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To view the Spring 2024 Academic Calendar, go to www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2024/spring.html.

Chinese Studies

Certificate

This certificate is for students who aim to develop language competency in and cultural understanding of the Chinese language and society. The program offers language courses up to the intermediate level that can build a solid foundation of all aspects in Mandarin Chinese language as well as communicative competences in everyday settings. Furthermore, the program affords opportunities for students to explore and expand their interests and studies in topics related to China through offering a variety of elective courses across departments and faculties.

Admission Requirements

There are no specific admission requirements. To declare your Chinese studies certificate, please contact the World Languages and Literatures Advisor at wll_adv@sfu.ca.

Program Requirements

Students complete a minimum of 18 units, of which nine are earned by completing three required core courses. The remaining courses are selected from the list of electives below. A minimum of the two thirds of the total units (equivalent to 12 units) used toward the certificate must be completed at Simon Fraser University.

Core Courses

Students complete a total of nine units, including

two 100-level and one 200-level CHIN language courses

(Students placed in courses higher than the 100- or 200-level may seek approval to use those courses as substitutions for the core language courses.)

Electives

Students need to complete a total of nine units, chosen from the following

GA 202 - Studies in Global Asia (3) *

Introduces students to a topic in Global Asian Studies not otherwise covered in depth by regularly scheduled courses. Sample topics include South Asian diasporas; Global Asia in Vancouver; refugee experiences; or Korean culture. This course may be repeated for credit only when a different topic is taught. Prerequisite: 15 units. Students with credit for ASC 202 may not take this course for further credit.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
E100 Anushay Malik
May 6 – Jun 17, 2024: Tue, Thu, 4:30–7:20 p.m.
Burnaby
GA 302 - Selected Topics in Global Chinese Studies (3)

In this interdisciplinary course, students will investigate a topic relating to the histories, societies, cultures, knowledges, geographies, and/or ecologies of China, Chinese-speaking people, and/or people of Chinese descent in Asia and beyond. May be repeated for credit only when a different topic is taught. Prerequisite: 45 units. Recommended: GA 101.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
D100 Yiwen Liu
May 6 – Aug 2, 2024: Wed, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
Burnaby
GA 400 - Selected Topics in Global Asia (3) *

Content will vary according to interests of faculty and students but will involve Global-Asia-related study within one or more of the social science or humanities disciplines. This course may be repeated for credit only when a different topic is taught. Prerequisite: 45 units.

BUS 431 - Business with East Asian Countries (3) *

This course examines the opportunities and challenges of doing business with the Pacific Rim countries such as China, Japan and Korea. Topics include the following: the political and economic systems as they affect foreign investment; social and cultural systems as they affect management practices; the conduct of business negotiations for market entry; and marketing strategies. Prerequisite: BUS 360W with a minimum grade of C-; 60 units. Recommended: BUS 346.

CHIN 210 - Mandarin Chinese IV (3)

Continues the work of CHIN 200. Building upon the approaches taken in CHIN 100, 110, and 200, students further develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills towards the intermediate level. By the end of the course, students will be able to express their ideas consistently in sentences with some details, identify the main ideas of simple texts, and supply information on forms and messages. Utilizing course materials with a Canadian focus, students are encouraged to work independently in acquiring vocabulary, expressions, and sentences. Prerequisite: CHIN 200 or equivalent. Students enrolled/placed at other Chinese courses may not take this course for credit. Students with credit for CHIN 201 may not take this course for further credit.

HIST 254 - China to 1800 (3)

This course offers a broad survey of the history of China from antiquity to the eve of its modern transformations at the turn of the nineteenth century. It aims to challenge the perception of an unchanging China and to encourage students to develop a critical understanding of the forces integrating and dividing this geo-cultural unit. Breadth-Humanities.

or HIST 255 - China since 1800 (3)

A survey of the history of China from the end of the eighteenth century to the present. Breadth-Humanities.

HIST 366 - Social and Cultural History of Modern China (4)

Explores the social and cultural problems in modern Chinese history, with special emphasis on popular and elite cultures in the late Qing, Republican, and socialist eras. Prerequisite: 45 units, including six units of lower division history. HIST 255 is recommended.

HUM 203 - Great Texts: Asian Thought and Literature (3) *

An introduction to classic texts which have endured as monuments of Asian thought and literature. Readings and discussions of primary texts and their central ideas will introduce students to philosophical, literary and religious themes in a selected, major Asian tradition. Breadth-Humanities.

HUM 204 - Great Religious Texts (3) *

A study of some of the key works which have had a formative influence on major religious traditions. Primary texts will be selected to illustrate core elements in the religious understanding of human life and its relationship to the sacred. Prerequisite: HUM 130 (HUM 230 prior to 2007) is recommended. Breadth-Humanities.

Section Instructor Day/Time Location
B100 Jason Brown
TBD
B101 Jason Brown
TBD
HUM 330 - Religions in Context (4) *

An in-depth investigation of a specific case of religious history and tradition. Religions will be studied through the cultural and historical contexts that pervade and structure religious meaning and expression. Students may repeat this course for further credit under a different topic. Prerequisite: 45 units. Breadth-Humanities.

HUM 331 - Special Topics in Asian Religious Traditions (4) *

Studies a specific Asian religious tradition through the cultural and historical contexts that structure religious meaning. Students may repeat this course once for further credit under a different topic. Prerequisite: 45 units. Breadth-Humanities.

SA 275 - China in Transition (SA) (4)

An introduction to culture, social structure and the processes of social, economic, and political transformation in contemporary China. Topics may include recent development of Marxism, feminism and neoliberalism in China; Western debates on China's rise and images of China as threat; human rights.

With prior permission from the departmental advisor, students may count other China-related courses which do not appear on this list. Consult with the program advisor.

* when the topic is China related. Consult the program advisor.

Transfer Credit

A maximum of six transfer credit units of 100 division language courses (only CHIN 100 and/or CHIN 110; CHIN 190, and/or CHIN 191) may be used toward this certificate. Such requests must be submitted to the departmental advisor.

Course Challenge Credit

A maximum of six challenge credit units of 100 division language courses (only CHIN 100 and/or CHIN 110; CHIN 190, and/or CHIN 191) may be used toward this certificate. Such requests must be submitted to the departmental advisor.