BA in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies - Chinese

The AMES major requires a minimum of 10 courses, at least 8 of which must be at the 200 level or above. These courses should be distributed as follows: 3-6 language courses. 2 courses must be at the 300 level or above. Courses at the 100 level may not count towards the major. Students whose competence in a language exceeds the most advanced language course offered by the department may substitute these courses with literature/culture courses in their area of concentration. Please contact language coordinators to schedule a placement test. 3-5 literature/culture courses at the 100 level or above in the area of concentration. At least 2 courses must have an AMES number. 1-2 literature/culture courses at the 100 level or above outside the area of concentration. These courses must have an AMES number. Students must receive a C- or above in all courses taken for the major. The Duke Chinese language program teaches Mandarin Chinese, which is the most commonly spoken language in the world and an official language in China, Taiwan, and Singapore. The program aims to provide students with an education that facilitates a well-rounded development of communicative competency (listening, speaking, reading and writing), academic proficiency and cultural awareness in Chinese. . Students can expect to receive a high quality of instruction in Chinese language and culture with a holistic curriculum that is integrated into the Duke Study in China (DSIC) from the Chinese Program at Duke. A major and minor with concentration in Chinese are also available in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The language curriculum is divided into two tracks: Regular track and alternative track. The regular track is designed for students who were raised in homes where a non-Chinese language is spoken and who study Chinese as a foreign language. The fundamental courses for this track include Elementary Chinese, Intermediate Chinese, Advanced Chinese, and Chinese Language and Society. The alternative track is designed for students whose family members spoke the Chinese language with them while they grew up, but they were raised in a non-Chinese speaking country. The student’s oral and aural Chinese proficiency could be close to that of native Chinese speakers, but reading and writing skills are variable. The language courses for the alternative track include Literacy in Chinese, Intensive Literacy in Chinese, Readings in Modern Chinese, Topics in Chinese, and Contemporary Chinese Culture. Note that Classical Chinese in Modern Context is available to students from both curriculum tracks. Content-oriented instruction incorporating learning materials adopted from original resources, such as literature, news broadcasting, critiques, historical texts, is prevalent in all upper level Chinese courses. Goals of the Chinese Program The curriculum of the Chinese language program promotes language learning in a rich cultural context. While the learning of linguistic elements is essential to the fundamental courses, learning of the target culture, history, and social etiquette embedded in or related to the language is integral to every course. The curriculum systematically prepares the students to develop language and cultural competencies through highly structured and interactive classroom instruction and abundant learning opportunities outside of classroom.