Over the past forty years, China has transitioned from a poor, inefficient, and closed economy to an upper-middle income country and the world’s largest trading nation. This course introduces the key institutional and economic reforms of China since 1978 and their contributions to China’s economic development. We will examine the reforms in the pivotal sectors, including agriculture, industry, banking, and international trade, all of which are important steps to improve the overall efficiency and productivity of the Chinese economy. We will also discuss the current challenges facing China to maintain sustainable growth, such as problems regarding demographic structure, state-owned enterprises, government debts, etc. Prerequisite: This course assumes no prior background in economics. However, if you are already familiar with basic algebra and basic calculus, supply and demand curves, basic economics concepts, it will help you to understand this course better. Prereq: None. Fulfillment: CORE IPC; Economics Elective; Social Science Focus Political Economy 200 level.
This course utilizes multidisciplinary sources of evidence to address Arab-Islamic knowledge and culture, the influences that they had on medieval and early modern Europe, and that they continue to have today, while questioning why many Western scholars have minimized Arab-Islamic contributions in favor of “Western Exceptionalism” narratives. By exploring cross-cultural transmissions of knowledge, students are encouraged to think critically about how ideas and technologies evolve as they are adopted by individuals and groups in order to suit their personal and cultural needs. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Humanities Major Other Introductory Courses (18-19 Survey Courses).
This course will explore the macroeconomics and microeconomic foundations of economic development. We will discuss poverty, growth, development trap, distribution of income, demography and economic development, land and agricultural labor, health and nutrition, credit, insurance, intra-household allocation and gender, education. In these topics, we will ask: What determines the decisions of poor households in less-developed countries? What constraints do they face? What policies have been tried? What are the policy effect we have seen? Prerequisite: ECON-SHU 1 Principles of Macroeconomics or ECON-SHU 3 Microeconomics or ECON-SHU 202 Intermediate Macroeconomics or ECON-SHU 301 Econometrics. Fulfillment: Economics elective; Social Science Focus Political Economy 300 level.
The course focuses on the cross-currents of China’s encounters with the world, from the late 16th to the early 21st century. It proceeds from two assumptions: first, that China has long been engaged with the rest of the world rather than ever having been “closed”, as some would have it; and second, that impact and influence flow in multiple directions: into, through, and out of China, whether intentionally or involuntarily. Through a combination of lecture, discussion, and student research projects we will explore China’s encounters with the world chronologically and thematically, covering such broad topics as religion and philosophy; diplomacy; law; trade; war; revolution; political systems, and “soft power”. Pre-requisites: None. Fulfillment: CORE HPC or IPC; GCS China and the World; Humanities Introductory course (18-19: survey).
Evaluates, from the management point of view, marketing as a system for the satisfaction of human wants and a catalyst of business activity. Deals with the subject at all levels, from producer to consumer, and emphasizes the planning required for the efficient use of marketing tools in the development and expansion of markets. Concentrates on the principles, functions, and tools of marketing, including quantitative methods. Utilizes cases to develop a problem-solving ability in dealing with specific areas. Prerequisite: Not open to first-semester students. Fulfillment: This course satisfies BUSM Marketing Core, BUSF: Business elective, IMB Business Flexible Core or elective; Data Science concentration in Marketing; Count for CAS Business Minor, Count for Stern Business Studies Minor.
The goal of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is to give an account of human knowledge and its limits. This requires a careful analysis of the structure of human experience, the foundations of scientific knowledge, and the ways in which we try (and often fail) to extend our knowledge beyond what experience can teach us. This course will involve a close reading of the entirety of the Critique of Pure Reason. Along the way, we will discuss topics including the nature of matter and mind, free will, and the existence of God. Prerequisite: One prior philosophy course Fulfillment: Humanities Advanced Course.
This course covers Passive DC circuit elements, Kirchoff’s laws, electric power calculations, analysis of DC circuits, Nodal and Loop analysis techniques, voltage and current division, Thevenin’s and Norton’s theorems, and source-free and forced responses of RL, RC and RLC circuits. Prerequisite: MATH-SHU 131 or MATH-SHU 201. Fulfillment: CE required; EE required; Core Curriculum Science Experimental Discovery in the Natural World.
This course introduces a range of theories that have influenced art history, which here refers to both the purported narratives of the history of art and the practice of re/writing such narratives. We will analyze biography as a mode of art history; connoisseurship, iconography, formalism, and post-structuralist theory; Marxist and feminist approaches; and queer and trans* methods. Recognizing the Eurocentrism in the texts considered foundational to the discipline of Art History, we will examine the ways that art history was conceptualized in East Asia. The aim is to acquire knowledge of key art historical approaches; to apply that knowledge to assess works of art and art historical texts; and to analyze the impact of the historically specific relationship between the visual text and the viewer/historian on our knowledge of art. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Humanities Foundations or Introductory Course.
This course provides an introduction to literary theories and methodologies. We will analyze such different approaches to literary expressions as classical, modern, structuralist, post-structuralist approaches; Marxist, colonial and post-colonial approaches, including feminist and post-human methodologies for different literatures. The course will emphasize the shifts and turns in these approaches. The aim is to acquire knowledge of a variety of literary approaches at work when reading literature and of the relationships between text, author, writing and audience. Pre-requisites: None Fulfillment: Humanities Foundations/Introductory course(18-19: Critical Concepts/Survey).
What makes a “good death”? How do people imagine, interpret, and describe the processes of dying? How do individuals respond to, live through, and move beyond the death of others? How do beliefs, customs, material cultures, and social structures co-constitute the lived realities of death? Drawing on insights from medical anthropology, anthropology of religion, and anthropology of ethics, this course explores diverse perspectives on the “good death”. With a primary ethnographic focus on China, using an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, we will investigate: 1) the sociocultural constructions of death, 2) the processes of aging and dying, 3) the practices of end-of-life care, 4) debates about voluntary death, 5) how the living deal with the deceased, and 6) how people live with irrevocable losses. Prerequisite: GPS Fulfillment: CORE SSPC/IPC; GCS Major Elective: Chinese History, Society, and Culture.
What happens when one major human civilization that originates from one end of the earth comes to meet with another that thrives on the other? Will they prove themselves capable of a fruitful engagement that leads to peace and friendship based on mutual respect and understanding rather than distrust or even mutual destruction? What is the role of language in this cross-cultural encounter? This course aims to explore one such encounter, a truly unusual case in terms of its scale and splendor, namely that between China and the West in the modern period broadly defined. Surely we will not ignore the problems–political, ideological, as well as technical–that arise in this interactive process, but our focus will be on the sunny side of that encounter, on the example of those who embrace and embody through their creative and intellectual work the ideal of a harmonious though culturally diverse world. Prerequisite: None Fulfillment: CORE HPC/IPC; GCS Chinese Media, Arts, and Literature.
Our goal is to map China. But rather than making maps through calculations or grids, we will be mapping China conceptually and theoretically. This is to say that in studying China’s regions, physical geography, political territories, cities, counties, and people, our goal is to develop skills for thinking about China spatially. With thousands of years of recorded history and a political system oriented to progress and national development, China is often imagined in terms of linear time. However, from ancient walled cities to the Mao-era work-unit system to the more recent migrations of rural labor, understanding how political, commercial, and social spaces are organized is essential for understanding China’s past and present. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or above. Fulfillment: CORE SSPC or IPC; GCS elective The Politics, Economy, and Environment of China; Social Science Focus Environmental Studies 200 level; Humanities Interdisciplinary or other Advanced course ( 18-19: Critical Concepts or Topic).
In this course, we will see how people in China have used psychology to build a modern nation and promote modern values. Beginning in the early 20th century, we will encounter missionaries trying to replace superstition with science, reformers challenging gender relationships, and intellectuals who critiqued the Chinese character. As we move through the century, we will trace how various people have applied psychological techniques for very different purposes: creating healthy citizens for a new state, instilling a revolutionary spirit, managing corporate employees, and raising exemplary children. During the semester, each student will conduct textual and/or ethnographic research about an aspect of psychological expertise or mental health in contemporary China. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or above. Fulfillment: CORE STS; GCS Elective: Chinese History, Society, and Culture; Social Science Focus Anthropology 200 level.
How did people in ancient and modern China understand health and treat illness? Historically and now, has “Chinese medicine” been an insular or open system? What can health perceptions and healing practices tell us about historical changes in China and its changing relationship with the world? Drawing on insights from the history of medicine and medical anthropology, this course explores health and healing in China through five chronologically organized units and one diachronically comparative unit. We will consider the cosmological, philosophical, and sociological factors that shape different visions of health. We will examine how local and global political processes affect healing practices and their perceived legitimacy and investigate what illness and remedy-seeking experiences reveal about the wider contexts in which medical activities take place. Prerequisite: CCSF-SHU 101L GPS
Examples of complex organizations include hospitals, schools, places of employment, the government, the military, churches, and prisons. Where do those organizations come from? What accounts for organizational success and failure? How can we make organizations better for individuals and society? This course examines different types of organizations, organizational goals and outcomes, institutional authority and structure, organizational change, and organizational fields. Most importantly, the goal of this course is to expand your knowledge and understanding of the relationships between organizations and society. You will learn to develop a critical lens and an analytical framework that can apply to understand specific complex organizations. This course will help you to think about how you might better survive and thrive in our organizational world! Prerequisite: Sophomore Standing. Fulfillment: Social Science core or Sociology focus 300 level.
This course invites students from diverse backgrounds and provides an accessible introduction to the burgeoning field of Computational Social Science (CSS). We aim to explore research design and data skills at the intersection of social sciences and digital innovations. This course emphasizes using big and rich social digital data to understand and explain societies and human behaviors. We introduce fundamental topics in CSS, including digital trace data collection, social network analysis, and text-as-data, using the R programming language. Besides discussing the new opportunities of CSS, this course also highlights critical topics, such as data ethics and data-driven bias. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: Core AT; Social Science Foundational Course; Social Science Methods Course.
This course introduces urbanization in China in the context of the East Asian region and globalization. By examination of the development of selected cities and discussion of experimental urban themes, this course aims to depict prevalent patterns of urbanization at appropriate levels, such as neighborhood types, metropolitan areas, and regional urban agglomeration. We examine traditional forms of settlement and place more recent urban phenomena in a broader historical perspective. We explore relevant political traditions and forms of planning administration to reveal underlying social, economic, cultural and environmental circumstances at work, while learning tools and methods of spatial analysis that can be applied to the study of cities all over the world. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: CORE SSPC; Social Science Foundational course or Urban Studies 200 level; Humanities 18-19 Critical Concepts; GCS The Politics, Economy, and Environment of China.
This course offers an experience with the intersection of technology and culture through collaborative teaching offered by faculty from Interactive Media Arts (IMA) and Global China Studies(GCS). Throughout the semester, students will dive into the world of Mixed Reality (MR) design, mastering space scanning technology, documenting historical sites, and conducting in-depth historical research. Students will use Unity, a cross-platform game engine, to craft immersive MR experiences that bring historical narratives to life. What sets this course apart is the real-world testing component, where students will refine their designs at actual historical sites. By the end, students will produce a digital immersive time-travel architecture, creating MR experiences that bring cultural heritage to life for modern audiences. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or above. Fulfillment: IMA Advanced Elective; IMB IMA/IMB elective; GCS Elective: Media, Arts, and Literature.
This course will focus on Eco-Materialism (circular design principles — reuse, recycle, renew & rethink) and emergent practices based on principles of Gaia theory, symbiosis, and other systems-centered theories in conjunction with some of the origins, influences, theories, processes, and manifestations of art installation. We will read, watch, and discuss perspectives on Eco-Materialism genres and installation art written/created by artists, curators, art historians, and critics and view work by eco artists and installation artists. Students will create their own installations and writing, experiment with diverse biomaterials, and learn and combine craftsmanship and digital techniques to explore and create their own materials. Do-It-Yourself activism and Critical-Making will enable students to participate in new modes of civic engagement. Moreover, the course will motivate them to remain independent from pre-determined structures, assuming active roles in the art making rather than passive consumers. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: IMA elective; IMB IMA/IMB elective, Visual Arts elective.
Topics in Interactive Media Arts courses are courses within the broader field of emerging media, covering a wide range of topics depending on the expertise of the current course instructor. This course will cover a specific emerging media topic from a practical and/or theoretical perspective. Students will learn about the topic from readings, discussions, and writings, as well as through hands-on assignments and projects. Students can enroll in multiple “Topics in IMA” courses simultaneously in one semester and receive full credits for each course. Prerequisite: None. Fulfillment: IMA elective; IMB IMA/IMB elective.