taken to move might stem from a desire to satiate the spirit of adventure, escaping from the banality of one’s daily existence, or seeking financial success. On the one hand, the new life and work test individual migrants’ will to survive; on the other hand, it also tests if a host society is able to respond to the challenges ensuing from the encounter, reach agreements, and find ways to ensure just treatment of newcomers. Through analysis of and discussion on selected literary works, reportage, documentary films, YouTube clips, as well as following updates on NGO websites, this course leads students to explore how the seemingly personal pursuit of intellectual growth, psychological contentment, and/or material fulfillment intertwines with interrelated global, social, and economic conditions. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA.
(Cross-listed as LITR 065CH ) By using cultural globalization as an explanatory framework built on the foundation of historical studies, this course enables students to conduct critical and interdisciplinary analysis of Peking opera, a living theatrical tradition commonly considered to be the “national theater” of China. The central question we ask is: How have the cultural dimensions of globalization-transnational flows of technology, media, and popular culture-intensified Peking opera’s connection to urban culture, archival digitalization, visual arts, politics of style, Chinese nationalist ideology and intercultural influences in America? Students not only engage with scholarly literature that cuts across different disciplines and genres (including theater anthropology, cultural history, cinema, music, literature, and art history), but also are introduced to a rich body of sources, ranging from photographs to opera films and documentaries. They have the opportunity to learn some basics of singing and movement and conduct field trips to study with Peking opera troupes in the Chinese community in Philadelphia. No previous knowledge of Chinese literature or culture is required. All texts are provided in English translation. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA, GLBL-Paired
CHIN 069The Art of Living: Taste and Aesthetics in Chinese Cultural Traditions1
(Cross-listed as LITR 069CH ) This course will explore various dimensions of taste and aesthetics in traditional Chinese culture-from the earliest times into the recent past. Broader aspects of the course will include concept, form, and substance in classical literary, and philosophical formulations; ritual practice and ceremonial performance; and continuities and disjunctures in private vs. public and individual vs. societal taste. More focused readings and discussions will concern food, alcohol, tea, and the culinary arts; appreciation, aesthetics, and poetics in music, painting, calligraphy, literature, sculpture, and theater; the harmony of the human body and the evaluation of beauty and suitability in men and women; landscape appreciation and visions of the natural world; leisure and the passa tempo pursuits of Go, flower and tree arrangement, and elegant gatherings. All readings in English. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA
CHIN 087Water Policies, Water Issues: China/Taiwan and the U.S.1
(Cross-listed as POLS 087 , ENVS 037 ) Access to fresh water is an acute issue for the 21 st century, and yet civilizations have designed a wide range of inventive projects for accessing and controlling water supplies over the centuries. Fresh water resource allocation generates issues between upstream and downstream users, between a country and its neighbors, between urban and rural residents, and between states and regions. This course examines a range of fresh water issues, comparing China and the U.S. Topics include dams and large-scale water projects (e.g., rerouting rivers); water pollution; groundwater depletion; industrial water use (e.g., for hydrofracking); impact of agricultural practices; urban storm water management; wetlands conservation; desertification; desalination. What role do governments, transnational organizations, corporations, NGOs and grassroots citizens’ movements play in these water decisions? Guest lectures will emphasize science and engineering perspectives on water management. Chinese language ability desirable but not required. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
CHIN 087AAttachment: Policies and Issues of Fresh Water Resources in China/Taiwan0.5
(Cross-listed as ENVS 037A ) This is an attachment to CHIN 087 . Students who complete the course have the option of adding a 0.5 credit field work component. Field work will be conducted in China under the supervision of Professor Nackenoff and another faculty member, and will include specific Chinese language training in vocabulary used in the field of environmental studies. Humanities. 0.5 credit. Eligible for ASIA, ENVS
CHIN 088Governance and Environmental Issues in China1
(Cross-listed as POLS 088A ) This course examines China’s environmental challenges and the range of governmental policies and institutions that have an impact on those challenges. Topics include air pollution, food supply, energy consumption, urbanization, and environmental activism. Special attention will be given to the transformation of Beijing and other major cities, to China’s policy-making process, and the role of environmental NGOs and global institutions in shaping domestic policy outcomes. Literary works (Chinese novels and short stories) and feature films/documentary films reflecting environmental issues will be combined with readings from social science and environmental science to provide an interdisciplinary perspective All required readings/screenings are in English or English translation/subtitled. Chinese language ability is preferred, but not required. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ENVS
CHIN 088AAttachment: Governance and Environmental Issues in China0.5
(Cross-listed as POLS 088A ) This is an attachment to CHIN 088 . Students who complete the course have the option of adding a 0.5 credit field work component. Field work will be conducted in China under the supervision of Professors Kong and White, and will include specific Chinese language training in vocabulary used in the field of environmental studies. Humanities. 0.5 credit.
CHIN 089Tea in China: Cultural and Environmental Perspectives.1
Tea is a longstanding and vital constituent of Chinese culture, and also has had a marked and pervasive presence in other parts of the world. This course will focus on “Tea in China” through three major aspects: the cultural, social, and historical; tea cultivation and the natural environment; and the economies of tea. Literary writings and films will be combined with other relevant readings and audio-visual materials for the class. Tea experts and professionals will offer guest lectures to enhance our understanding of tea from bio-ecological and botanical perspectives. As a component of this interdisciplinary cultural course, students will have the chance to participate in”sipping culture,” and will taste major kinds of tea from Mainland China and Taiwan during the semester. All required readings/screenings are in English or English translation/subtitled. Chinese language ability will be an asset, but it is not required. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ENVS
CHIN 089AAttachment: Tea in China: Cultural and Environmental Perspectives0.5
This is an attachment to CHIN 089 . Students who complete the course have the option of adding a 0.5 credit field work component. Field work will be conducted in China under the supervision of Professors Kong and Berkowitz, and will include specific Chinese language training in vocabulary used in the field of environmental studies. Humanities. 0.5 credit.
CHIN 090Practicum in Bridging Swarthmore and Local Chinese Communities1
This is a service-learning course. Students are required to provide community service to our neighboring immigrant community-Philadelphia’s Chinatown-through an internship with a NPO in order to gain a deeper understanding of the Asian American diaspora and their social issues in the context of contemporary global migration. Besides the mandatory community-based service (a minimum of 3 hours per week, excluding transportation time), students will also read academic literature, keep an internship journal and write reflection papers to integrate their learning experience both inside and outside the classroom. The outcome project for this course is to build a digital archive to document the community, individual immigrants and residents, social activities and changes around Philadelphia’s Chinatown. The working language in the local NPO office is English, but knowledge of Mandarin or regional dialects is a plus for working with the Chinese American community. Graded CR/NC. Humanities. 1 credit. Eligible for ASIA
CHIN 103Lu Xun and His Legacy in 20th- Century China2
This seminar is focused on topics concerning modernity, political/social change, gender, and morality through close examination of intellectuals’ responses to the chaotic era reflected in their literature writings in 20th-century China. Literary forms, styles, and changing aesthetic principles are also included for discussion. Literary texts, chosen from Lu Xun to Gao Xingjian, will be analyzed in a social and historical context. All texts are in English translation, and the seminar is conducted in English. Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for ASIA
This seminar will explore Chinese poetry throughout ancient and imperial China. We will read and discuss a good many of the most renowned poems and poets, and trace the immutable role of poetry in Chinese traditional culture. We will learn how to read a Chinese poem, investigate predominant styles and genres, and trace texts and writers in context. And we will follow the development and significance of themes and imagery, examine the formulation of a literary aesthetics, and savor the telling of stories and the expression of feeling and philosophy through the medium of poetry. Readings will be in English, with many poems also explicated through the original Chinese. No knowledge of Chinese is required, but previous background in some aspect of Chinese literature, history, and culture will be helpful. Humanities. 2 credits.
This seminar introduces history of Chinese theater from its emergence as a full-fledged art form in the 10th-11th centuries (the Northern Song) up through its incorporation into modern urban life and nationalist discourse in the first decades of the 20th century (the Republican period). In addition to reading selections from masterpieces of Chinese dramatic literature, we will pay particular attention to the different types of venues, occasions, and performance practices at different moments in time. A central theme will be the cultural meaning associated with acting. All texts to be read in English translation, but students with reading knowledge of Chinese are encouraged to read items in the original. (*At least one special workshop training students in traditional performing art will be arranged.) Humanities. 2 credits.
CHIN 106Seminar on Premodern Chinese Literature and Culture2
(Cross-listed with LITR 106CH ) Can be taken for 1 or 2 credits. BOTH seminar sections required for 2 credits. Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for ASIA. Spring 2028 Staff.
(Cross-listed as LITR 107CH ) This seminar analyzes Chinese popular media from the beginning of marketization in the 1980s to the present. Focusing on the broad screen culture- including but not limited to cinema, we will place various media works in the global and national contexts of technological innovation and social reforms. Considering Chinese media as a global model of cultural politics, we will cover a wide range of topics: the Chinese writing system and emoji in the age of the computer, romantic comedy and popular music industry, bullet-titles (danmu) and the challenge to the cinematic apparatus, touchscreen and the performance of gender and sexuality in dating apps, and interactive interfaces and the making of the neoliberal subject. Exposed to different media scholarship, students will acquire critical methodologies in doing research on media culture in and beyond the China proper. Students are also encouraged to integrate critical thinking of media in their creative projects. All readings will be in English. Can be taken for 1 or 2 credits. BOTH seminar sections required for 2 credits. Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for ASIA, FMST.
CHIN 108The Remaking of Cinematic China: Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, and Ang Lee2
The seminar focuses on three leading filmmakers, Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai, and Ang Lee, and their cinematic products, which have not only won international praises but also fundamentally reconstructed the national/regional cinemas and tremendously challenged the international film industry. Through Zhang’s magic lens, Wong’s avant-garde imagination, and Lee’s transnational vision, their bold cinematic reconfigurations have been speeding up the transformation of Chinese cinema, and at the same time China itself has been represented in a new light on the world stage. The seminar will explore their impact on the formation of the new wave of Chinese-language films after the mid-1980s and its recent new developments. More importantly, we will cultivate our critical thinking skills and research abilities; and train our eyes to able to read cinematic messages and decode cinematographic patterns. All discussions will be conducted in English, and all films have English subtitles and readings are in English. Knowledge of China and basic film theory are preferred, but not required. Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for ASIA, FMST, ASAM
CHIN 110From the Periphery to the Center: Chinese Popular Culture in the Global World2
(Cross-listed as LITR 110CH ) Can be taken for 1 or 2 credits. BOTH seminar sections required for 2 credits. Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for ASIA. Spring 2027. Gao.
CHIN 137Love & Illusion in Dream of the Red Chamber1
The Dream of the Red Chamber (Honglou meng), also known as The Story of the Stone (Shitou ji), is generally considered to be the greatest masterpiece of traditional Chinese vernacular fiction. Conceived and substantially completed by Cao Xueqin (early 18th c.) the Dream’s scope includes characters from virtually every class and profession. It represents practically all genres of literary performance in its pages and abounds in descriptions of social practice and daily life in late imperial China-such as, of clothing and rules of etiquette, buildings, gardens, plays, poetic games, culinary delicacies, medical prescriptions, fortune telling, festivals, and liturgical rites. Paradoxically, it is the concrete experience of a richly materialistic world that grounds the novel’s dreamlike quality and the Buddhist allegory that passion, thought, and life itself are all illusory This is the setting in which Jia Baoyu, the scion to the powerful Jia family, comes to maturity, forms close bonds of sentiment with his female cousins and servants, and rebels against the expectations of the Confucian patriarchal system. In this course we will explore the world of The Dream of the Red Chamber through the novel’s entire 120 chapters along with two major modern television adaptations by China’s CCTV first aired in 1987 and in 2007. This course will focus in particular on the issues of literary dreams and traditional Chinese dream theory, the incorporation of multiple genres (poetic, narrative, dramatic) in the novel, and gender and the role of women in the novel. Humanities. 1 credit.
CHIN 156Gender and Sexuality in Chinese and Sinophone Literature and Cinema2
Articulated with social changes and cultural transformations, the ethics, perceptions, and daily practices regarding gender and sexuality in Chinese- and Sinophone-speaking communities have evolved dialectically in modern and contemporary contexts. This course aims to enable students to analyze the reconceptualization and quotidian actions of gender and sexuality as represented in literary texts and films. Additionally, by examining news coverage and civic organizations operated by and for LGBTQ communities, the course also explores how grassroots efforts can eventually recharter politics and society. This course can be taken for 1 or 2 credits. Humanities. 2 credits. Eligible for ASIA
