Chinese Culture and Society

On completion of the course, students shall be able to:

• explain crucial historical events that have shaped modern China
• explain and apply some basic traditional Chinese philosophies, such as Confucianism and Taoism to analyse a number of phenomena in modern Chinese society
• explain basic features of Chinese dialects and the use of standardised language, as well as the Chinese cultural characteristics represented in the language
• explain China’s business practice and the influence of core business cultural values on China’s modern economic life
• describe the gender norms from the 20th century to the present in Chinese society, and critically assess the gender dimension in Chinese society.

The course deals with Chinese culture and society. This includes important historical events, traditional thinking, cultural influence on language, and gender issues in contemporary China and Chinese business culture.

Continuous assessment through active participation in seminars, written assignments, and a written examination.

The forms of study are lectures and obligatory seminars. English is the language of instruction.

The Swedish grades U–VG.

To receive the grade of VG for the whole course, VG is required for at least 7.5 credits, including module 6.

Reporting of grades:
Module 1: Business culture - 1.5 cr
Module 2: Dialects, language and culture - 1.5 cr
Module 3: Gender in comtemporary China - 2 cr
Module 4: History - 2 cr
Module 5: Traditional thinking - 1.5 cr
Module 6: Chinese culture and society; written examination - 1.5 cr

For an online course, the student has to be able to communicate with sound and image using a computer or similar equipment.