St. Lawrence University
Shanghai, China
ACADEMIC PROGRAMS,
ACADEMIC CULTURE
and ASSESSMENT
Academic Programs
China in a Global Context -- standard track
China in a Global Context -- accelerated language track
Business, Language and Culture -- standard track
Business, Language and Culture -- accelerated language track
Advanced Chinese Studies
- For students with at least 2 years of Mandarin Chinese language instruction.
- Advanced Chinese (7 credits)
- Advanced Chinese Language Research Project
- 2 electives (in Chinese)
CORE COURSES
GOVT 323/GS 347A: Seminar on Issues of Globalization in China
This core course is designed to introduce students to contemporary issues of globalization that affect
China and the affects of China as a rising power on the world today. Emphasis is on current events and
understanding different Chinese views of major global issues or foreign views of China today, ranging
from political hegemony, regional security, trade imbalance, overpopulation, environmental pollution,
human rights, nationalism, etc. The core course challenges students to question assumptions about these
global issues from both Chinese and other perspectives, to research the historical background to current
events, and to formulate and articulate informed opinions.
Or
ECON 261: Seminar on the Changing Nature of Business in China
This core course is designed to give students a practical and current overview of a dynamic set of issues
related to the changing nature of doing business with and in China. Topics of discussion cover major business
and economic issues facing both foreign and Chinese organizations in China today, ranging from the global
impact of China's entrance onto the world business stage, entering the market and investing, dealing with
important cultural issues, human resource and leadership issues, moving goods and capital around China,
protecting intellectual property, and other key topics. We also look closely at the question of exactly how
big of an opportunity China presents and to whom. Classroom discussion is supplemented by site visits,
guest lectures, and entrepreneurs.
ELECTIVE COURSES
ECON 262: China's Economic Reforms
This course introduces students to both the domestic and international aspects of China's economy. It explores
the political, social, and cultural forces that are shaping China's modernization and how the country's businesses
are interacting with the world marketplace. Prerequisite: ECON 251 and 252.
ECON 263: China's Macroeconomic Impact
This course introduces students to both the domestic and international aspects of China's economy. It explores
the political, social, and cultural forces that are shaping China's modernization and how the country's businesses
are interacting with the world marketplace.
SLU Econ majors will get credit for 2 economics courses; therefore, they are encouraged to take the core
course, 1 econ elective and an Area Studies elective.
GOVT 364/GS 347B: China's International Relations
The course begins with a discussion of China's security interests, its security policy, and the foreign
policy-making process. Students will then explore the history of China-U.S. interactions, highlighting some key
issues affecting bilateral relations, including the Taiwan issue, regional security, economic factors, and the
force of public opinion. Prerequisite: appropriate course in Government or Global Studies or Macroeconomics.
GOVT 322/GS 347C: Political Development in Modern China
The course strives to capture the continuous drama of the Chinese struggle for national revival through political,
social and economic modernization. Students are expected to gain in-depth knowledge of the historical background of
the Chinese communist revolution; major events, debates, policy changes, and structural reforms in the political
development since the founding of the People's Republic of China; and some of the major political concerns in China today.
HIST 247: Modern Chinese History
Mid-19th century marks the end of China's self-isolation. Since then China's history has become inescapably a part of world
history. This course tackles a period during which China underwent a desperate struggle for survival through wars, revolutions,
and drastic changes in political, ideological, and ethical systems, including the collapse of the imperial structure under
Western intellectual influences and military pressure, the "National Salvation" movements in the wake of foreign invasions,
and the communist rule following the Second World War. Emphases are placed on the origins of Chinese nationalism and the reasons
why modernity is viewed as a mixed blessing for the nation.
LTRN 228/Chinese Studies 228: Contemporary Chinese Society in Literature (Fall semester only)
While most Chinese literature courses in the U.S. focus on 20th century texts produced during the Republican Period (1919-1949),
this course introduces students to contemporary Chinese literature produced after the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) by selecting
literary works that are not widely taught outside China and that depict and directly affect life in China today. China has made some
of the most dramatic changes in its history during the last thirty years, and the literary works created after 1976 are equally
meaningful and certainly rival, if not surpass, many works produced during the Republic. Through the magnifying lens of contemporary
literature, the course will closely examine the culture and social changes of this remarkably transformative period.
LTRN 227/Chinese Studies 227: Traditional Chinese Literature (Spring semester only)
This general survey course introduces students to traditional Chinese literature through a wide variety of works and important genres
that developed from the Western Zhou dynasty to the mid-Qing dynasty (11th ct. BCE through mid-18th ct. CE). These texts range from the
early myths, famous fables, from major philosophical schools, poetry, folklore, ghost stories, dramas, short stories and novels. The
course seeks to demonstrate that traditional Chinese literature is a living heritage, rather than merely a relic of the past, therefore
bridging what was written in the past with what students see in today's China.
SOC 247: Issues in Chinese Society
This course introduces students to issues in the study of Chinese society through a mixed set of cultural perceptions in a global context.
It is issue-oriented, covering such problems as self, others, norms of interaction, private and public spheres, families, social
status, class, gender, work-unit (danwei), national identity, and Chinese perceptions of the world. The course addresses some seemingly
well-known contradictions in Chinese society and culture and explores their underlying causes and the complexities of the issues involved.
Asian Studies 247: Special Topics
CIEE will offer 3 Special Topics in Chinese Studies. The courses will be offered each semester with different themes and foci. Depending
on the specialized fields of the instructors teaching the courses, special topics may range from Chinese religions and philosophies,
literature, film, fine arts, urban and environmental studies, ethnicity and minority cultures, and domestic and comparative politics.
The chosen topic will be presented to students as a component of their course registration materials after they are accepted. IF a student
wants to get a major credit in a particular department for a special topics course, she/he will secure that permission after she/he returns
to campus (with syllabus, assignments, etc.).
ELECTIVE COURSES IN CHINESE for ADVANCED CHINESE STUDIES: Special Topics
Please talk to the staff in the Center for International and Intercultural studies for details.
For more information about the Programs and courses offered through CIEE, please go to their web page:
China in a Global Context
Business, Language and Culture
Advanced Chinese Studies
ACADEMIC CULTURE
In China, teachers are accustomed to being treated with the highest respect.
Keeping this in mind, students should be prepared to arrive to class on time,
dress with care, and not eat while in the classroom. Because the Chinese educational
system is based on a system of tests in which students are expected to memorize
characters and long passages, some teachers may be accustomed to teaching in
this manner. Depending on the instructor, there may be less discussion involved
and more lecturing.
ASSESSMENT
In the CIEE courses, students are normally graded on the basis of exams, daily
homework, and participation much as in the United States. In the language courses,
assessment is based on daily homework, quizzes, and exams. For all courses, letter
grades (on the -/+ system, with '+' equal to plus .3 and '-' equal to minus .3)
are averaged into each student's cumulative St. Lawrence G.P.A.
While all courses taught in the Shanghai Program have been approved for St.
Lawrence credit, some departments may have regulations about how such courses fit
into a major. Students must, therefore, confer with their advisors and department
chairpersons well in advance of going abroad in order to plan their academic
programs and avoid problems.
