Course Descriptions
CHIN 1030X/Y Introduction to Chinese (Mandarin)
CREDIT HOURS: 6
This course aims to provide basic competence in understanding and speaking Mandarin and reading Chinese characters. It is for students who have had no exposure to Mandarin or Cantonese. This course fulfills the BA language requirement.
NOTES: Credit can only be given for this course if X and Y are completed in consecutive terms and partial credit cannot be given for a single term.
FORMAT:
EXCLUSIONS: ASSC 2035.06X/Y; native speakers of Chinese (any dialect)
CHIN 1031 Introduction to Chinese (Mandarin), Pt. 1
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course aims to provide basic competence in understanding and speaking Mandarin and reading Chinese characters. It is for students who have had no exposure to Mandarin or Cantonese.
FORMAT:
RESTRICTIONS: Students wishing to continue to Intermediate or Advanced Chinese language courses, or to use this course toward satisfying the BA language requirement, must complete both
CHIN 1031 and
CHIN 1032.
EXCLUSIONS:
CHIN 1030X/Y.06, ASSC 2035X/Y.06; native speakers of Chinese (any dialect).
CHIN 1032 Introduction to Chinese (Mandarin), Pt 2
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course is a continuation of
CHIN 1031 and aims to provide basic competence in understanding and speaking Mandarin and reading Chinese characters.
FORMAT:
PREREQUISITES:
CHIN 1031.03
RESTRICTIONS: Students wishing to continue to Intermediate or Advanced Chinese language courses, or to use this course toward satisfying the BA language requirement, must complete both
CHIN 1031 and
CHIN 1032.
EXCLUSIONS:
CHIN 1030X/Y.06, ASSC 2035X/Y.06; native speakers of Chinese (any dialect).
CHIN 2020 History of East Asia
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This introductory course explores historical change and social transformation in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam from antiquity to the present. It is an East Asian counterpoint to the historical narrative of Western civilization. Emphasizing the Chinese and Japanese experiences, the class will examine some of the more salient social, intellectual, political, economic, and environmental features apparent in the heritage of these societies, as well as some of the ways each society has influenced the others. No previous study of East Asia is expected or required.
FORMAT:
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 3
CROSS-LISTING:
HIST 2820.03
CHIN 2030X/Y Intermediate Chinese (Mandarin)
CREDIT HOURS: 6
For students with some background in Mandarin Chinese, this course is a continuation of
CHIN 1030.06 Introduction to Mandarin. All four language skills─listening and speaking, reading and writing─will be further developed; as well, a broader range of Chinese cultural elements will be introduced.
NOTES: Credit can only be given for this course if X and Y are completed in consecutive terms and partial credit cannot be given for a single term.
FORMAT:
EXCLUSIONS: Native speakers of Chinese (any dialect)
CHIN 2031 Intermediate Chinese (Mandarin), Pt. 1
CREDIT HOURS: 3
For students with some background in Mandarin Chinese, this class is a continuation of
CHIN 1031 and
CHIN 1032, Introduction to Chinese (Mandarin), pts. 1 and 2. All four language skills – listening and speaking, reading and writing – will be further developed. As well, a broader range of Chinese cultural elements will be introduced.
FORMAT:
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 3
PREREQUISITES:
CHIN 1031.03 and
CHIN 1032.03 or equivalent
EXCLUSIONS:
CHIN 2030X/Y.06; native speakers of Chinese (any dialect).
CHIN 2032 Intermediate Chinese (Mandarin), Pt. 2
CREDIT HOURS: 3
For students with some background in Mandarin Chinese, this class is a continuation of
CHIN 2031. All four language skills – listening and speaking, reading and writing – will be further developed. As well, a broader range of Chinese cultural elements will be introduced.
FORMAT:
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 3
PREREQUISITES:
CHIN 2031.03, or equivalent
EXCLUSIONS:
CHIN 2030X/Y.06; native speakers of Chinese (any dialect).
CHIN 2040 History of Chinese Science and Technology
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course examines the history of Chinese science and technology in an intellectual, social, and cultural context. Students will read and learn about both Chinese and East Asian history generally and the long-term global trajectories of environmental and technological change that transformed the production of goods, the conduct of governance, and the relationship between humans and their environment long before the “rise of the West” with which so much of the history of science and technology is concerned.
CROSS-LISTING:
HSTC 2810.03
CHIN 2050 Chinese Culture
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course introduces students to the Chinese cultural heritage. It offers an overview of traditional and modern Chinese culture through the lenses of history, sociology, religion, philosophy, literature, art, and film. The class offers students an opportunity not only to familiarize themselves with the historical legacies of China, but also to examine modern issues facing Chinese society in the contexts of international relations, society, economics, gender, ethnicity, and politics. No previous knowledge of Chinese culture or the Chinese language is required.
FORMAT:
PREREQUISITES: None
CROSS-LISTING:
SOSA 2051.03
CHIN 2052 East Meets West in Popular Culture
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course is devoted to examining intersections between “West” and “East” through the study of cross-cultural influences in popular literature, cinema, music, and comics in Europe, North America, and East Asia.
FORMAT:
CROSS-LISTING:
CTMP 2336.03
RESTRICTIONS: Restricted to students in their 2nd year and above.
CHIN 2060 Chinese and Japanese Religions
CREDIT HOURS: 3
An introduction to the cultural, religious, and philosophical traditions of China and Japan. Topics to be covered include: Classical Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism, Philosophical and Religious Taoism, Shinto, Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. The course will also examine the interaction, competition, and overlap between these traditions.
FORMAT:
CROSS-LISTING:
RELS 2012.03
CHIN 2070 Buddhism
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course introduces the student to the Buddhist religious tradition, beginning with its origins and early developments in India and followed by a treatment of key themes of later world Buddhism such as meditation, devotion, monasticism, and ritual. The course thus exposes students to both Buddhism's early Indian doctrinal and institutional dimensions, and to aspects of Buddhism as practiced subsequently in China, Japan, and Tibet.
FORMAT:
CROSS-LISTING:
RELS 2013.03
CHIN 2080 The East is Read: Early Modern Conceptions of Asian Thought
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This class considers early modern European interpretations of key Asian texts. It assesses both the merits of early modern interpretations of Asian thought and what these interpretations reveal about the self-consciousness of European thinkers in the early modern period.
FORMAT: Seminar
CROSS-LISTING:
EMSP 2450.03
EXCLUSIONS:
EMSP 2390.03,
CHIN 2082.03, CTMP 2120.03,
HSTC 2811.03
CHIN 2082 Asia and the West: Centuries of Dialogue
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course will explore some of the most important engagements of modern Western thinkers with various texts and traditions of East and/or South Asian thought, examine the very aspects of Asian thought that intrigued modern Western thinkers, and assess Western values and projects in their lights.
FORMAT:
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 3
CROSS-LISTING:
EMSP 2390.03,
HSTC 2811.03,
CTMP 2102.03
EXCLUSIONS:
EMSP 2450.03,
CHIN 2080.03
CHIN 2290 Emerging Giants: The Economic Rise of China and India
CREDIT HOURS: 3
This course examines the economic history, current issues, and future trends of China and India, answering such questions as: What explains China's and India's growth? How is climate change affected by this growth? How are global labour markets affected? Must growth lead to rising inequality? Is democracy required for development?
FORMAT: Lecture
PREREQUISITES: A grade of C or better in
ECON 1101.03 and
ECON 1102.03
CROSS-LISTING:
ECON 2213.03
CHIN 3030X/Y Advanced Chinese (Mandarin)
CREDIT HOURS: 6
For students with intermediate-level background in Mandarin Chinese, this course is a continuation of
CHIN 2030.06 Intermediate Chinese (Mandarin). The course aims to develop further the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It seeks to enlarge the students' vocabulary in commonly used characters and phrases and provide students with further understanding of Chinese grammar, abilities to read expository and narrative writings, speaking skills to cope with real life situations, writing skills of short essays, as well as further understanding of Chinese culture and society.
NOTES: Credit can only be given for this course if X and Y are completed in consecutive terms and partial credit cannot be given for a single term.
FORMAT:
EXCLUSIONS: Native speakers of Chinese (any dialect)
CHIN 3031 Advanced Chinese (Mandarin), Pt 1
CREDIT HOURS: 3
For students with intermediate background in Mandarin Chinese, this class in a continuation of
CHIN 2031 and 2032, Intermediate Chinese (Mandarin), pts. 1 and 2. The class aims to develop further the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. It seeks to enlarge the students' vocabulary in commonly used characters and phrases and provide students with further understanding of Chinese grammar, abilities to read expository and narrative writings, speaking skills to cope with real life situations, writing skills suitable for short essays, as well as further understanding of Chinese culture and society.
FORMAT:
PREREQUISITES:
CHIN 2031 and
CHIN 2032, or equivalent
EXCLUSIONS:
CHIN 3030X/Y.06; native speakers of Chinese (any dialect).
CHIN 3032 Advanced Chinese (Mandarin), Pt. 2
CREDIT HOURS: 3
For students with an intermediate background in Mandarin Chinese, this class is a continuation of
CHIN 3031. The class aims to develop further the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. It seeks to enlarge the students' vocabulary in commonly used characters and phrases and provide students with further understanding of Chinese grammar, abilities to read expository and narrative writings, speaking skills to cope with real-life situations, writing skills suitable for short essays, as well as further understanding of Chinese culture and society.
FORMAT:
LECTURE HOURS PER WEEK: 3
PREREQUISITES:
CHIN 3031 or equivalent
EXCLUSIONS:
CHIN 3030X/Y.06; Native speakers of Chinese (any dialect).
CHIN 3050 Topics in Asian Cinema
CREDIT HOURS: 3
Each year will focus on specific topics as explored in the cinema of various Asian countries. Particular attention will be paid to how Asian filmmakers employ different cinematic genres in their treatments of diverse aspects of Asian societies and cultures.
FORMAT:
FORMAT COMMENTS: Film screening with lecture/discussion
PREREQUISITES: Successful completion of the university writing requirement. See list of classes under College of Arts and Science, Degree Requirements, Writing Course Requirements
CROSS-LISTING: THEA/
FILM 3350.03
CHIN 3062 Modern Chinese Literature
CREDIT HOURS: 3
A survey of representative works in modern Chinese literature, this course is designed to enhance students’ understanding of modern Chinese society and culture through reading works by major Chinese authors from the Republican period, over three decades—1919 to 1949. It was a period of cultural clashes between traditional Chinese culture and Western influences, a time of wars, political and ideological struggles and changes. All readings are in English, as is the language of instruction. A background in Chinese language, culture, and/or literature is encouraged but not required.
FORMAT: