Chinese

The Plan B Major

Students choosing a Plan B major in language and culture studies may elect Chinese as the primary or secondary language.

Students who choose Chinese as the primary language are required to take seven courses beyond the 101 level. These seven courses must include at least one course from offerings in Chinese literature and culture (INTS/CHIN 237), and CHIN 401/INTS 395. Issues in Contemporary China. Two courses in a cognate field or fields are also required as is a paper linking some aspect(s) of the two languages and the cognates; this paper must be completed in CHIN 401/INTS 395.

Students who choose Chinese as the secondary language are required to take five courses beyond the 101 level including at least one course from offerings in Chinese literature and culture (INTS/CHIN 237).

Capstone/Senior Project: Students are also required to complete a project synthesizing aspects of courses taken for the major and its cognates. Except under exceptional circumstances, this project will be undertaken in the language section’s 401; it must be done at Trinity College.

The Writing Intensive Part II requirement in this major is fulfilled by one of the following courses: CHIN 401/INTS 395 or INTS/CHIN 237.

Honors: Departmental honors are awarded to seniors who have maintained an A- average in all courses to be counted toward their major (including cognate courses). A minimum grade of A- is furthermore required in the senior exercise (401)

Language concentration (“minor”) in Chinese

The minor in Chinese: Students who do not wish to major in Chinese Plan B can minor in Chinese. Students minoring in Chinese take five courses beyond CHIN 101. One of the five courses must be INTS/CHIN 237. The other four courses should be chosen from CHIN 102, 201, 202, 301, 302, 401, 413, and 415. The minor will include an additional half credit of academic work to be fulfilled in one of the following three ways:

• a .5-credit Language Across the Curriculum unit (Please see the description of Language Across the Curriculum below). A course taken abroad may count as a Language Across the Curriculum unit with the adviser’s approval.
• a one-semester teaching assistantship (via enrollment in CHIN 466 for a half credit)
• a .5-credit integrating paper (via enrollment in CHIN 399 for a half credit)

No more than one transfer credit may be applied to the minor in Chinese. In order to successfully complete the minor, students must achieve a grade of B or above in the highest level language course or pass the proficiency test administered by the language concentration coordinator.

To declare a minor in Chinese, contact Professor Shen. Students interested in cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of Asian cultures are referred to the Asian studies interdisciplinary minor.

Language Across the Curriculum

In addition to majoring in a language through Plan A or Plan B, or choosing a minor, there is also the opportunity to apply language skills to a wide array of courses across the entire college curriculum through the Language Across the Curriculum Program.

This option is generally open to all students who have completed the intermediate level (fourth semester, or equivalent) in any foreign language currently taught at Trinity and who are enrolled in any course outside the department in which the instructor, in collaboration with a member of the language and culture studies faculty, approves a supplementary reading list in the foreign language. For example, those studying European history, the economy of Latin America, or Freud could do supplementary readings in French, Spanish, or German; those studying art history or the modern theater might do further readings in Italian or Russian respectively. There are many other possibilities. Subject to satisfactory completion of the assigned work, such students will then be awarded an extra half credit in the course in question. For further information, see any member of the department.