Chinese - Hamilton College Clinton

Chinese from Hamilton College Clinton is a Campus Bachelor Language degree that prepares you for a Liberal Arts career. THE RAPID GROWTH OF THE PACIFIC RIM as an economic and technological giant in world affairs has spurred a parallel interest in the region's languages and people. Chinese and Japanese have become two of the most widely taught foreign languages in the United States, critical to a wide range of professions and interests from politics and diplomacy to business, education and cutting-edge technology. But the interest extends beyond purely practical concerns to a growing fascination with the unique play of tradition and innovation, ritual and creativity in the cultures of Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and Japan. Balancing past and future, they have emerged as both partners and competitors in a shifting global order. Different from the Asian Studies, which is an interdisciplinary program requiring completing a 140 Asian language course, the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department emphasizes, for instance, four-year's of work in the Chinese language as key to understanding the heritage, culture and current affairs of China. It is designed for the diversified liberal arts education in the 21st century to meet the urgent need for China specialists who are competent in the language and able to study China through the original materials. The East Asian Languages and Literatures Department offers a Chinese major, a Chinese minor and a Japanese minor. The Department also provides the two-year language courses (Chinese 140 and Japanese 140) for Asian studies majors. STUDY ABROAD OPPORTUNITIES The Associated Colleges in China (ACC) Program, a consortium of several prestigious liberal arts colleges adminstered by the East Asian Languages and Literatures Department, provides summer, fall and spring studies in Beijing (hosted by the Capital University of Economics and Business) with intensive coursework through individualized instructions with a high level of participation and interaction. The courses are taught entirely in Chinese and encompass topics including advanced language, Chinese politics, society, economics, religion, art, folklore and literature. Unique features and activities of the program include the language pledge (speaking Chinese only), language practicum (individual projects conducted with local citizens), Chinese host families, Chinese language table, field trips outside of Beijing and extracurricular activities such as Taichi, Chinese food cooking, Chinese calligraphy, etc. Students of Chinese are eligible for the ACC program. Students of Japanese have the opportunity to study abroad through such programs as Kyoto Center for Japanese Language (Kyoto), CIEE-Sophia University (Tokyo) and Nanzan University (Nagoya). THE SENIOR PROGRAM The Senior Program in Chinese is the culminating intellectual experience at Hamilton, in which the cultural experience in China, the language proficiency and insights gained in the first three years are combined and integrated. The centerpiece of the Chinese concentration is the senior project. The one semester project requires the concentrators to finish and present a work of scholarship completely in Chinese and/or using substantial materials in the original language. Chinese majors work closely with a faculty member(s) each week and during two group presentations during the semester, including a final defense. More ... RESOURCES While Hamilton students have full access to a modern language laboratory, an audiovisual center, a recording studio and Hamilton on-line system, the East Asian Languages and Literature Department provides complete multimedia, interactive, digital versions of the Chinese language courses for all levels in the language laboratory. Further, professors, instructors and teaching fellows in the department are native speakers of the Chinese and Japanese languages . The department sponsors weekly Chinese and Japanese language tables, invited talks and lectures in Chinese and Japanese literatures and cultures, Chinese and Japanese movie series, an Asian New Year celebration and annual study tour to China. View more details on Hamilton College . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Language courses.