Chinese Studies
School of Arts and Humanities
Arts and Humanities Building, Sixth Floor
(858) 534-6477
Email: ChineseStudies@ucsd.edu
http://chinesestudies.ucsd.edu
All courses, faculty listings, and curricular and degree requirements described herein are subject to change or deletion without notice.
Chinese Studies is an interdisciplinary program that allows students interested in China to utilize the university’s offerings in various departments to build a major leading to a bachelor’s degree. Chinese studies courses are offered through the Chinese Studies Program directly as well as through a variety of departments and programs to allow students flexibility to follow their interests within the available offerings.
The Chinese Studies Program combines historical understanding with an emphasis on modern and contemporary China. The Department of History has a strong specialization in late imperial and modern China. A full spectrum of courses on the politics, economics, society, and culture of today’s China are offered via other departments at UC San Diego. Another focal point of research interest is visual culture and cultural history in modern and premodern China. The interdisciplinary nature of the program (see departmental affiliation of the participating faculty) can accommodate students of a wide range of interests. In addition to our local resources, the University of California Education Abroad Program (EAP) and Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP) are affiliated with various universities and language institutes in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. This, together with other academic exchange programs with a number of Chinese universities, provides the possibility of a junior year abroad, to take both Mandarin Chinese courses and nonlanguage courses dealing with various aspects of Chinese studies. Such courses are subject to final approval by the program director by submitting an Undergraduate Student Petition upon completion of the course(s). Please note that at least six of the twelve upper-division courses for the major must be taken at UC San Diego.
The Major Program
The student choosing a major in Chinese studies must meet the following requirements:
- Two years of Mandarin Chinese (CHIN 10 A-B-C and 20 A-B-C or equivalent) or equivalent Chinese language knowledge.
- Twelve upper-division four-unit courses in Chinese studies topics.
- Courses must be taken from at least three different departments or programs.
- Three of the twelve courses must be upper-division Chinese history.
- One of the three history courses must be a four-unit seminar or colloquium in which students are expected to write a substantial term paper. Typically, the Department of History offers at least one colloquium per academic year, which are usually numbered HIEA 161–171. The student will need to request and receive permission from the professor and the Department of History before enrolling in such a course. The colloquium must be completed at UC San Diego.
- No more than six of those upper-division courses may be Chinese language acquisition courses.
- A minimum of six upper-division courses must be taken at UC San Diego.
- As a rule, all courses must be taken and completed for a letter grade for both the major and minor. Exceptions are granted for CHIN 198 and CHIN 199.
In principle, the courses that the Chinese Studies Program accepts are lower- and upper-division courses that study China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Mandarin Chinese. Only six upper-division courses may be taken abroad (or at another institution) and only three taken outside of UC San Diego may be Chinese language acquisition courses. All courses not taken at UC San Diego must be reviewed and approved by submitting a Student Petition upon returning from EAP, OAP, or from another US academic institution. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the Chinese Studies Program, a majority of the courses listed below are planned by participating departments or programs for the current academic year.
Honors Program
Minimum requirements for admission to the program are
- Junior standing
- A GPA of 3.5 or better in the major
- Overall GPA of 3.2 or better
- Recommendation of a faculty sponsor who is familiar with the student’s work
- Completion of at least four approved upper-division courses approved by the Chinese Studies Program
- Completion of at least one year of Chinese language study or equivalent knowledge
Students who qualify for honors must consult with a faculty mentor; submit a proposal; complete the appropriate form(s); enroll, complete, and pass a two-quarter sequence of directed study during which they define a research project; carry out the research; and complete a senior thesis.
The completed thesis will be evaluated by a committee consisting of the student’s thesis adviser and one other faculty member appointed by the Chinese Studies Program director.
The Minor Program
A minor in Chinese studies consists of a maximum of three lower-division courses (a maximum of twelve units) and at least four upper-division courses (a minimum of sixteen units). Students who place into upper-division Chinese language courses or demonstrate native fluency may complete the Chinese Studies minor with seven upper-division courses (a minimum of twenty-eight units). Students who wish to declare the minor but do not wish to pursue language study may also complete the minor with seven upper-division courses. Each course must be taken for a letter grade. The seven courses must be selected from across three different departments or programs. No more than four Chinese language courses may be applied toward the minor. For students wishing to apply courses taken abroad to the minor, certain restrictions do apply. Please consult with the program coordinator regarding the following: the student petition process, the minimum four-unit requirement for each course taken abroad, which type of courses qualify, and what combination is applicable for each particular student.
Courses Applicable for the Chinese Studies Major and/or Minor Offered by Various Departments and Programs
For description of courses listed below, see appropriate departmental listing. All graduate-level courses require consent of the instructor/department for undergraduate students. Some departmental offerings have content that varies from year to year. In those cases, Chinese Studies Program approval via student petition is given only when content relates primarily to China. Courses not listed here that are related to Chinese studies may be counted toward the Chinese studies major or minor by petition. Students may submit an Undergraduate Student Petition with course syllabus for approval by the program director.
Lower Division (only for the minor)
History
HILD 10. East Asia: The Great Tradition
HILD 11. East Asia and the West
HILD 12. Twentieth-Century East Asia
Literature
LTWL 4C. Fiction and Film in Twentieth-Century Societies: Asian Societies (Zhang)
Music
MUS 13AS. World Music: Asia and Oceania (Guy)
Global South Studies
GSS 23. Global South Literatures: Chinese Literature
Upper Division
Anthropology
ANSC 136. Traditional Chinese Society (Jordan)
ANSC 137. Chinese Popular Religion (Jordan)
History
HIEA 122. The History of Chinese Culture and Society: The Late Imperial Period
HIEA 124. Life in Ming China (1369–1644)
HIEA 125. Women and Gender in East Asia
HIEA 126. The Silk Road in Chinese and Japanese History (Cahill)
HIEA 129. Faces of the Chinese Past
HIEA 130. End of the Chinese Empire: 1800–1911
HIEA 131. China in War and Revolution: 1911–1949
HIEA 132. Mao’s China, 1949–1976
HIEA 133. Twentieth-Century China: Cultural History
HIEA 134. History of Thought and Religion in China: Confucianism
HIEA 137. Women and Family in Chinese History
HIEA 138. Women and the Chinese Revolution
HIEA 140. China since 1978
HIEA 155. China and the Environment
HIEA 164. Seminar in Late Imperial Chinese History
HIEA 166. Creating Ming Histories
HIEA 168. Special Topics in Classical and Medieval Chinese History
HIEA 171. Society and Culture/Pre-modern China
Linguistics
LIGN 141. Language Structures
Literature
LTCH 101. Readings in Contemporary Chinese Literature
LTEA 100A. Classical Chinese Poetry
LTEA 100B. Modern Chinese Poetry
LTEA 100C. Contemporary Chinese Poetry
LTEA 110A. Classical Chinese Fiction in Translation
LTEA 110B. Modern Chinese Fiction in Translation
LTEA 110C. Contemporary Chinese Fiction in Translation
LTEA 120A. Chinese Films
LTEA 120B. Taiwan Films
LTEA 120C. Hong Kong Films
LTWR 113. Intercultural Writing: Chinese
Music
MUS 111. Topics/World Music Traditions (Topic must be music of China)
School of Global Policy and Strategy
GPPS 400. International Relations of Asia-Pacific
GPPS 403. Chinese Security, Technology, and Innovation
GPPS 404. Chinese Politics
GPPS 405. U.S.-China Relations
GPPS 406. China: Global Economic Order
GPPS 407. IR/National Security of China
GPIM 455. Financing the Chinese Miracle (with prerequisite)
GPIM 461. Doing Business in China
GPPA 467. Chinese Environmental and Energy Policy
GPPS 476. Chinese Sources and Methods (with prerequisite)
GPEC 486. Economic and Social Development of China
Philosophy
POLI 158. Topics in Chinese Philosophy
Political Science
POLI 113A. East Asian Thought in Comparative Perspective
POLI 113B. Chinese and Japanese Political Thought I
POLI 113C. Chinese and Japanese Political Thought II
POLI 130B. Politics in the People’s Republic of China (Shirk)
POLI 131C. The Chinese Revolution (Hoston)
POLI 132. Political Development and Modern China
Sociology
SOCI 140K. Law and Society in China
SOCI 188G. Chinese Society
SOCI 189. Special Topics in Comparative-Historical Sociology
Visual Arts
VIS 105D. Art Forms and Chinese Calligraphy
VIS 105E. Chinese Calligraphy as Installation
VIS 127B. Arts of China
VIS 127C. Arts of Modern China
VIS 127D. Early Chinese Painting
VIS 127E. Later Chinese Painting
VIS 127G. Twentieth-Century Chinese Art
VIS 127N. Twentieth-Century Art in China and Japan