This course explores the cinematic conventions and experiments employed by Chinese filmmakers over the past hundred years. Unique Chinese film genres such as left-wing melodrama, martial arts films and model play adaptations, as well as the three "new waves" in China's recent avant-garde cinema, will be examined and discussed. Individual filmic visions and techniques experimented with by important directors such as Fei Mu, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Zhang Yimou, and Jia Zhangke will be closely analyzed. Class discussions will aim to help students understand the history, politics, and aesthetics of Chinese cinema. Theoretical aspects of film studies will also be incorporated into class readings and discussions. No prior knowledge of China or film studies is required.

An introductory course that teaches the skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Chinese. Emphasis is on pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and communication. Computer programs for pronunciation, listening comprehension, grammar, and writing Chinese characters will be used extensively.

An introductory course that teaches the skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Chinese. Emphasis is on pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and communication. Computer programs for pronunciation, listening comprehension, grammar, and writing Chinese characters will be used extensively.

An introductory course that teaches the skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Chinese. Emphasis is on pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and communication. Computer programs for pronunciation, listening comprehension, grammar, and writing Chinese characters will be used extensively.

An introductory course that teaches the skills of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing in Mandarin Chinese. Emphasis is on pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and communication. Computer programs for pronunciation, listening comprehension, grammar, and writing Chinese characters will be used extensively.

Further training in listening comprehension, oral expression, reading, and writing.

Further training in listening comprehension, oral expression, reading and writing.

Further training in listening comprehension, oral expression, reading, and writing.

Further training in listening comprehension, oral expression, reading, and writing.

Over the course of the twentieth century, China underwent enormous changes in the sweep of modernization, which opened the door to a wealth of experimentation, especially in literature and culture. The primary focus of this course is to explore how literary forms adapted to the dominant political and cultural movements of modern China. At the same time, individual Chinese writers crafted unique visions from their experiences "on the ground." In works that date from the late Qing to the present, we will explore the varied representations of Chinese modernity, including topics such as the individual and society, revolution and tradition, the countryside and the city, gender and sexuality. No prior knowledge of Chinese literature or Chinese language is required.

Variously known in English as Dream of the Red Chamber, A Dream of Red Mansions, and The Story of the Stone, Honglou meng is the most widely discussed Chinese novel of all time. Written in the mid-eighteenth century, the novel offers telling insight into Chinese culture as it once was and as it remains today. The novel is still wildly popular due to its tragic love story, its sensitive depiction of the plight of the talented woman in late imperial culture, and its narrative intricacies. The goal of the course is to understand the novel both as a literary text and as a cultural phenomenon. Optional extra sessions will accommodate those who wish to read and discuss the novel in Chinese.

What are emotions? Are they innate and universal, or do they vary across time, societies, and languages? How do humans express and describe emotions? How should individuals and societies relate to the experience and expression of emotions? Such questions sparked an animated debate among early Chinese thinkers (5th c. BCE–220 CE), a debate we will continue in this course. We begin by surveying ancient and modern theories of emotion. The subsequent unit turns to the representations of different emotions in early Chinese literature and philosophical writings, where we explore whether our experiences of love, joy, and grief are comparable across ancient and modern contexts. In the final unit, we evaluate different philosophical proposals—from Confucian, Daoist, and Legalist lineages—for how to cultivate and regulate emotions.

The Ming (1368) was a glorious dynasty, and its fall was “heard round the world." The course approaches its glory and fall through novels (such as The Water Margin and The Plum in a Golden Vase), short stories (by Feng Menglong and others), and dramas like Peach Blossom Fan. Elsewhere in East Asia, too, the Ming was a theme in literature, especially at the time of its fall. Works by Chikamatsu (Japanese) and Ho Kyun (Korean) serve as illustrations. Additionally, dramas from Holland and England provide some measure of the impact of this event in Europe. In the last third of the course we will survey this group of writings by non-Chinese and use them to show how reactions varied, depending on the nationality of the observer. Finally, we will read a Cantonese opera composed in the twentieth century. It is one sign of the topic's continuing currency throughout the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and it highlights south China's longstanding resistance to the Qing.

This seminar will focus on one of the most important topics of modern Chinese culture: the urban imagination. Analyzing how metropolis and urban life are represented and imagined is central to an understanding of the differently articulated forms Chinese modernity has taken throughout the twentieth century. We will examine the literary and visual representations of the city in modern China through close analyses of the novels, short stories, films, photographs, and paintings that illuminate Chinese urbanism. Cultural manifestations of such Chinese metropolises as Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taipei will be extensively discussed.

This course introduces students to the Chinese cultural and literary tradition through the lens of modern reception and cinematic representation. Beginning with Confucius and ending with the last emperor of the imperial period (221 BCE–1911 CE), we will explore key historical turning points, influential philosophical works, and major literary genres. By pairing historical writings (in English translation) with iconic blockbusters and arthouse films, students will analyze in what ways and to what ends film adaptations transform their source materials. We will also delve into the complex and often fraught relationships between the past and present in contemporary Sinophone contexts.

Who curates the ready-made sound effects for your TikTok/Douyin morning vlog? Whose snapshots and micro-fictions feed DeepSeek’s AI brain? Ever wondered what the Cultural Revolution equivalent of a contemporary podcast sounded like? Or–let us dive deeper–how do media create and shape popular culture, and what does “popular” mean? If any of these questions make you curious, this course is for you: we will take modern China as our primary case to explore the relationship between media and popular culture.

Throughout the semester we will delve into modern Chinese history and look at how Chinese communities in the mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and abroad use and innovate diverse media forms and technologies to express themselves. Starting with gossip-filled late-Qing tabloids, we will watch 1930s Shanghai cinema, study revolutionary “model-theatre” poses, listen to post-Mao pop, play a 1990s video game, browse online posts from the COVID-19 pandemic, and peek inside training sets of Chinese AI models such as DeepSeek.

Using these materials, we will practice thinking and writing about media through lenses of gender, nation, revolution, memory, AI ethics, and–above all– the “popular.”
No prior knowledge of China or the Chinese language is required.

Confucius in the Analects asserts that “The Master never spoke of the strange, the violent, the disorderly, and the numinous.” Yet “recording the strange” was a thriving literary genre in classical and imperial China—one collection of supernatural tales was in fact entitled What the Master Never Spoke Of. How do we understand this contradiction? This course is a survey of stories and essays on ghosts, spirits, talking animals, and spooky events, beginning from the earliest Chinese writings incised on turtle shells to the twentieth century. We will examine changing worldviews and religious practices during these three millennia, retracing the storylines retold around East Asia and across media ancient and modern.

The period 1850-1950 witnessed five political revolutions in China. Each one had an impact on the status of women. By the end of the hundred years, the stay-at-home, bound-footed gentlewoman was no more, and old-style dreams in which women changed gender to pursue careers or fight wars had faded away. Instead a whole new reality for women had emerged. This course explores these changes through the writings of male sympathizers, western missionaries, and most importantly Chinese women themselves. In bridging the “late imperial” and “modern” eras and in its emphasis on women’s voices, it offers a distinctive take on the period under review. Although the story is Chinese, it is a part of women’s history worldwide.

This course is designed to further expand students' comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Reading materials will be selected from newspapers, short stories, essays, and films. Students will study Chinese and China from different perspectives. In addition to authentic audio and videotapes, Chinese learning APPs will also be used as study aids. The class is conducted in Chinese.

Advanced language skills are further developed through reading, writing, and discussions. Reading materials will be selected from a variety of authentic Chinese texts. Students will study Chinese and China from different perspectives. In addition to authentic audio and videotapes, Chinese learning APPs will also be used as study aids. The class is conducted in Chinese.

This course is designed to further expand and refine students' language skills through intensive reading of authentic Chinese materials, such as novels, short stories, essays, and plays and through viewing of contemporary Chinese films. Particular attention will be paid to increasing levels of literary appreciation and to enriching understanding of the sociocultural contexts from which our readings have emerged.

A variety of authentic materials, including films and literary works, will be selected to cover the period from 1949 to the early twenty-first century.

Variously known in English as Dream of the Red Chamber, A Dream of Red Mansions, and The Story of the Stone, Honglou meng is the most widely discussed Chinese novel of all time. Written in the mid-eighteenth century, the novel offers telling insight into Chinese culture as it once was and as it remains today. The novel is still wildly popular due to its tragic love story, its sensitive depiction of the plight of the talented woman in late imperial culture, and its narrative intricacies. The goal of the course is to understand the novel both as a literary text and as a cultural phenomenon. Optional extra sessions will accommodate those who wish to read and discuss the novel in Chinese. This course may be taken as CHIN 211 or, with additional assignments, as CHIN 311.

The Ming (1368) was a glorious dynasty, and its fall was “heard round the world." The course approaches its glory and fall through novels (such as The Water Margin and The Plum in a Golden Vase), short stories (by Feng Menglong and others), and dramas like Peach Blossom Fan. Elsewhere in East Asia, too, the Ming was a theme in literature, especially at the time of its fall. Works by Chikamatsu (Japanese) and Ho Kyun (Korean) serve as illustrations. Additionally, dramas from Holland and England provide some measure of the impact of this event in Europe. In the last third of the course we will survey this group of writings by non-Chinese and use them to show how reactions varied, depending on the nationality of the observer. Finally, we will read a Cantonese opera composed in the twentieth century. It is one sign of the topic's continuing currency throughout the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and it highlights south China's longstanding resistance to the Qing.

This seminar will focus on one of the most important topics of modern Chinese culture: the urban imagination. Analyzing how metropolis and urban life are represented and imagined is central to an understanding of the differently articulated forms Chinese modernity has taken throughout the twentieth century. We will examine the literary and visual representations of the city in modern China through close analyses of the novels, short stories, films, photographs, and paintings that illuminate Chinese urbanism. Cultural manifestations of such Chinese metropolises as Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Taipei will be extensively discussed.

This course guides students to explore Chinese literary modernity through authentic literary texts written by major Chinese writers of the past hundred years. It aims to give students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of modern China in both its historical and cultural practice. Instead of language training, literary and cultural analyses will be emphasized. Class discussions will be conducted in Chinese, and students are expected to offer their critical responses to readings through oral presentations and papers written in Chinese.

The period 1850-1950 witnessed five political revolutions in China. Each one had an impact on the status of women. By the end of the hundred years, the stay-at-home, bound-footed gentlewoman was no more, and old-style dreams in which women changed gender to pursue careers or fight wars had faded away. Instead a whole new reality for women had emerged. This course explores these changes through the writings of male sympathizers, western missionaries, and most importantly Chinese women themselves. In bridging the “late imperial” and “modern” eras and in its emphasis on women's voices, it offers a distinctive take on the period under review. Although the story is Chinese, it is a part of women's history worldwide.

This seminar offers an intensive study of the writings of Eileen Chang, one of the most important Chinese writers. Close analysis of her literary style will be combined with discussions on such key concepts of the Chinese literary modernity: gender, nation, cosmopolitanism, affectivity, subjectivity, and diaspora. Her major works will be read in biographical, historical and cultural contexts, with considerations of the classical novels influencing her as well as the modern and postmodern writers and filmmakers working under her influences.