Summer Term

CHIN 350/350D: China and Green Cultural Transformation

Taught in Chinese, this course aims at enhancing the students’ proficiency in listening to, speaking, reading and writing Chinese at the intermediate and higher levels. As a content-driven course, it introduces students to the recent major green culture movements in China, focusing on the way the green cultural changes took place in relation to globalization, environment and climate protection, technology innovation, income redistribution, domestic consumption, and education, to meet the challenges of financial crisis, climate change, energy insecurity, and international competition. At the end of the semester, the students are expected to be able to understand readings and audiovisual materials, as well as communicate and present orally and in written formats green cultural issues covered in the course. Students who take CHIN350 are not allowed to earn credit for CHIN350D (Department Seminar), vice versa. Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course. Prereq: CHIN 301.

JAPN 101: Elementary Japanese I

Introduction to understanding, speaking, reading, and writing Japanese. Students learn to read and write hiragana and katakana syllabaries and 50 kanji characters. Students are expected to achieve control of the sound system and basic structure of the language. Emphasizes aural comprehension and speaking.

JAPN 102: Elementary Japanese II

Continuation of JAPN 101. Emphasizes aural comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Students learn approximately 100 new kanji characters. Recommended preparation: JAPN 101.

JAPN 235: The Japan Experience: Kyoto – Language, Culture & Exchanges

The Japan Experience: Kyoto is designed to provide students an opportunity to use Japanese language skills they have acquired in real life situations and deepen their understanding of Japanese language and culture through experiential learning. The course has three major learning components: “Japanese Language Learning through Activities and Cultural Experiences,” “Japan Exploration Project,” and “Exchanges with Local College Students” and will consist of class meetings before the trip focused on preparation followed by 15 days in Kyoto. Japanese Language Learning through Activities and Cultural Experiences: In Kyoto students will explore the local neighborhood and report their findings in class. Several cultural activities will be organized: Zen meditation, tea activity, Japanese cooking class, etc. The tea activity will include a rare opportunity for students to meet a tea ceremony master and experience the way of Japanese traditional tea. Exchanges with Local College Students: Students from CWRU will be able to take advantage of Ritsumeikan University’s “Buddies” program where Japanese student volunteers are paired with participants to improve conversational skills and become better acquainted with the campus and Kyoto. CWRU students will also visit classes at a local college in Osaka for exchanges with students there. These exchanges will allow participants to reinforce their language skills, develop better communication skills, and deepen cultural understanding in both classroom and real-life settings. Japan Exploration Project: Students will complete individual projects during the course. They will design their own projects using resources available in Kyoto before the trip and prepare for it. Project themes will be chosen by students based on their interests. At the end of course, students will give presentations in Japanese, demonstrating their language proficiency development. Counts for CAS Global & Cultural Diversity Requirement. Prereq: JAPN 201.

JAPN 306: Readings in Manga

This course aims to enhance students’ reading skills in Japanese as well as in the other three main areas of language learning (speaking, listening, and writing) through the use of the extensive reading (a.k.a. Graded reading) method with manga in Japanese. In this course, the emphasis is put on acquiring the skill needed to enjoy reading content without translation. Students will review and learn Japanese structures and expressions as well as have the opportunity to explore colloquialisms, speech styles, onomatopoeia, contractions, interjections, and other elements of speech. The class also will incorporate individual reading activities such as oral reading sessions, timed reading, speed reading, and book discussion groups. We will also explore how Japanese scripts such Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, as well as Roman alphabets, are integrated in manga. Our primary textbooks will be manga in Japanese; however, some additional readings in English will be given to students as a point of reference for the course lectures. The classes will primarily be conducted in Japanese. Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course. Prereq: JAPN 202 with a C or higher.

PORT 300: The Lisbon Experience

A three-week, 3 credit course in Portugal which includes travel to Lisbon and surrounding towns and cities. No knowledge of Portuguese is required, and it is open to students of all disciplines.This course focuses on Portuguese culture (history, religion, cuisine, music, geography, architecture, art). Besides formal lectures by Clara Lipszyc, a great number of the lectures will be taught by experts at site visits to museums, churches, monuments, casas de fado, castles, palaces, historical buildings, archeological sites, and traditional restaurants. Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course.

SPAN 101H: Spanish for Health Care

This course is an introductory language course teaching the basic covered in SPAN 101 with a particular emphasis on health care topics and vocabulary. Students will gain familiarity with basic vocabulary and basic grammatical structures for communication with and assessment of Spanish speaking patients in a variety of settings. No previous experience with the Spanish language is required. After successfully completing this course students will be eligible to continue to SPAN 102.

SPAN 102: Elementary Spanish II

SPAN 201: Intermediate Spanish I

This course is an intermediate language course with a focus on advanced grammar and conversation. The student must be equipped with a fair amount of grammatical proficiency that includes knowing the simple verb tenses of the present, future, and past tenses of the indicative mood, along with the present and imperfect subjunctive. This course will introduce the learner to more advanced applications of these grammar topics. Along with other grammatical explorations, this course will help the student to critically think about real world topics such as familial, generational, and personal relationships, customs, traditions, and values, food and eating habits, leaders and politics, and contemporary society and technology. Students will develop better articulation of their opinions, perspectives and commentary in Spanish; both verbally and written. Students will acquire some knowledge and appreciation of Spanish-speaking authors and literature. This course will also explore the cultural traditions, customs and diversity shared by the people of countries in which Spanish is spoken. Students will also work on building confidence to deliver oral presentations in Spanish regarding different cultural topics. The course is taught completely in Spanish. Prereq: SPAN 102.

SPAN 202: Intermediate Spanish II

This course is an intermediate language course with a focus on advanced grammar and conversation. The student must be equipped with a fair amount of grammatical proficiency that includes knowing the differences between preterit and imperfect, the indicative and subjunctive moods (both present and imperfect), conditional and future tenses and the imperative and present perfect. This course will introduce the learner to more advanced compound verb constructions such as the present perfect (both in the indicative and subjunctive) and the pluperfect, the future perfect, conditional perfect and pluperfect subjunctive. Students will learn how to accurately construct ‘si clauses’, the passive voice and ‘se’ constructions, as well as know the difference between resultant and passive states. Along with other advanced grammar topics, this course will help the student to critically think about real world topics such as film and entertainment, work and finances, urban and rural life, music, musical instruments and literature. Students will develop better articulation of their opinions, perspectives and commentary in Spanish; both verbally and written. The course will also explore the cultural traditions, customs and diversity shared by the people of countries in which Spanish is spoken. Students will acquire some knowledge and appreciation of Spanish-speaking authors and literature, while learning the differences between narrative, biographical, argumentative and descriptive texts. This course will also help students to build confidence to deliver oral presentations in Spanish regarding different cultural topics. The course is taught completely in Spanish. Prereq: SPAN 201.

SPAN 308: Advanced Spanish in Spain

Three week study-abroad intensive course that takes place in Valladolid, Spain. The course combines the unique advantages of a total immersion environment in Spanish with a classroom curriculum that includes grammar review, conversation practice, and study of relevant cultural issues. The focus of the culture curriculum is the study of Spain’s key historical moments through the city of Valladolid and nearby communities: their literature, visual arts, films, and music. The cultural component is enhanced by visits to historic and cultural sites and museums. Four different one-hour orientation meetings during Spring semester. Counts as a CAS Global & Cultural Diversity course. Prereq: SPAN 202 or equivalent.

SPAN 313: Spanish for Health Professionals

Designed for students who are majoring in, or considering a major in, a health-related field. Focus on the vocabulary and expressions needed for the workplace, task-based practical skills, and grammatical structures. Prereq: SPAN 202 or equivalent.