Asian Languages and Literatures

Asian Languages and Literatures | Courses | Faculty

440 Herter Hall

Degree: Bachelor of Arts

For Chinese
Contact: Alvin P. Cohen
Office: 442 Herter Hall
Phone: 545-4954
Email: sforrest@asianlan.umass.edu

Chair of Department: Associate Professor Doris G. Bargen; Professors Cohen, Gjertson; Assistant Professors Baird, Miller, Seaman, Shen; Lecturers Forrest, Hashimoto, Luo, Ono, Sono, Xiao; Associate Faculty Gaubatz, Hafner, Minear. Adjunct Research Professor Brooks; Adjunct Associate Professor Nguyen; Adjunct Lecturers Domier, Foster-Moore, Sato.

The Field

Chinese is spoken by one-fourth of the world’s population and is the vehicle for an extremely large body of literature, in the broadest sense, that began to develop over three thousand years ago. Chinese civilization reached high levels in the development of literature and the arts, government and economics, historical documentation, and philosophy and religion, as well as in technology and material culture. China is rapidly becoming a major economic and political power in the modern world. Consequently, China will play a crucial role in world events in the next twenty-five years, and the Chinese language will be an essential tool for communicating with and understanding this large country that occupies the geographic and cultural center of Eastern Asia.

Japanese is the language of more than one hundred million people who are heirs to an exceptionally rich tradition in literature and the arts. It is the language of the world’s second greatest economic power and of much important innovation in such fields as engineering, chemistry, linguistics, management, and marketing. It is the language of one of the most important trading partners of the United States, and of a literary tradition in which many of the most important works were written by women.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is the only public institution of higher education in New England to offer Bachelor of Arts degrees in Chinese Language and Literature, Chinese Language and Linguistics, Japanese Language and Literature, and Japanese Language and Linguistics, as well as minors in Chinese and in Japanese. These programs offer students a sound command of the language as well as a solid background in literature, linguistics, culture, and civilization. The minors in Chinese and Japanese offer a combination of skills which can greatly enrich one’s educational experiences and enlarge postgraduate possibilities. The Department of Asian Languages and Literatures supports study abroad programs in Japan, the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan which are aimed at increasing students’ fluency in Chinese and Japanese and the understanding of those cultures.

The Majors

Chinese Language and Literature

Prerequisite

The successful completion of four semester courses in Mandarin Chinese: 126, 246, 326, 327 (24 credits) or the equivalent.

Departmental Requirements

31 credits for the major, distributed as follows:

A. Required courses (16 credits)

375 Introduction to Chinese Linguistics

426 Advanced Modern Chinese I

427 Advanced Modern Chinese II

450 Elementary Classical Chinese

451 Intermediate Classical Chinese

B. 9 credits from among the following:

432 Media Chinese

433 Business Chinese

498Y Practicum (1-3 credits)

526 Readings in Modern Chinese Literature I

527 Readings in Modern Chinese Literature II

528 Chinese Language in Contexts

536 Premodern Vernacular Literature

537 Modern Vernacular Literature

552 Readings in Chinese Historical Text

570 Introduction to Research in Chinese Source Materials

575 Syntactic Structures of Chinese

576 History of the Chinese Language

577 Chinese Dialectology

580 Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language I

581 Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language II

C. 6 credits from among the following:

138 Religion in Chinese Culture

140 Chinese Script I

141 Chinese Script II

150 Peoples and Languages of China

153 Chinese Literature: Poetry

154 Chinese Literature: Tale, Short Story, Novel

155 Chinese Myths and Legends

190A Modern China Through Literature and Film

HISTORY 114 History of China I

HISTORY 115 History of China II

Joint Major in Chinese and Linguistics

(See Linguistics section)

Japanese Language and Literature

Prerequisite

The successful completion of four semester courses in Japanese: 126, 246, 326 and 327 (24 credits) or the equivalent.

Departmental Requirements: 33 credits total

A. Required Courses (6 credits)

497B Contemporary Japanese I

497D Contemporary Japanese II

B. 12 credits from among the following:

496T Practicum and Tutorial

497A Readings in Modern Japanese I

497C Readings in Modern Japanese II

498Y Practicum

536 Advanced Modern Japanese I

537 Advanced Modern Japanese II

597B Translation and Japanese Literature

C. 9 credits from among the following:

235 Arts and Culture: The Performing Arts

291A Japanese Women Writers

297A Japanese Popular Culture

391A Landscape and Travel in Japanese Literature

392M Japanese Buddhism and the Literary Arts

492B Japanese Avant-Garde Drama

556 Introduction to Classical Japanese I

557 Readings in Classical Japanese II

560 Seminar in Japanese Literature

570 Introduction to Reference and Bibliography

597A Manuscript Japanese

CHINESE 450 Elementary Classical Chinese

D. 6 credits from the following:

135 Japanese Arts and Culture

143 Japanese Literature: Classical and Medieval

144 Japanese Literature: Modern

190B Japanese Fiction Through Film

190R Introduction to Japanese Religions

190S Ritual and Custom in Japanese Society

197A Japanese Poetry and Song

197E Japanese Cinema

197F Haiku Roots

HISTORY 116 Survey of Japanese Civilization

Joint Major in Japanese and Linguistics

(See Linguistics section)

Restrictions

A minimum grade of C in courses used to satisfy the major requirement; no Pass/Fail option in such courses; only six credits from other institutions in the Five College consortium may be applied to the major; students who begin the major at an advanced level must take enough courses at that level to accumulate the required number of credits from the major; double majors need to complete the Junior Year Writing requirement in only one of their majors. No student who passes the department’s foreign language exemption exam may enroll in 110/120/126/127/246/247.

Career Opportunities

Asia-related courses can play an important role in general education, and a major in Chinese or Japanese can lead to exciting career prospects in the following areas.

Teaching: English as a Second Language in the U.S. and Asia; Asian literature courses in junior high and high school; basic language skills in elementary schools.

Business: International and national banking; travel organizations; publishing houses; shipping firms; import-export houses; advertising/public relations.

Government Service: National Security Agency; Central Intelligence Agency; Departments of State, Defense, Treasury; Diplomatic Corps; Peace Corps; Public Relations.

Professional: Librarian; museum research/curator; ministry; international law; international labor relations.

Graduate Study: Comparative literature; linguistics; East Asian languages; history; law; international law; international management; international marketing research; library science; art history; business administration; computer science; economics.

The Minors

Chinese

Requirements (24 credits as follows):

A. 12 credits of Chinese language:

126 Intensive Elementary Chinese I or

110 Non-intensive Elementary Chinese I

120 Non-intensive Elementary Chinese II and

246 Intensive Elementary Chinese II

B. Any courses from among the following (from either Group I or Group II or from both) for a total of 12 credits:

I. Language and Linguistics
326 Intensive Intermediate Chinese I

327 Intensive Intermediate Chinese II

375 Introduction to Chinese Linguistics

426 Advanced Modern Chinese I

427 Advanced Modern Chinese II

432 Media Chinese

433 Business Chinese

450 Elementary Classical Chinese

451 Intermediate Classical Chinese

498Y Practicum (1-6 credits)

526 Readings in Modern Chinese Literature I

527 Readings in Modern Chinese Literature II

528 Chinese Language in Contexts

536 Premodern Vernacular Literature

537 Modern Vernacular Literature

552 Chinese Historical Texts

570 Introduction to Research in Chinese Source Materials

575 Syntactic Structures of Chinese

576 History of the Chinese Language

577 Chinese Dialectology

II. Literature

138 Religion in Chinese Culture

140 Chinese Script I

141 Chinese Script II

150 Peoples and Languages of China

153 Chinese Literature: Poetry

154 Chinese Literature: Tale, Short Story, Novel

155 Chinese Myths and Legends

190A Modern China Through Literature and Film

HISTORY 114 History of China I

HISTORY 115 History of China II

Japanese

Requirements (24 credits as follows)

A. 12 credits of Japanese language:

126 Intensive Elementary Japanese I or

110 Non-intensive Elementary Japanese I

120 Non-intensive Elementary Japanese II

and

246 Intensive Elementary Japanese II

B. Any courses from among the following (from either Group I or Group II or from both) for a total of 12 credits:

Group I. Language

326 Intensive Intermediate Japanese I

327 Intensive Intermediate Japanese II

497A Readings in Modern Japanese I

497B Contemporary Japanese Literature I

497C Readings in Modern Japanese II

497D Contemporary Japanese Literature II

536 Advanced Modern Japanese I

537 Advanced Modern Japanese II

556 Introduction to Classical Japanese I

557 Introduction to Classical Japanese II

570 Introduction to Reference and Bibliography

Group II. Literature and Culture

135 Japanese Art and Culture

143 Japanese Literature: Classical and Me- dieval

144 Japanese Literature: Modern

190B Japanese Fiction Through Film

190R Introduction to Japanese Religions

197A Japanese Poetry and Song

197E Japanese Cinema

235 Arts and Culture: The Performing Arts

291A Japanese Women Writers

297A Japanese Popular Culture

391A Landscape and Travel in Japanese Literature

392M Japanese Buddhism and the Literary Arts

492B Japanese Avant-Garde Drama

560 Seminar in Japanese Literature

597A Manuscript Japanese

HISTORY 116 History of East Asia: Japan

Note: Students who begin taking language courses at a level above the elementary level must take advanced courses sufficient to accumulate 24 credits for the minor. A grade of C or better is required for courses used to satisfy the minor requirement. Courses for the minor may not be taken Pass/Fail. No more than six credits taken through the Five College consortium will be accepted for the minor. No student who passes the department’s foreign language exemption exam may enroll in 110/120/126/127/246/247.

Asian Languages and Literatures | Courses | Faculty