Undergraduate - UnitATS2040 - Understanding contemporary China

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2012 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Arts
Offered	Clayton Second semester 2012 (Day)
Coordinator(s)	Gloria Davies

Notes

Previously coded CHI2440

Synopsis

This unit will extend on the work completed in Understanding Modern China by introducing students to further aspects of the Chinese language as it is used in academic writing within the Chinese humanities. It will cover a range of key topics in the disciplines of literature, politics, history and cultural studies, as these are discussed and written about in English and Chinese. It will also examine and compare Chinese and Western styles of academic writing and research methods. Questions of translation, both linguistic and cultural, will be central to this unit.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be expected to have acquired:

A basic understanding of issues and themes in contemporary Chinese critical inquiry with reference to intellectual debates on: inter-cultural dialogue; the public sphere; socialist principles vs. globalisation; new theoretical developments in the Chinese humanities and social sciences;
Library and web-based research skills relevant to modern Chinese studies;
Translation skills (in accordance with the Chinese language ability of individual students) and an understanding of aspects of translation theory relevant to modern Chinese studies;
A good knowledge of the socio-political context of contemporary Chinese critical inquiry;
Skills of analysis and interpretation in the study of China through exposure to the textual sources used in this unit.