Friday, August 27, 2010

Choosing Classes

So, after discussing about China's economic and social classes in my last post, I want to talk about a different type of class. After what I've learned and experienced in the two past months, I really want to study about more Chinese politics, society, and culture. Thankfully, this semester Yale offers very interesting classes about China. I'm having a hard time deciding between two of them in particular. They both deal with extremely fascinating topics. Of course, I will wait to "shop" the classes before I make a decision. Here are the two classes and their descriptions:

Wealth and Poverty in Modern China:
"The underlying causes and consequences of the changing distribution of income, material assets, and political power in contemporary China. Substantive focus on inequality and stratification. Instruction in the use of online Chinese resources relevant to research. Optional weekly Chinese language discussions."

The Chinese Disaspora and the Americas in Fiction and Film:
"Comparative survey of modern fiction and film portraying Chinese diaspora in North and South America. Topics include labor, migration, displacement, ethnicity, gender, linguistic hybridity, world Chinatowns, and popular culture. Readings in translation. Evening film screenings on alternate Mondays."

The first class is in the political science department, which means it will count towards my major, but the second class is a humanities credit (a distributional requirement). Any suggestions? I'm really torn between the two classes but taking both of them will not work with my schedule. I think I will see what each of the professors is like.

1 comment:

  1. I can't tell you what to choose, but I personally find the second one more interesting. I love films and literature, and that's so interesting to know more about Chinese diaspora, which isn't emphasized much, nor can you find much books on it. But I hate poli sci, that may be why too. Good luck choosing! :-)

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