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Assignments

"Jianti" is Chinese for "simplified characters" (used in Mainland), and "fanti" for "traditional characters" (used in Taiwan).

SES # BEFORE CLASS IN CLASS
1   Course introduction
2 Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "Spring Festival"
3 Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "Chartered Planes"
4
  • Browse the following web sites and/or pages and find an article for your 5-minute presentation. The article should be no less than half a page and no more than two pages. Please bring to class 9 hard copies for your classmates. When you do the presentation, explain why you have chosen the article, what the article is about, and how it relates to the issues we have discussed in class. Get prepared for questions also.
  • China New Year Net (Zhongguo Chunjie Wang, where you can find out about other customs related to the Spring Festival.)
  • Direct flights across the Straits (A collection of background information and reports from the perspective of the Xinhua News Agency representing Mainland China.)
  • Chartered Planes (A collection of images and reports from the perspective of the Xinhua News Agency.)
  • Chartered Planes (A collection of images and reports from the perspective of China Times representing Taiwan.)
  • Apart from these links, you may also surf the web yourself and see what you will find.
 Presentations
5 Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "Peasant Workers and Hainan"
6
  • Browse the following web sites and/or pages and find an article for your 5-minute presentation. The article should be no less than half a page and no more than two pages. Please bring to class 9 hard copies for your classmates. When you do the presentation, explain why you have chosen the article, what the article is about, and how it relates to the issues we have discussed in class. Get prepared for questions also.
  • Spring Festival Reports (A comprehensive collection of reports from Xinhua.)
  • Spring Festival Holiday Transit (A collection of reports from Xinhua.)
  • Wishes for the Year of Rooster (A collection of reports from People's Daily.)
  • Apart from these links, you may also surf the web yourself and see what you will find.
 Presentations
7 Review the articles we read in this unit.
  • Quiz 1 (Open-book; dictionary OK)
  • (Vocabulary Questions; Sentence Constructions; Short Questions related to the Articles and In-class Discussions)
8 No preparation needed. Urban/Rural: An Introduction
9 Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "China in a Village" (Page 1 to Line 7 of Page 4)
10 Watch the PBS Frontline Special "China in the Red" (two thumbs up, way up!). Pay special attention to Chapter 3 (Fear and Optimism in the Countryside) and the footage on Guo Xiaolei, a young peasant worker. Questions: What major problems and/or changes in China has the film covered? Are there anything surprising or shocking to you in the film?
  • Discuss: "China in the Red"
  • Chinese geography
  • Political leaders
11 Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "China in a Village" (Line 7 of Page 4 to the 5th line from the bottom of Page 7)
12 Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "China in a Village" (The 3rd Line from the bottom of Page 7 to the end)
13
  • Browse the following web sites and/or pages and find an article for your 5-minute presentation. The article should be no less than half a page and no more than two pages. Please bring to class 10 hard copies for your classmates. When you do the presentation, explain why you have chosen the article, what the article is about, and how it relates to the issues we have discussed in class. Get prepared for questions also.
  • China Agricultural Development Reports (China's Ministry of Agriculture white books for years 2003, 2002 and 2001. There are 32 items in each white book. To locate the items, look at the tags on the bottom of the web page after clicking a certain year. If you choose to report on this, you may either compare and contrast statistics of 1 item in these three years, or compare and contrast a few items in a particular year.)
  • Farmer's Daily (Newspaper of the Ministry of Agriculture. A lot of 3-nóng news.)
  • Going Home for the Spring Festival - Financial Support for College Students from Low-income Households (A collection of news reports on college students from low-income households from Xinhuanet.)
  • Focus: Peasant Workers (A collection of news reports on peasant workers from Renmin Daily.)
  • Apart from these links, you may also surf the web yourself and see what you will find.
 Presentations
14 Review the article we read in this unit.
  • Quiz 2 (Open-book; dictionary OK)
  • (Vocabulary and Sentence Construcions Questions; Short Essay Questions related to the Article and In-class Discussions)
15
  • Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • (8 pages is a lot. Please focus on the main ideas. You can use the study questions in the exercises as a study guide. Bring your questions to class.)
  • Rural/Urban: Laws
  • Exercises due
  • Chinese geography
  • Background information for China Peasants Survey
16 No preparation needed. Discuss: Part 1 of Chapter 1 of China Peasants Survey (pp. 3-10)
17 Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: Part 2 of Chapter 1 of China Peasants Survey (pp. 11-18)
18 Watch: The Accused Uncle Shān'gàng (110 minutes). The background, vocabulary and characters sheet (Jianti::Fanti) will help you with understanding the film.
  • Discuss: "Shan'gangye, the Defendent"

  • Discuss common issues reflected in Chapter 1 of China Peasants Survey and "Shan'gàngyé, the Defendent"
19
  • Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • FYI: Li Changping presented to Premier Zhu his suggestions for solving the problems in rural China in the second half of his letter. (pp. 6-9)
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: The First Half of Li Changping's "Letter to Premier Zhu Rongji" (pp. 2-5)
20
  • Browse the following web sites and/or pages and find an article for your 5-minute presentation. The article should be no less than half a page and no more than two pages. Please bring to class 10 hard copies for your classmates. When you do the presentation, explain why you have chosen the article, what the article is about, and how it relates to the issues we have discussed in class. Get prepared for questions also.
  • Reforming the Residence Registration system (A collection of reports from Renminwang.)
  • 3 Nong, Urbanization, and Rule of Law (3 sections from the Blue Book of the Chinese People from Renminwang.)
  • Rural China Study (confirm new URL) (Maintained by the Center of China Rural Study at Central China Normal University in Wuhan, Hubei province.)
  • Getting Peansant Workers Paid on Time (A collection of reports from Nanfangwang.)
 Presentations
21 Watch: Pretty Big Feet (110 minutes). The background, vocabulary and characters sheet (Jianti::Fanti) will help you with understanding the film. Discuss: Pretty Big Feet and education in under-developed rural areas in China.
22 Review the articles we read in this unit.
  • Quiz 3 (Open-book; Dictionary OK)
  • (Vocabulary and Sentence Construcions; Short essay Questions related to the Articles)
23
  • Pretty girls are like freshly ground pepper - add a little to wherever the atmosphere is dull. (A well-known sentence from the web.)
  • Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Watch the TOM.COM.
  • Find out what seems to prove the Beijing Youth Daily journalist's doubts and what seems to conflict with it.
  • What do you make of the sensational makeover and the fake resumé scandal?
  • Would you evaluate Hao Lulu differently if there were not the fake resumé scandal?
  • How would you characterize Hao Lulu as a person from her speech and deportment?
  • How would you characterize the "web friends" from the questions they asked? What do you make of their attitude(s) towards Hao Lulu and towards surgical makeover?
  • "Beauty" Economy
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "Hao Lùlu, the First 'Artificial Beauty' of China: False Information in Her Resumé?" and the TOM Webcast Interview with Hao Lùlu
24 Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "So Many Beauties in 2003" and "Beauty Pageants in 2004"
25
  • Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "Which is Better: Good Education or Pretty Face?" and "Beauty is A Productive Force Too!"
26 Presentations
27 Review the materials in this unit.
  • Quiz 4 (Open-book; Dictionary OK)
  • (Vocabulary and Sentence Construcions; Short Essay Questions related to the Articles)
28
  • How do People "Love" in China Now?
  • Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Detailed schedule will be posted on server
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "Love and Sex in 2004: A Web Survey"
  • Watch: Part 1 of "Tell the Secrets Out and Loud"
29
  • Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Review for Next Class Session
  • Watch: The Road Home (85 minutes; No Subtitles) (Study Guide: Jianti::Fanti) and Cell Phone (102 minutes; Chinese Subtitles) (Study Guide: Jianti::Fanti)
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "A Tutor for Puberty Knowledge"
  • Watch the Rest of "Tell the Secrets Out and Loud" and Discuss the Issues in it.
  • Review for Next Class Session
  • FYI: LLaRC has a Few Other Great Movies
  • CH060 Spicy Love Soup (A Panaramic View of Love and Marraige in Urban China)
  • CH071 The Mountain, the Man, the Dog (Rural China and the Exodus to Urban China and 2 Stories of Love)
  • CH068 Beijing Bicycle (When the Rural Meets the Urban)
  • Ch067 Suzhou River (Starring Zhou Xun; A Story of Love and Betrayal)
30
  • Watch: The Road Home (85 minutes; No Subtitles) (Study Guide: Jianti::Fanti)
  • Watch: Cell Phone (102 minutes; Chinese Subtitles) (Study Guide: Jianti::Fanti)
 Discuss: The Road Home and Cell Phone
31
  • Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • View the pictures of the people and events mentioned in the text.
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "The White Book on Love and Sex in China: 2004-2005" (pp. 1-5)
32
  • Exercises [Jianti (PDF)::Fanti (PDF)]
  • Please email me about what the topic of your final essay will be by today. In your message, please also list URLs for no less than five articles you will use as your major references.
  • Exercises due
  • Discuss: "The White Book on Love and Sex in China: 2004-2005" (pp. 6-9)
33 Presentations
34 Review the materials in this unit
  • Quiz 5 (Open-book; Dictionary OK)
  • (Vocabulary and Sentence Constructions; Short Essay Questions related to the Articles)
35
  • No preparation needed
  • Work on your final essay
 Advertising: From Sample Commercials to Strategies
36
  • No preparation needed
  • Work on your Final Essay
  • FYI: 21F.036/190 Advertising and Popular Culture: East Asian Perspectives (Class Conducted in English)
  • FYI: Chinese Minor at MIT
 Advertising: Creativity
37
  • No preparation needed
  • Work on your final essay
 Patterns in Entertainment News Headlines
38 Prepare for your presentation 3 Final Essay Presentations
39 Prepare for your presentation 3 Final Essay Presentations
40 Prepare for your presentation
  • 2 Final Essay Presentations
  • Final Essay Due
  • Course Evaluations