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.

In East Asia, the rise of the girl in literary and popular culture coincides with the appearance of modernity itself. Beginning with the ‘modern girl,' we move chronologically, exploring coming-of-age tropes in East Asian fiction, manga, anime, and film. How does the objectification of the adolescent girl illuminate issues around ethnicity, national identity, sexuality, even globalization? What national anxieties hover around girls' bodies? We read texts in English translation and explore models of female development that might aid us in our exploration of this cultural phenomenon. Secondary readings include works by Sigmund Freud, Julia Kristeva, Marianne Hirsch, Carol Gilligan, Elizabeth Grosz, among others.

What does it mean to live life to its fullest capacity - personally, socially and ethically? What does it mean to succeed? To fail? To love? To fight? To dream? In search of answers to these questions, we read the classic foundational texts of China, Japan, and Korea from Confucian and Taoist philosophy to romantic tales, harrowing diaries and exquisitely crafted haiku. Bringing our knowledge as a China and a Japan specialist to bear, we formulate critical perspectives on key works with the goal of understanding East Asian culture as a whole and as different regional expressions. Join us as we explore the complexities of East Asian identity while discovering something about the big questions we all confront today wherever - and whomever - we are.

The course begins with a brief introduction to an eleventh-century novel from Japan, Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. This work shows considerable awareness of Chinese culture, but the design is entirely original and the aesthetics typically Japanese. There is no influence at all between Genji and our next subject, Cao Xueqin's eighteenth-century masterpiece, Dream of the Red Chamber, also known as The Story of the Stone. However, the similarities point to shared East Asian traditions, and the contrasts can be traced to major differences in the aesthetics of China and Japan. For students who have already studied The Tale of Genjii or Dream of the Red Chamber, alternative reading will be assigned. Later on we will take up three other pieces, two from Korea and one from Vietnam. These two, as well, fit into a larger East Asian syndrome, but exhibit national characteristics at the same time.

The course begins with a brief introduction to an eleventh-century novel from Japan, Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. This work shows considerable awareness of Chinese culture, but the design is entirely original and the aesthetics typically Japanese. There is no influence at all between Genji and our next subject, Cao Xueqin's eighteenth-century masterpiece, Dream of the Red Chamber, also known as The Story of the Stone. However, the similarities point to shared East Asian traditions, and the contrasts can be traced to major differences in the aesthetics of China and Japan. For students who have already studied The Tale of Genjii or Dream of the Red Chamber, alternative readings will be assigned. Later on we will take up three other pieces, two from Korea and one from Vietnam. These two, as well, fit into a larger East Asian syndrome, but exhibit national characteristics at the same time.

Language constitutes an important marker of social identity at many levels, such as the individual, subcultures, ethnic groups, and nations. Language has contributed to establishing unity, socio-cultural diversity, and nationalism in East Asian Society. This course explores the function of language in forming national, ethnic, and cultural identity and nationalism throughout the modernization process for China, Korea, and Japan. The seminar will discuss how language has been interconnected with the shaping of intra-East Asian literary/cultural practices, modern identity, and globalization. Students will acquire fundamental knowledge of the dynamics of language and socio-cultural changes as well as comparative perspectives on nationalism/colonialism and national identity in East Asian communities. Basic knowledge of and familiarity with a particular language/region (China, Korea, or Japan) and its historical, socio-linguistic backgrounds are required.

Introduction to the modern standard Japanese language. Emphasis on developing proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, using basic expressions and sentence patterns. Four 75-minute classes plus one blended learning session.

Introduction to the modern standard Japanese language. Emphasis on developing proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, using basic expressions and sentence patterns. Four 75-minute classes plus one blended learning session.

This innovative, intensive Beginning Japanese course is designed for students with some familiarity with Hiragana, who wish to make rapid progress in acquiring elementary-level Japanese language proficiency. Equivalent to JPN101 and JPN102, this course prepares students for JPN201. Through daily practice and reinforcement of all language skills, students gain essential vocabulary, grammar, and communicative expressions with appropriate cultural knowledge while developing a foundation of understanding contemporary Japanese culture and society. In addition to interactive in-class learning activities, students have access to online materials.

Continuation of JPN 101-JPN 102. The first semester will emphasize further development of listening and speaking skills with more complex language structures as well as proficiency in reading and writing. The second semester will emphasize reading and writing skills. Four 75-minute classes plus one blended learning session.

Continuation of JPN 101-JPN 102. The first semester will emphasize further development of listening and speaking skills with more complex language structures as well as proficiency in reading and writing. The second semester will emphasize reading and writing skills. Four 75-minute classes plus one blended learning session.

This course is designed for the students who have completed the second year of Japanese (JPN 201-JPN 202). Each lesson introduces you to practical vocabulary items, grammatical structures, and cultural orientations that give you the ability to discuss such topics in a more advanced and culturally appropriate manner. Throughout the course, the development of more fluent speech and stronger literacy will be emphasized by studying more complex and idiomatic expressions. Acquisition of an additional few hundred kanji characters will be part of the course. The class will be conducted entirely in Japanese. Three classes per week.

A continuation of JPN 231, this course further develops literacy in Japanese. Students focus on intensive reading of various styles of written Japanese, writing on different topics, and development of fluent oral skills. Japanese movies will be used for reinforcement of grammar and for discussion. Class discussion will be conducted entirely in Japanese. Three classes per week.

This course explores Japanese literature from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries––including myths, poetry, narrative romances, diaries, essays, military tales, Noh drama, haiku, puppet plays, kabuki, and ghost stories––then traces its modern afterlife to film, television, and manga. Students will develop a critical and historically grounded appreciation of Japan's rich and varied literary tradition by analyzing it in light of such topics as religious practice, aesthetic ideals, dreams, desire, subjectivity, Chinese influence, the supernatural, war, gender, and sexuality.

In 1776, the Japanese writer Ueda Akinari set down a famous collection of ghost stories entitled Tales of Moonlight and Rain. Beginning with this collection, we will explore how representations of the supernatural were both embedded in and transformed by discourses of modernity. Throughout the twentieth century, writers such as Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Akutagawa Ryunosuke, Izumi Kyoka, and Enchi Fumiko kept the supernatural strand alive. In tales of the fantastic and the strange, they also made trenchant commentary on the state of their society. We read (and contrast) literary and visual texts to explore alternative visions of Japan's rush to modernize.

A critical exploration of popular culture in Japan from its isolation in the 1600s to its globalization today. Topics include advertising, anime, architecture, art, fashion, film, food, games, literature, magazines, manga, music, performance, sports, television, and travel. Students engage directly with these topics by analyzing cultural phenomena, from geisha to baseball, in light of historical and theoretical perspectives drawn from the disciplines of literary criticism, cultural studies, film studies, and anthropology—all in an effort to understand Japan through patterns of consumption, cultural memory, gender, media, national identity, race, and sexuality. The course demonstrates the complexity and appeal of what is arguably the major alternative to American popular culture. No prior background in Japanese is required; all readings are in English translation.

Japanese manga (comics) practice metamorphosis to address real-world concerns. A girl acquires magical powers to save the earth. Animals, plants and spirits advocate for non-violence. An art form that combines text and image and fashions its own unique grammar, Japan’s manga perform a trenchant critique of society, warning against gendered oppression and environmental disaster, and proposing new ways of being in the world. We move from Nakazawa Kei’s haunting evocations of nuclear war to Miyazaki Hayao’s environmental activism; from the revolutionary works of the female manga artists of the 1970s to the wildly popular genre of boys’ love today. Students will be able to choose the works that we read in the final weeks of class. Assignments include both creative prompts and literary analysis.

Japan enjoyed tremendous political stability under samurai rule for 265 years before opening up to the West in the late 19th century. Far from static, however, this era, known as the Edo period (1603-1868), was one of dynamic economic growth, social change, intellectual ferment, and artistic experimentation, when a vibrant urban culture emerged and spread to cities and villages across the Japanese archipelago. Many of the things we associate with traditional Japanese culture today, including haiku, kabuki, sumo, geisha, sushi, manga, and the samurai ethos, emerged or developed into maturity at this time. This course introduces students to Edo Japan by way of its rich visual and literary cultures, with particular emphasis on the representation of sexuality, gender, violence, honor, and otherworldly phenomena. No knowledge of Japan or Japanese required.

In this course, students will read original works of short fiction and essays in Japanese by well-known contemporary authors. We will explore various genres and popular themes in Japanese literature and look at authors' styles and voice. The course will be completely in Japanese except when translation into English takes center stage. In either case, the major emphasis will be on discussion of the works in class. Through these works, students will also be introduced to advanced Japanese grammar, expressions, patterns, kanji, and vocabulary.

Students read and discuss contemporary fiction by women in Japanese as they improve reading and speaking skills, and learn how to translate fiction from Japanese to English. Weekly translation exercises and periodic translation workshops build confidence as students develop their own translation style. For the final project, students choose a contemporary short story and translate it in collaboration with the instructor. Class conducted in English. Two weekly meetings plus individual meetings with instructor.

Beginning with the end of the Second World War, we will explore literature, film, and manga that foregrounds questions of identity and difference in Japan. Beginning with a manga set in New Guinea in 1944, a memoir of an American soldier who fought in the Pacific War, and a film about a Japanese veteran returning to the site of battle after the war, we map out Japanese views of self and other. Additionally, the course highlights fiction and film from Japan’ minoritized identity groups, including Japanese Koreans, burakumin (outcastes), Okinawans, atomic bomb survivors (Barefoot Gen), and even members of religious cults (Haruki Murakami’s Underground). The course concludes with a unit on gender discrimination, reading works by Japanese women writers who have transformed contemporary Japan. No Japanese required.

The fiction of the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami has often been described as being closer to “American literature” than to the modern Japanese literary canon. His official website even names Raymond Chandler, Kurt Vonnegut and Richard Brautigan as “influences.” In this course, we will test that assumption, holding Murakami’s work up against the mirror of Japanese short fictions from 1900-2022. Moving chronologically, we read broadly, covering half of Murakami’s major novels, as well as a dozen short fictional and non-fictional works. Given that Murakami’s work has been translated into 50 languages, we also explore how translation practices shape reception. From Japanese to Polish to Chinese, we explore the multiple worlds—and world-making practices-- of Haruki Murakami. We also study two films that are based on his work. Taught in English, no knowledge of Japanese is necessary.

An introductory course on standard conversational Korean for students who have little or no knowledge of Korean. The course will provide basic skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, with a focus on spoken language proficiency. The course will emphasize the development of communication skills in given situations and tasks, and provide an introduction to sociocultural interests and daily life in Korea. Four 75-minute classes with regular individual meetings.

An introductory course on standard conversational Korean for students who have little or no knowledge of Korean. The course will provide basic skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, with a focus on spoken language proficiency. The course will emphasize the development of communication skills in given situations and tasks, and provide an introduction to sociocultural interests and daily life in Korea. Four 75-minute classes with regular individual meetings.

A continuation of KOR 101-KOR 102. The first semester will emphasize further development of listening and speaking skills with more complex language structures as well as proficiency in reading and writing. The second semester will emphasize reading and writing skills. Four 75-minute classes with regular individual meetings.

A continuation of KOR 101-KOR 102. The first semester will emphasize further development of listening and speaking skills with more complex language structures as well as proficiency in reading and writing. The second semester will emphasize reading and writing skills. Four 75-minute classes with regular individual meetings.

This course aims to provide a fundamental understanding of Korean culture, society, and the Korean people by focusing on the Korean language. The development of language occurs in dynamic relation to culture and community. Topics include the origin and history of the Korean language, the writing system (Hangeul-Korean alphabet), different dialects (including North Korean dialects), cross-linguistic analysis, intercultural communication, language use in pop culture, language variation across generations, neologism (new word formation) and slang, etc. The historical trajectory of Korean will be examined in relation to relevant sociopolitical and cultural trends. We will also explore diverse issues in contemporary Korean and popular culture using articles, films, dramas, etc. This course is expected to develop cross-cultural perspectives on the Korean language and its rich cultural heritage.

This course aims to provide a fundamental understanding of Korean culture, society, and the Korean people by focusing on the Korean language. The development of language occurs in dynamic relation to culture and community. Topics include the origin and history of the Korean language, the writing system (Hangeul-Korean alphabet), different dialects (including North Korean dialects), cross-linguistic analysis, intercultural communication, language use in pop culture, language variation across generations, neologism (new word formation) and slang, etc. The historical trajectory of Korean will be examined in relation to relevant sociopolitical and cultural trends. We will also explore diverse issues in contemporary Korean and popular culture using articles, films, dramas, etc. This course is expected to develop cross-cultural perspectives on the Korean language and its rich cultural heritage.

Additionally, this course includes participation in an International Lab, which will take place in Seoul in May 2025. The course features two major projects designed to deepen students' understanding of and engagement with Korean culture, society, and language, utilizing immersive experiences planned during the Seoul trip.

This third-year Korean course is designed for students to develop an advanced level of language proficiency by focusing on communication and discussion skills, and cross-cultural understanding, and critical and creative thinking ability. Students will improve their linguistic competence through student-led discussions, presentations, debates, and various individual projects. The integrated activities and applications are designed to expand advanced level vocabulary including formal expressions and Hanja, grammar, and cultural knowledge. Media resources and readings using TV drama, movies, broadcasted news and blogs will provide enriched information on contemporary Korean society and lifestyle. 

This course is a continuation of KOR 231. More emphasis will be placed on enhancing students' reading and writing fluency. Students will read various authentic materials including newspaper articles, formal essays, short stories, and business letters. Class activities and assignments will help students learn how to write in formal and academic settings. These include writing analytical papers, critical reviews, resumes, job applications, business correspondence, etc. Under the guidance of the instructor each student will pres­ent and write a critical review as a final project. Through this course, students will be able to expand their linguistic capacity to an advanced level. The class will be conducted entirely in Korean.

Postwar modernization and industrialization have reshaped Korean, Asian, and global societies. Despite remarkable economic growth and social change, gender inequality persists across many cultural and linguistic contexts. This course examines the relationship between language, gender, and power, focusing on Korea and East Asia while placing these issues in broader Asian and global perspectives. Through the analysis of language use in myths, films, advertisements, and popular culture, students explore how language reflects and constructs gender, identity, and social hierarchy. The course highlights the challenges faced by women and gendered subjects in Asia and beyond.

This course aims at achieving advanced level fluency in reading and writing Korean through the study of various texts and multimedia. Course "texts" include contemporary works of Korean literature, current newspaper articles, broadcast news, and clips of television shows and films. The course will develop sophisticated interpretive and presentational skills in formal contexts while enhancing the student's level of literary appreciation and intellectual analysis. The focus is on mastery of a wide range of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, individual writing projects, classroom discussion, and presentations on assigned topics.