Summer 2012 Course Descriptions
Chinese Language and Literature Courses
This is a 10-week beginning Chinese class developing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in modern standard Chinese using pinyin and traditional characters. This course is the equivalent of Chinese 1A-1B offered in the regular academic year.
An introduction to Chinese literature in translation in a two-semester sequence. In addition to literary sources, a wide range of philosophical and historical texts will be covered, as well as aspects of visual and material culture. 7A covers early and premodern Chinese up to and including the Yuan Dynasty (14th century). Prerequisites: None.
An introduction to Chinese literature in translation in a two-semester sequence. In addition to literary sources, a wide range of philosophical and historical texts will be covered, as well as aspects of visual and material culture. 7B focuses on late imperial, modern, and contemporary China. Prerequisites: None.
This 10-week course is designed to develop the student's reading, writing, listening, and speaking abilities in Chinese, and teaches both simplified and traditional characters. This course is equivalent to Chinese 10A-10B offered in the regular academic year. Prerequisites: Chinese 1B; or consent of instructor.
This course is designed as an intensive six-week immersion course in Business Chinese. The courses will cover intensive instruction in Chinese with an emphasis on communicative skills and understanding language in a authentic environment (mass media, business market, pop culture, Chinese cuisine, etc. In addition to the regularly scheduled classes there will be enrichment courses. Weekly field trips to: porcelain town, tea factory, banks, corporate offices, night market place, industrial parks, National Palace Museum and natural scenic sites. Each week there will be a lecture given by a representative from different trades or corporate enterprises i.e., HP and the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei. Prior to these special lectures and enrichment courses, students will be given background language and cultural training in the various target topics. Prerequisites: Consent of Travel Study Program.
Please note: Chinese 105 is a Travel Study Program to Taiwan
East Asian Languages and Cultures Courses
This course explores the representation of romantic love in East Asian cultures in both premodern and post-modern contexts. Students develop a better understanding of the similarities and differences in traditional values in three East Asian cultures by comparing how canonical texts of premodern China, Japan and Korea represent romantic relationship. They explore how these values might provide a narrative framework or, contrarily, the definition of transgressive acts. This analysis is followed by the study of several contemporary East Asian films, giving the student the opportunity to explore how traditional values persist, change, or become nexus points of resistance in the complicated modern and post-modern milieu of East Asian cultures maintaining a national identity while exercising an international presence. Prerequisites: None.
The recent translation of J-Horror to the Hollywood Big Screen will prompt our exploration of the various ways the figure of the supernatural emerging out of Asia are absorbed into Hollywood filmic conventions in their efforts to delight audiences with the shock of the new (and the thrills of endless renewal). We will focus our critical attention on the cinematic style of Japanese horror films as well as the significant role played by cinematic cultures in shaping our evolving notions of racial, sexual, and national difference. Course materials will be drawn from primary and secondary sources in film criticism, literary theory, gender studies and cultural history. All class materials will be in English translation. Prerequisites: None.
Japanese Language and Literature Courses
This course is designed to develop basic speaking skills and to introduce hiragana, katakana, and approximately 300 kanji. Emphasis is on both spoken and written Japanese. This course is the equivalent of Japanese 1A-1B offered in the regular academic year.
Prerequisites: None.
This course surveys Japanese literature and culture from the 9th to 17th centuries. We read poetry, fiction, auto-biographies and plays from Japan's classical, medieval and early premodern periods. Texts include traditional Japanese poetry (waka and haiku), The Tale of Genji, The Tale of Heike, noh drama, short fiction of the Edo period by Ihara Saikaku and plays by Chikamatsu Mozaemon including Love Suicides at Amijima. Prerequisites: None.
7B provides a survey of important works of 19th- and 20th-century Japanese fiction, poetry, and cultural criticism. The course will explore the manner in which writers responded to the challenges of industrialization, internationalization, and war. Topics include the shifting notions of tradition and modernity, the impact of Westernization on the constructions of the self and gender, writers and the wartime state, literature of the atomic bomb, and postmodern fantasies and aesthetics. All readings are in English translation. Techniques of critical reading and writing will be introduced as an integral part of the course. Prerequisites: None.
In this course, students will learn how to integrate the basic structures and vocabulary which they learned in Japanese 1A/B in order to express a wider range of ideas in a manner appropriate for many social situations. Students are expected to participate fully in classroom activities and discussions. This course is the equivalent of Japanese 10A-10B offered in the regular academic year. Prerequisites: Japanese 1B; or consent of instructor.
This course aims to develop further communicative skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing in a manner appropriate to the context. It concentrates on enabling students to use acquired grammar and vocabulary with more confidence in order to express functional meanings, while increasing linguistic competence. Course materials include the textbook, supplemented by newspaper and magazine articles and short stories to provide insight into Japanese culture and society. This course is the equivalent of Japanese 100A-100B offered in the regular academic year. Prerequisites: Japanese 10B; or consent of instructor.
Korean Language and Literature Courses
This 10-week course introduces students to beginning level Korean, including the basic structures and hangul (Korean script). Emphasis is on speaking, reading, and writing. This class is for students with minimal or no knowledge of Korean. This course is the equivalent of Korean1A-1B offered in the regular academic year. Prerequisites: None.
A survey of modern Korean literature and culture in the 20th century, focusing on the development of nationalist aesthetics in both North and South Korea. Topics include "new woman" narratives, urban culture, colonial modernity, war and trauma, and diaspora. Texts to be examined include works of fiction, poetry, art, and film. All readings are in English. Prerequisites: None.