Course Offerings

For a complete list of departmental course offerings, please refer to the Undergraduate Bulletin.
How To Request a Prerequisite Override: (pdf)

Spring 2027 Courses (pdf)

Chinese Language Courses (CHI)

CHI 102. First-year Chinese II: Start Your Global Journey. (4 h)

Second half of a year-long sequence designed to develop students’ elementary Chinese communication skills in simple daily life contexts. Reading, writing, listening, and speaking are given equal weight, with emphasis on listening and speaking skills in class. P-CHI 101 or equivalent.

CHI 201. Second -year Chinese II: Unlock Connections and Opportunities. (4 h)

Second half of a year-long sequence designed to develop students’ Chinese communication skills in a wide range of daily life contexts, including some work scenarios. Students will gain a basic appreciation of cultural differences. P – CHI 153 or equivalent

CHI 230. Third-year Chinese II: Thrive in Global Societies. (4 h)

Second half of a year-long sequence designed to enhance students’ Chinese communication skills, with emphasis on accuracy and fluency on various topics at more abstract levels. Students will deepen their understanding of cultural differences. P – CHI 220 or prerequisite override required.

CHI 231. Fourth-year Chinese: Lead in Global Communities. (3h)

Second half of a year-long sequence designed to enhance students’ Chinese communication skills, with emphasis on accuracy and fluency on various topics at more abstract levels. Students will deepen their understanding of cultural differences. P – CHI 220 or prerequisite override required.

Japanese Language Courses (JPN)

JPN 102. First-year Japanese II. (4 h)

Second half of a year-long sequence designed to develop students’ elementary Japanese communication skills in simple daily life contexts. Focuses on developing proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. P- JPN 101 or equivalent.

JPN 201. Second-year Japanese II. (4 h)

Second half of a year-long sequence at the intermediate level. Continues to focus on developing proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Expands students’ ability to communicate with a broader range of vocabulary and grammar. P-JPN 153 or equivalent. 

JPN 230. Third-year Japanese II. (4 h)

Two-semester sequence that enhances students’ reading, speaking, writing, and listening skills by dealing with a variety of topics at an advanced linguistic level. Integrates conversation, discussion, and presentation with emphasis on written and multimedia sources. P-JPN 220 or equivalent.

JPN 231. Fourth-year Japanese (3h)

Two-semester sequence that enhances students’ reading, speaking, writing, and listening skills by dealing with a variety of topics at an advanced linguistic level. Integrates conversation, discussion, and presentation with emphasis on written and multimedia sources. P-JPN 230 or equivalent.

JPN 255. Professional Japanese. (3 h)

Focuses on professional topics with an emphasis on developing intermediate and advanced language and intercultural communication skills for the global workplace. P – JPN 230 or prerequisite override required.

East Asian Cultural Electives (EAL)

EAL 222. Themes in Chinese Literature II. (3 h)

Examines selected themes in Chinese fiction, drama, and poetry with an emphasis on the early modern and pre-modern periods. (CD, D)

EAL 241. Gender and Sexuality in Modern and Contemporary Japan. (3 h)

Explores representations, expressions, and ideologies of gender and sexuality in modern and contemporary Japanese culture through close examinations of literature, film, and visual culture. (CD, POR, SWC)

EAL 272. Fiction and Film from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Beyond. (3 h)

Explores the historical and critical formulation of the “Sinophone” through film and literature from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and the United States. This diversity of geographies, languages, and politics expands, complicates, and challenges received notions of Chinese culture. (CD, SWC)

EAL 376. Honors Thesis. (3 h)

Directed research for the honors thesis. P-EAL 375 and prerequisite override required.

EALC Spring 2027 First-Year Seminars

FYS 100-D Reclaiming Voices: Contemporary Women’s Literature and Film from East Asia. (3 h)

This FYS seminar explores the diverse voices of women from transnational East Asia through an examination of contemporary women’s literary and cinematic works (1970s–present). Students will critically explore various forms of gender dynamics, expectations, and values across these regions (including China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan), while analyzing how women’s creative imaginations challenge various gender norms and express unique feminist perspectives. Topics covered in this course include ideal womanhood, motherhood, patriarchal capitalism, gender and labor, indigenous feminism, and feminist engagement with the environment and technology. No prior knowledge of East Asian literature and culture is required.

FYS 100-E Encountering the Other: China and the West. (3 h)

This is an interdisciplinary course drawing on history, literature, film, and art in order to examine the cultural contact, conflict, and confluence between China and the West. We will focus on key moments in the often troubled relations between the Celestial Kingdom and the West and explore the imaginings and misapprehensions of the Other in philosophical treatises, travel diaries, and pseudo-scientific articles and recent cross-cultural theoretical works by Chinese and Western writers. We will investigate the possibility of cultural confluence in the age of globalization through a reassessment of the career of Giuseppe Castiglione, who served under Qianlong Emperor in the 18th century.

Non-EALC courses that count for the Chinese and/or Japanese major

ART 236. Art of East Asia. (3 h)

An introduction to the visual arts of historical China, Korea, and Japan in the premodern period. Emphasis will be placed on cultural context and interactions among the three countries. Covers various political, religious, and social perspectives in the traditional cultures of China, Korea, and Japan, and encourages students to expand their intellectual experience as modern global citizens. (CD, D, SWC)

HST 245. Modern China since 1850. (3 h)

Study of modern China from 1850 to the present, focusing on the major political, economic, and cultural transformations occurring in China during this period within the context of modernization, imperialism and (semi) colonialism, world wars and civil wars, revolution and reform, and the ongoing processes of globalization. (CD)

HST 247. Japan since 1600. (3 h)

A survey of Japan in the modern world. Topics include political and cultural revolution, state and empire-building, economic ‘miracles’, social transformations, military conflicts, and intellectual dilemmas. (CD, SWC)

HST 345. China and the World in the Age of Discovery. (3 h)

Explores the Age of Discovery (1400-1800) seen from China, starting with the Zheng He voyages. Examines China’s interactions with the wider world, especially European states and their overseas colonies. (CD)

POL 248. Chinese Politics. (3 h)

A survey of the political institutions and processes in China (People’s Republic of China and Republic of China). Emphasis on group conflict, elites, ideology, as well as current policy changes in the process of modernization.

REL 329. Asian Medicine, Health, and Healing Traditions. (3 h)

An interdisciplinary exploration of Indian, Chinese, and Tibetan medicines, as well as shamanic and other healing traditions in Asia, examining the intersection of health and bodily systems with religions and ethics. (CD)