Undergraduate Course: Skills and Approaches in Chinese Studies (ASST08081)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course will provide a basic introduction to skills and methodologies in Chinese studies to prepare students for doing research. Topics covered include research methods, referencing skills, essay and dissertation writing, translating from Chinese, using software tools, using Chinese libraries, etc. The aim of the course is to prepare students for independent research from Year 2 onwards, especially for their work in China and the dissertation in year four. |
| Course description |
The aim of this course is to cover a number of topics that will help students doing research in the UK and in China. It should prepare them to write academic essays, to think about the dissertation in year four and develop a dissertation proposal.
Content for the course includes:
Remit of Chinese studies and brief history of the subject
UoE East Asian Collection
Using Chinese libraries
Essay and dissertation structure and proper referencing of Chinese sources
Translating from Chinese
Software and news sources (AI tools, online dictionaries, smartphone apps, email lists¿)
Theories and research methods
Discussions of dissertation topics
There will be assignments to prepare for each session consisting of either readings or practical exercises. Class sessions will be delivered as seminars with a lecture component and a discussion of that week¿s assignment.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
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Quota: 20 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
translation exercise (20%), annotated bibliography (20%), dissertation proposal (1500 words, 60%) |
| Feedback |
Each assignment will be given feedback on Learn using Turnitin. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Translate from Chinese and consider the readability of translations for different target audiences.
- Develop and write a dissertation proposal that includes appropriate theory, methodology, and sources. Students should introduce the topic and develop a research question or hypothesis with a scope that is suitable for an undergraduate dissertation. They should include a research plan that shows how they would undertake this work, including gathering and handling primary sources. They should select and introduce theory and methodology that fit the source material and allow them to answer the research question.
- Find and evaluate appropriate sources for a dissertation in Chinese studies. Given a certain topic, students should be able to find the most relevant academic studies in English using UoE Library resources. They should be able to write a few comments about each item in an annotated bibliography, identifying how the various studies approach the topic and relate to each other.
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Reading List
Essential:
Wilkinson, Endymion. Chinese History: A New Manual. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2016.
Hayot, Eric. The Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities. New York: Columbia UP, 2014.
Additional readings will depend on the teacher of the session and will vary from year to year, including Chinese texts for translations, Chinese library websites, and UoE databases for Chinese material. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Analytical thinking, independent research, knowledge integration and application, digital literacy, ethics and social responsibility, independent learning and development, cross-cultural communication, written communications |
| Keywords | Chinese Studies,China,China Research |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Christopher Rosenmeier
Tel:
Email: christopher.rosenmeier@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | |
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