Modern Languages and Literatures – Chinese

College of Liberal & Creative Arts

Dean: Dr. Ifeoma Kiddoe Nwankwo

Department of Modern Languages and Literatures

Humanities Building, Room 475
Phone: (415) 338-1421
Website: mll.sfsu.edu/chinese-program

Chair: Charles Egan
Program Coordinator: Chris Wen-Chao Li
Undergraduate Advisor: Chris Wen-Chao Li, Charles Egan, Frederik Green, Yang Xiao-Desai
Graduate Advisor: Chris Wen-Chao Li
Flagship Program Director: Charles Egan
Flagship Program Assistant Director: Frederik Green

Program Scope

Founded in 1959, the Chinese Program at San Francisco State University provides comprehensive degree programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. For all major and minor options, the Chinese Program offers electives taught in both English and Chinese, which provide insight into one of the world’s oldest civilizations and inspire the student to view the modern world from alternative perspectives. Courses on modern literature and film taught in Chinese reflect the dynamic transformations of contemporary Chinese society and culture. Training in the fundamentals of linguistics complements program goals by revealing the underlying structures of language. To prepare students as fully as possible for future challenges, the Chinese Program balances traditional academic offerings with practical courses such as Business Chinese, Media Chinese, and Web Chinese, which equip students with career-related language skills.

The Bachelor of Arts in Chinese is divided into three separate concentrations: Chinese Language, designed for students with little or no background in the Chinese language; Chinese Literature and Linguistics, aimed at native and near-native speakers of Chinese language; and Flagship Chinese Language, a federally funded honors program.

The Minor in Chinese Language is designed for beginning language learners and is focused on the buildup of proficiency in the Modern Standard Language.

The Minor in Chinese Literature and Linguistics is designed for native and near-native speakers and requires coursework in advanced language, classical language, linguistics, literature, culture, and oratory.

The Master of Arts in Chinese provides advanced training in the areas of literature, linguistics, and pedagogy, building a solid foundation for further study and language-related careers. Many of our M.A. graduates advance to study and research at the doctoral level. Others develop skills for China-related careers, including teaching Chinese as a second language, international business and law, and translation and interpretation.

Professor

Charles H. Egan (2000), Professor in Modern Languages and Literatures. Ph.D. Princeton University.

Chris Wen-Chao Li (2000), Professor in Modern Languages and Literatures. M.Phil., D.Phil. Oxford University.

Associate Professor

Frederik H. Green (2012), Associate Professor in Modern Languages and Literatures. Ph.D. Yale University.

Yang Xia-Desai (2014), Associate Professor in Modern Languages and Literatures. Ph.D. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Lecturers

Tsao, Liou, Phung

CHIN 101 First Semester Chinese (Units: 4)

Understanding, speaking, reading, and writing modern Mandarin Chinese at the elementary level. Emphasis on the spoken language. Laboratory attendance required.

Course Attributes:

  • C2: Humanities
  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 102 Second Semester Chinese (Units: 4)

Prerequisite: CHIN 101 or permission of the instructor.

Further study of elementary Mandarin Chinese. Laboratory attendance required.

Course Attributes:

  • C2: Humanities
  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 103 Third Semester Chinese (Units: 4)

Prerequisite: CHIN 102 or permission of the instructor.

Understanding, speaking, reading, and writing modern Mandarin Chinese at the low-intermediate level. Laboratory attendance required.

Course Attributes:

  • C2: Humanities
  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 175 Flagship Preparation I (Unit: 1)

Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in CHIN 101 or CHIN 102 or permission of the instructor.

Augments CHIN 101 and CHIN 102 for preparation for the Chinese Flagship Program. Focus on presentational speaking skills and writing skills; practice with traditional and simplified Chinese characters, composition, and use of electronic media for Chinese.

CHIN 228 Chinese Language and Society (Units: 3)

Examination of the role of Chinese language in various aspects of social life, such as identity, gender relations, class, kinship, social status, and hierarchies. Topics also include the regional variations of the Chinese language and its relations to culture, education, politics, and technology.

Course Attributes:

  • C2: Humanities
  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 270 China and the West: Cross-Cultural Encounters Through Literature and Art from Middles Ages-Present (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2* or permission of the instructor.

Writing-intensive course that explores how China and the West have come to understand (and misunderstand) each other from the 10th century until the present. Topics include Chinese poetry from the Silk Road, accounts of Western merchants, the Jesuit impact on 17th/18th-century Sino-Western relations, Sino-Western trade, Chinese migration to America, and the West's recent obsession with China. Reflection on how cross-cultural encounters impact contemporary issues of identity, social justice, and well-being. Building on the skills acquired in Written English Communication (A2), practice the components of effective arguments: analyzing genre, audience, and purpose, as well as how to draft and give feedback.

Course Attributes:

  • E: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

CHIN 271 The Classic Chinese Novel in Contemporary Pop Culture (Units: 3)

Explore the legacy of China's four great classic novels in contemporary Chinese popular culture. Analysis of original works and their adaptation in TV shows and cinema, fiction, computer games, and theme parks.
(This course is offered as CHIN 271 and HUM 271. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

  • C2: Humanities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

CHIN 275 Flagship Preparation II (Unit: 1)

Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in CHIN 102 or CHIN 103 or permission of the instructor.

Augments CHIN 102 and CHIN 103 for preparation for the Chinese Flagship Program. Focus on writing; practice with traditional and simplified Chinese characters, composition, and use of electronic media for Chinese.

CHIN 303 Intermediate Chinese (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 103 or permission of the instructor.

Balanced focus on spoken and written Mandarin Chinese. Developing students' oral fluency, expanding vocabulary, and correcting pronunciation. Improving skills using basic texts written in Chinese characters and writing sentences in characters. Laboratory attendance required.

CHIN 311 Conversation and Reading (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 303 or Chinese Literature and Linguistics majors or minors or permission of the instructor.

Developing proficiency in spoken Mandarin and written Chinese. Review of basic sentence patterns, vocabulary expansion, and acquisition of Chinese characters.

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 312 Speech and Writing (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 311 or consent of the instructor.

Developing proficiency in spoken Mandarin and written Chinese. Vocabulary expansion, acquisition, and retention of Chinese characters; speaking and writing skills in interactive context.

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 341 From Yellow Music to Mando Pop: The History & Practice of Popular Music in 20th & 21st Century China (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 103 or equivalent or permission of the instructor.

Blended language and culture course that explores the historical, theoretical, and linguistic dimension of Chinese popular music from 1920s Shanghai to its contemporary manifestations in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Topics include the political use of popular music, the emergence of Cantopop and Mandopop, Chinese rock music, and ethnic folk.

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 375 Flagship Preparation III: Academic Prose (Unit: 1)

Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in CHIN 103 or CHIN 303 or permission of the instructor.

Augments CHIN 103 and 303 for preparation for the Chinese Flagship Program. Focus on presentational speaking skills and writing skills. Training uses materials from the humanities, social sciences, and professional disciplines.

CHIN 401 Advanced Chinese (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: CHIN 312 or Chinese Literature and Linguistics majors or minors or permission of the instructor.

Developing Chinese proficiency at advanced level: vocabulary expansion, acquisition, and retention of Chinese characters in both full and simplified forms; communicative competence in four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 410 Building Chinese Media Literacy (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 401 or consent of the instructor.

Vocabulary, structures, styles, and topics of contemporary Chinese media. Newspapers, radio and television broadcasts, websites, blogs, and social media of Greater China. Intensive focus on reading and listening, augmented by writing and presentation assignments.
(This course is offered as CHIN 410 and JOUR 410, and is taught in Chinese. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

CHIN 411 Media Chinese (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 401 or consent of the instructor.

Mandarin as it is used in various genres on radio/television and in news reports and articles, editorials, interviews, and advertisements.
(This course is offered as CHIN 411, I R 413, and JOUR 411. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 475 Flagship Chinese I (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Advanced Chinese skills and Flagship student status or permission of the instructor and the Flagship Director.

Focus on advanced training in all four skills and three modes of language. Group study of advanced academic prose; preparation of formal presentations; composition of academic essays.

CHIN 476 Flagship Chinese II: Domain Training (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: CHIN 475 or equivalent and Flagship student status or permission of the instructor and the Flagship Director. Flagship students may enroll in CHIN 476 before they have completed CHIN 475 upon advisement.

Focus on advanced training in all four skills and three modes of language. Combination of group study of advanced academic prose and individual study of language pertaining to field domains, to prepare students for the Flagship Capstone Year.

CHIN 501 Introduction to Classical Chinese (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 312 (may be taken concurrently) or Chinese Literature and Linguistics majors or minors or permission of the instructor.

Stylistic and structural characteristics of classical Chinese; problems of interpretation; introduction to literary genres in cultural context.

Course Attributes:

  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 502 Readings in Literary Chinese (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 312 (may be taken concurrently) or Chinese Literature and Linguistics majors or minors or permission of the instructor.

Close readings of classical Chinese texts drawn from philosophical, historical, and literary sources, such as the Sishu (the Four Books), the Wujing (Five Confucian Classics), and classical Chinese poetry from the Han to the Tang. Classical Chinese grammar is studied using a hands-on approach; reading of text in original, analyze linguistic features, and socio-historical and literary context.

CHIN 507 Traditional Chinese Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 311 or CHIN 312 (may be taken concurrently) or Chinese Literature and Linguistics majors or minors or permission of the instructor.

Highlights of the development of Chinese culture from antiquity to the 19th century. Selected readings, films.

CHIN 521 Chinese Modern Fiction (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Areas A1*, A2*, A3*, and B4* all with grades of C- or better; CHIN 312 (may be taken concurrently); or permission of the instructor.

Major authors from the May Fourth Movement and subsequent periods.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 525 Chinese Applied Linguistics (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 311 or CHIN 312 (may be taken concurrently), or Chinese Literature and Linguistics major or minor, or permission of instructor.

Application of modern descriptive linguistics to the analysis of phonological, morphological, and syntactic structures of Mandarin.

CHIN 537 Chinese Language and Modern China (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 311 or CHIN 312 (may be taken concurrently) or Chinese Literature and Linguistics majors or minors or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to the linguistic structure, historical development, and present state of Modern Standard Chinese; its relationship to the major Chinese dialect families; aspects of Chinese sociolinguistics and pragmatics.

CHIN 580 Topics in Modern Chinese Language and Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: CHIN 311 or CHIN 312 (may be taken concurrently) or Chinese Literature and Linguistics majors or minors or permission of the instructor.

Topics to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated when topics vary.

Topics:

  1. Chinese Literature in Film
  2. Socio-Cultural Aspects of the Chinese Language
  3. Introduction to Business Chinese
  4. Advanced Business Chinese
  5. Chinese Idioms as Cultural Expressions
  6. Reading World Wide Web Chinese

CHIN 600 Topics in Chinese Language, Literature, and Culture in English (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area E.

Topic to be specified in the Class Schedule. May be repeated when topics vary.

Topics:

  1. Chinese Cultural Treasures and Heritage in English
  2. The Red Chamber Dream in Cultural Context in ENG

CHIN 601GW The Poetic Tradition - GWAR (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: GE Area A2.

Major Chinese poets from antiquity to late imperial times, discussed in cultural context. Taught in English. (ABC/NC grading only)

Course Attributes:

  • Graduation Writing Assessment
  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 602 The Narrative Tradition (Units: 3)

Prerequisite for CHIN 802: M.A. in Chinese students or permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites for CHIN 602: Upper-division standing; GPA of 3.0 or higher; or permission of the instructor.

Chinese literary tradition including philosophical essays, historical writings, fiction, and drama from 500 B.C. to novels of late 19th Century. [Taught in English]
(CHIN 802/CHIN 602 is a paired course offering. Students who complete the course at one level may not repeat the course at the other level.)

CHIN 611GW The Revolutionary Tradition in Modern Chinese Literature - GWAR (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division standing; GE Area A2; or consent of the instructor.

Introduction to 20th-century Chinese literature and thought with particular focus on politically motivated writers. Critical engagement with the most important intellectual trends and political movements from the last days of Imperial rule to the present. (ABC/NC grading only)

Course Attributes:

  • Graduation Writing Assessment
  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 612GW Negotiating Chineseness in the Late 20th and 21st Centuries - GWAR (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper-division Chinese majors; GE Area A2; or permission of the instructor.

Exploration of multiple negotiations of Chineseness through a wide range of texts from the People's Republic, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese Diaspora. Focus on literary, cinematic, and critical works produced between 1970 and present. (ABC/NC grading only)

Course Attributes:

  • Graduation Writing Assessment
  • Global Perspectives

CHIN 699 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the department chair and instructor. Open only to undergraduate students who have demonstrated the ability to do independent work.

Written projects requiring critical analysis and interpretation of literary, linguistic, or pedagogical problems. May be repeated for a total of 6 units.

CHIN 785 Projects in the Teaching of Chinese (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisites: Graduate standing; tutoring appointment in the Chinese Flagship Program.

Experience with proficiency-based methods for teaching Chinese. Supervising faculty member offers individual direction and group pedagogy sessions. Enrollment for 1-3 units (1 unit requires 2 hours tutoring and 1 hour preparation weekly). May be repeated for a total of 4 units maximum. (CR/NC grading only)

CHIN 802 The Narrative Tradition (Units: 3)

Prerequisite for CHIN 802: M.A. in Chinese students or permission of the instructor.
Prerequisites for CHIN 602: Upper-division standing; GPA of 3.0 or higher; or permission of the instructor.

Chinese literary tradition including philosophical essays, historical writings, fiction, and drama from 500 B.C. to novels of late 19th Century. [Taught in English]
(CHIN 802/CHIN 602 is a paired course offering. Students who complete the course at one level may not repeat the course at the other level.)

CHIN 820 The Road To Modernity Part I: Chinese Literary Trends of the Late Imperial and Republican Periods (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Examination of the most important literary trends and genres (fiction, poetry, drama, reportage) that have shaped the development of modern Chinese literature from the 1850s until 1945. Will constitute part 1- of a 2-part survey of modern Chinese literature.

CHIN 821 Modern Chinese Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Admission to Chinese program or permission of the instructor.

Readings by major authors from the May Fourth Movement to the present, as well as selections from secondary scholarship.

CHIN 822 Classical Chinese Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Admission to Chinese program or permission of the instructor.

Classical philosophical, historical, and belletristic writings.

CHIN 825 Applied Linguistics and Teaching Chinese (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Admission to Chinese program or permission of the instructor.

Investigation of practical issues pertinent to second language acquisition and pedagogy in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language.

CHIN 826 Semantics and Morphology (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Master of Arts in Chinese students or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to linguistic meaning and word formation in Chinese. Chinese semantics, pragmatics, morphology in light of recent findings in cognitive science.

CHIN 827 Language Change and Dialect Variation (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Master of Arts in Chinese students or permission of the instructor.

Introduction to mechanisms of language change and their application to Chinese historical linguistics and modern dialect classification. Topics include sound change, lexical change, grammaticalization, linguistic reconstruction, language typology, and Chinese philology.

CHIN 837 Materials Development for Teaching Chinese (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Admission to Chinese M.A. program or permission of the instructor.

Strengthening skills in developing teaching materials and level-appropriate thematic units, adopted for national foreign language standards and California state-approved curriculum framework. Language learning assessment and student projects. [Online Course]

CHIN 881 Translation (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Admission to Chinese M.A. program or permission of the instructor.

Translation theory and its application to English and Chinese. Topics include meaning, levels of equivalence, fidelity and authorship, metaphor and idiomatic language, domesticating and foreignizing strategies, transliteration and romanization, translation of specific genres, Chinese translation theory, and translation research.

CHIN 882 Consecutive and Simultaneous Interpreting (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Graduate standing or permission of the instructor.

Seminar focusing on general English-Chinese and Chinese-English liaison, consecutive and simultaneous interpreting. Training in shadowing, note-taking, and effort management, leading to build-up of skills inconsecutive and simultaneous interpreting.

CHIN 896EXM Culminating Experience Examination (Units: 0-3)

Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor, committee chair, and approval of Advancement to Candidacy (ATC) and Culminating Experience (CE) forms by Graduate Studies. ATC and Proposal for Culminating Experience Requirement forms must be approved by the Graduate Division before registration.

Enrollment in 896EXAM required for students whose culminating experience consists of an examination only. (CR/NC, RP)

CHIN 899 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)

Prerequisite: Permission of the graduate major adviser and supervising faculty member. Enrollment by petition.

Study is planned, developed, and completed under the direction of a member of the departmental faculty. Open only to graduate students who have demonstrated the ability to do independent work. May be repeated for a total of 6 units.