Fall 2008 Courses
Please note: Official Yale College program and course information is found in Yale College Programs of Study, available on line at www.yale.edu/yalecollege/publications/ycps. Because of the varied disciplinary courses offered, East Asian Studies (EAS) and East Asian Languages and Literatures (EALL) credits do not automatically accrue to courses taught in the Peking University-Yale University Joint Program.
Fall 2008 Course Descriptions
AMST 449/WGSS 451: "Photography and Memory: Public and Private Lives" (Hu)
Instructor: Laura Wexler, Professor of American Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies, Yale University
This course examines photographs as a source for understanding the construction of private life in the United States, 1839 - present. Genres to be considered include: studio photography, family albums, snapshots, artists' photographs and the art of memory. Special attention will be paid to race, class, gender, sexuality and nationalism as interpretive frameworks. Students will do independent archival research in selected photographic collections, and become familiar with some of the major ways of using photographs as historical sources. Principal reading includes texts by: Roland Barthes,Walter Benjamin, John Berger, Sarah Greenough, Marianne Hirsch, bell hooks, Annette Kuhn, Martha Langford, Nicholas Mirzoeff, Laura Mulvey, Allan Sekula, Shawn Smith, Susan Sontag, Jo Spence, Sally Stein, Marita Sturken, Maurice Wallace, Simon Watney and Deborah Willis.
AMST 482/WGSS 340: "History of U.S. Feminist Thought" (Hu)
Instructor: Laura Wexler, Professor of American Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies, Yale University
The intellectual history of U.S. Feminism placed in national and transnational contexts with discussion of key writings from the late eighteenth century to the present.
Chinese Language:
CHNS 110: "Elementary Modern Chinese"
CHNS 130: "Intermediate Modern Chinese"
CHNS 150: "Advanced Modern Chinese I"
All three courses are 1.5 credit.
Instructor: Xuan Ya Lecturer, International College for Chinese Language Studies, Peking University
The Chinese language program is supervised and coordinated by faculty in the Yale Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and is led by Peking University faculty member Xuan Ya. Every Yale student will enroll in one Chinese language course; three levels will be offered.
Students at the fourth-year or higher level will study Chinese in no more than one advanced elective course at Peking University's International College for Chinese Language Studies; Yale credit may be awarded as an independent tutorial on early approval by the Resident Director and the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures.
Students who are fluent in Chinese may be permitted to fulfill the Program's language requirement by auditing a course taught in Chinese at Peking University. This must be arranged in consultation with the Resident Director. No Yale credit will be awarded for auditing a course. However, a student may register for the course as YPKU 470 or 471 Direct Enrollment in Peking University courses (see below), with the approval of the instructor, resident director and the Program’s DUS.
CGSC 150: “Brain and Culture” (So)
Instructor: Bruce Wexler, Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University
Human beings differ from other animals both in the degree to which our brains are shaped by sensory input from the environment and the degree to which we shape the environments that shape our brains. Brain and Culture will review neurobiological, psychological and anthropological research to consider this relationship between the individual and the social environment, with special focus on the implications for social theory of changes in that relationship when the brain matures and neuroplasticity decreases in early adulthood. Social change, differences among cultures, and globalization will be considered from these perspectives. Science background not required.
CGSC 409: “Language and the Brain” (So)
Instructor: Bruce Wexler, Professor of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University
In this seminar we will consider the neural and social processes important in the development and functions of language, the role of language in thought, the role of internal language in brain function, processes of learning first and second languages, and differences between spoken and written language. Special attention will be devoted to the effects of learning a new language on how our minds and brains work, and students will be encouraged to draw upon their own experiences with learning, speaking and thinking in Chinese and English. Science background not required.
ECON 120: "Introduction to Chinese Economy" (So)
Instructor: Dong Chen, Assistant Professor, Economics, Peking University
This course is designed to give students an overview of various aspects of the current Chinese economy, as well as the challenges that it faces. The topics to be covered include the cultural and political background of the Chinese economy, China's market transition, introduction of Chinese manufacturing and financial sectors, foreign trade, FDI, and the reform of SOEs. Study of China's economic policies and institutions will give students a practical understanding of business prospects in China and also offer insight into fundamental economic issues.
EENG 235 and 236: "Special Projects, Beida-Yale Joint Research Center for Microelectronics and Nanotechnology"
Faculty-supervised individual or small-group projects with emphasis on laboratory experience, engineering design or tutorial study. Consult the DUS and faculty member to arrive at a one- to two-page prospectus for submission before the semester begins.
HIST 308: "Beijing and China, 900-2006" (Hu)
Instructor: Valerie Hansen, Professor of History, Yale University
Introduction to the history of middle-period and modern China, focusing on the five dynasties -- Liao, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing -- and the People's Republic when Beijing served as the capital or as one of five capital cities. Emphasis on the legacy of the past still visible in today's Beijing. The course will take advantage of archeological sites (Beijing Man at Zhoukoudian, the Han-dynasty tomb at Fengbaotai, Fangshan), the Forbidden City, and the city's museums (the History Museum as well as smaller ones) to introduce the major events and developments of Chinese history to the students. This course will also emphasize the analysis of primary documents in translation.
HIST 310 J: "The History of Chinese Religions" (Hu) (WR)
Instructor: Valerie Hansen, Professor of History, Yale University
An introduction to Chinese religions as seen in today's Beijing: we will combine close readings of selected religious texts with frequent field trips to visit Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian sites as well as Christian and Islamic centers.
IS 365/PLSC 196: “Foreign Policy Analysis” (So)
Instructor: Qingmin Zhang, Peking University
The purpose of this course is to provide a foundation in the study of foreign policy. The emphasis of the course is on interdisciplinary theories of human behavior and interaction applied to the study of foreign policy. Students will explore the genesis, evolution, and current status of the field of the study of foreign policy and foreign policy literature; learn different theoretical approaches; begin integration of these diverse types of explanation through case studies and model normalization. Students will increase ability to develop a major theoretical and empirical research paper and develop written communication skills as well as to strengthen ability to reason.
MCDB 470: "Tutorial, Peking-Yale Center for Plant Molecular Genetics and Agro-biotechnology"
Instructor: Xing Wang Deng, Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University
Individual study for qualified students on the following research topics: plant development mechanism; plant biotechnology and functional genomics; plant defense mechanism and plant evolution; plant development and rice biotechnology; plant defense against virus; plant functional genomics; plant hormone action. The course must include one or more written examinations and/or a term paper. To register, the student must prepare a form, available in the office of the director of undergraduate studies, and a written plan of study with bibliography, approved by Professor Deng. The final paper is required before a grade is given. One term of this course fulfills the senior requirement if taken in the senior year.
MCDB 475: "Directed Research, Peking-Yale Center for Plant Molecular Genetics and Agro-biotechnology"
Instructor: Xing Wang Deng, Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University
Research projects under faculty supervision, ordinarily taken to fulfill the senior requirement. This course may be taken before the senior year, but it cannot substitute for other requirements. Students spend approximately ten hours per week in the laboratory and participate in monthly section meetings. At the beginning of the term the student must submit a written proposal of research approved by the Yale faculty sponsor and the instructor in charge of the course. A final research report is required before a grade is given. Research possibilities include: plant sex determination; plant biotechnology and functional genomics; plant defense mechanism and plant evolution; plant development and rice biotechnology; plant defense against virus; plant functional genomics; rice gene function and biotechnology; self-incompatibility mechanism and rice functional genomics; photosynthesis and proteomics; plant development mechanism; plant hormone action.
YPKU 470 Direct Enrollment in Peking University Courses
Students with very advanced Chinese language skills may enroll directly in at least one Peking University course with the permission of the instructor and the approval of the resident director and the Joint Program’s DUS. Should a student wish to petition for credit to the major, then she would also need to present a syllabus to the departmental DUS. Because students are expected to enroll in program courses, including one that fulfills the Chinese language requirement, requests to enroll in more than one Peking University course will be considered on a case by case basis.
