For students with little or no previous knowledge of Chinese. An introduction to modern (Mandarin) Chinese through an intensive drill of its oral and written forms. Emphasis on speaking and basic grammar as well as the formation of the characters. Audio and video materials will be incorporated into the curriculum. This course is followed by an intensive course (eight hours per week) in the spring semester and a summer intensive program (six weeks) in Tianjin, China. Daily active participation and one hour per week tutorial with the Chinese tutor are expected. Divisible.

This course is for students who have taken at least two years of basic Chinese at Bard or elsewhere, and who want to expand their reading and speaking capacity and to enrich their cultural experiences. Texts will be selected from newspapers, journals, and fictional works.

What do we mean when we say someone is Chinese? Do we refer to people from the People's Republic of China, including its various ethnic groups? Or someone from Taiwan or Hong Kong? What about overseas Chinese? Among the issues we will discuss are cultural heritage, ethnic and national identity, colonialism, movements for independence in Taiwan and Tibet, ethnic unrest in Xinjiang, what constitutes nation-state, and how Chinese Americans view themselves in relation to American politics and foreign policy. Readings include government documents, political and foreign commentaries, articles published in newspapers and magazines such as The World Daily and The China Times, and literature written by political dissidents such as Zheng Yi and Liu Binyan, and by other "non-political" writers such as Zhang Chengzhi. Conducted in Chinese.