Chinese Studies
About the Program
Through its rigorous curriculum, the Chinese program at Drew prepares students linguistically and intellectually for interaction with China and the Chinese-speaking world. Speaking, reading, and translating are stressed at all levels of language instruction. Extracurricular activities-study groups, field trips, films, etc.-help to integrate the study of the language and the culture.
Major
Requirements for the Major (44 credits)
Twenty (20) credits must be upper-level courses. At least 24 credits toward the major must be earned at Drew.
I. Required Courses (28 credits)
- CHIN 1/Beginning Chinese I (4)
- CHIN 2/Beginning Chinese II (4)
- CHIN 30/Intermediate Chinese I (4)
- CHIN 50/Intermediate/Chinese II (4)
- CHIN 101/Modern Chinese Society (4)
- CHIN 112/Selected Topics in Modern Chinese Literature and Film (4)
- PSCI 108/Chinese Politics (4)
Note: CHIN 1 and CHIN 2 may be exempted through placement exam, If CHIN 1 or/and CHIN 2 are exempted, a corresponding number of credits (4 or 8) must be completed from the following courses: CHIN 40, 111, 112, or from credits from Drew Summer language program and the approved study-abroad language programs.
II. Four courses from the following list (16 credits)
- ARTHST 112/Arts of Asia (when on East Asia or China) (4)
- ASST 23/Selected Topics in Asian Studies (when on East Asia) (4)
- CHIN 40/Topics in Chinese Culture (4)
- CHIN 111/Selected Topics in Traditional Chinese Literature (4)
- CHIN 112/Selected Topics in Modern Chinese Literature and Film (can be repeated for credit if the topic is different than course taken from section I) (4)
- CHIN 150/Independent Study in Chinese (4)
- HIST 180/Modern Chinese History (4)
- PSCI 133/East Asian Politics (4)
- REL 35/Religions of China and Japan (4)
Study abroad in a Drew program or programs approved by Drew is strongly recommended, especially for students who wish to emphasize language. With prior approval from the program director, students may replace up to four course (16 credits) with courses completed in such programs; one language course (4 credits) in Section I and three courses (12 credits) in Section II.
Minor
Requirements for the Minor (26 credits)
I. Required Courses (18 credits)
- CHIN 2/Beginning Chinese II (4)
- CHIN 4/Introduction to Chinese Character Writing II (2)
- CHIN 30/Intermediate Chinese I (4)
- CHIN 50/Intermediate Chinese II (4)
- CHIN 112/Selected Topics in Modern Chinese Literature and Film (4)
II. Two additional courses chosen from the following (8 credits)
- ARTHST 12/Arts of Asia (when topic is China) (4)
- ASST 23/Selected Topics in Asian Studies (when topic is East Asia) (2-4)
- CHIN 40/Topics in Chinese Culture (4)
- CHIN 101/Modern Chinese Society (4)
- CHIN 111/Selected Topics in Traditional Chinese Literature (4)
- HIST 180/Modern Chinese History (4)
- PSCI 108/Chinese Politics (4)
- REL 35/Religions of China and Japan (4)
Faculty
Faculty
- Director: Di Bai, Associate Professor of Chinese/Asian Studies
Courses
Courses Offered
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- CHIN 31A - Intermediate Intensive Speaking Chinese (4)
- An intensive course in spoken Mandarin. Drills and exercises on pronunciation, intonation, and prosody of Standard Mandarin (putonghua). Intermediate sentence patterns and grammar, vocabulary, and idiomatic expressions of spoken Chinese. Maximum enrollment of five students per section. Five 120-minute classes weekly for four weeks. Conducted in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN+2
Fulfills: - CHIN 31B - Intensive Chinese: Listening and Understanding (4)
- An intensive course in the comprehension of Mandarin. Listening drills will feature situational Chinese spoken at a natural pace, both with and without regional accents. Some listening exercises will use popular and traditional songs, public announcements, radio and television broadcasts. Maximum enrollment of five students per section. Five 120-minute classes weekly for four weeks. Conducted Mostly in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN+2
Fulfills: - CHIN 110A - Advanced intensive speaking Chinese (4)
- An intensive course in spoken Mandarin. Drills and exercises on pronunciation, intonation, and prosody of Standard Mandarin (putonghua). Advanced sentence patterns and grammar, vocabulary, and idiomatic expressions of spoken Chinese. Maximum enrollment of five students per section. Five 120-minute classes weekly for four weeks. Conducted in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN+100
Fulfills: - CHIN 110B - Intensive Chinese: Listening and Understanding (4)
- An intensive course in the comprehension of Mandarin. Listening drills will feature situational Chinese spoken at a natural pace, both with and without regional accents. Some listening exercises will use popular and traditional songs, public announcements, radio and television broadcasts. Maximum enrollment of five students per section. Five 120-minute classes weekly for four weeks. Conducted in Chinese.
Prerequisite: CHIN+100
Fulfills:
Courses in Chinese
- CHIN 1 - Beginning Chinese I (4)
- An introduction to spoken and written Chinese. Language laboratory required.
Corequisite: CHIN+3. Offered fall semester.
Fulfills: - CHIN 2 - Beginning Chinese II (4)
- An introduction to spoken and written Chinese. Language laboratory required.
Prerequisite: CHIN+1 Offered spring semester.
Fulfills: - CHIN 3 - Introduction to Chinese Character Writing I (2)
- Chinese character-based exercise session to facilitate CHIN+1.
Corequisite: CHIN+1
Fulfills: - CHIN 4 - Introduction to Chinese Character Writing II (2)
- Chinese character-based exercise session to facilitate CHIN+2.
Corequisite: CHIN+2.
Fulfills: - CHIN 30 - Intermediate Chinese I (4)
- Intermediate spoken and written Chinese. Language laboratory required.
Prerequisite: CHIN+2 or equivalent Offered fall semester.
Fulfills: - CHIN 50 - Intermediate Chinese II (4)
- This course is designed for students who have completed Chinese 30 and intend to finish two years of language training. The course emphasizes speaking, vocabulary building, and the development of reading and translating skills. Teaching materials will include a textbook and newspaper/magazine articles.
Prerequisite: CHIN+30 or equivalent. Offered spring semester.
Fulfills: - CHIN 101 - Modern Chinese Society (4)
- Advanced training in listening comprehension and oral expression through study of modern Chinese society. Writing skills will be developed through critical essays on readings.
Offered fall semester in alternate years.
Fulfills: - CHIN 102 - Advanced Chinese Reading (4)
- This is a second-semester course for the third-year of Chinese. It focuses on students' ability to read authentic Chinese texts. Other aspects of the language learning, such as speaking, character acquisition, writing and translation are also included.
Prerequisite: CHIN+101 Offered spring semester.
Fulfills: - CHIN 150 - Independent Study in Chinese (2-4)
- A course for students who wish to continue the study of Chinese at an advanced level.
Course may be repeated. Signature of instructor required for registration. Offered every semester.
Fulfills:
Courses in English
- CHIN 40 - Topics in Chinese Culture (4)
- An interdisciplinary and comparative introduction to important elements of both traditional and modern Chinese culture, including history, language, literature, art, philosophy/religion, family/marriage, and science/technology/medicine.
Course may be repeated. Offered spring semester in even-numbered years.
Fulfills: DIT, BI - CHIN 111 - Selected Topics in Classical Chinese Literature (4)
- Examination of the Chinese tradition in literature, culture and thought through critical study of classical texts in English translation. Subject matter may include selections from the genres of poetry, philosophical discourse, drama, tales, and the classical novel. Critical essay required of students.
[CAP] Capstone May be repeated for credit as topic varies. Offered fall semester in even numbered years.
Fulfills: WM - CHIN 112 - Selected Topics in Modern Chinese Literature and Film (4)
- Chinese literature, cinema, and drama of the twentieth century, a time when China faced western challenges to its national identity and cultural tradition. Texts of the twentieth century are distinctively modern, covering such issues as westernization and tradition, revolution, family restructuring and women's role in society.
Course may be repeated. Offered fall semester.
Fulfills: BH, DIT
Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum
- CHIN 99 - Chinese Across the Curriculum (2)
- Foreign Languages across the Curriculum is a tutorial program which seeks to enable students with at least intermediate-level proficiency in a foreign language to access authentic materials in that language that are relevant to a cognate course. Students will use their acquired skills to read and interpret texts in the foreign language and/or conduct research in the language. Knowledge gained will be applied to the work of the cognate course.
Prerequisite: CHIN+30 or equivalent and signature of language instructor.
Fulfills:
AP Exams
Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations
A student receiving a score of 4 or 5 on the Chinese examination is exempt from CHIN 30 and is considered to have fulfilled the College’s general education language requirement. AP credits in Chinese do not apply to the language-in-context general education requirement. For further information about AP credits see pages 15-16 of the catalog.
Off Campus Programs
Off-Campus Program
Summer Language Program in Harbin, China
Drew University’s Summer Language Program in Harbin, China, offered annually from late May to early July, is an intensive language immersion program designed for students who are eager to improve their Chinese speaking/listening abilities, and to learn Chinese in a natural setting. This eight-credit program composed of four weeks of concentrated learning inside and outside of the classroom: four-hour daily classes with field trips, extracurricular activities (calligraphy, tai-ji, cooking), and excursions and cultural events. The program ends with an eight-day tour to cities such as Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai.
Lang-In-Context
Language-In-Context Requirement for Chinese
The following regularly offered courses fulfill the language-in-context requirement for students offering Chinese as their language. Courses from foreign language departments and programs offered to fulfill this requirement must be in addition to the eight (8) credits needed to fulfill the language requirement. For other courses, see the list published each semester.
- ANTH 32/Southeast Asian Archaeology and Art (4)
- ANTH 54/Southeast Asian Political and Cultural Systems (4)
- ARTHST 112/Arts of Asia (4)
- HIST 180/Modern Chinese History (4)
- HUM 18/Asia Comes to America (4)
- PSCI 108/Chinese Politics (4)
- PSCI 133/East Asian Politics (4)
- REL 35/Religions of China and Japan (4)
Students who wish to use a course designated CHIN to satisfy the language-in-context requirement must take a course that is appropriate to their skills in Chinese.