MLL Mandarin Chinese

Students who intend to minor in Mandarin Chinese should prepare their schedules in consultation with a Mandarin Chinese faculty adviser. To declare the minor and be assigned an adviser, please contact the Department Associate Chair in your college.

The past three decades have witnessed the unprecedented development of China as the second largest economy in the world and a leading force in global politics, economy, and culture. Economic and cultural ties between the United States and China have also increased exponentially. Fordham has been a participant in these exchanges through IPED and most recently through an agreement with the Business School. In this context, the study of Mandarin language has become increasingly relevant and popular among students at Fordham who want to complement their major and enhance their academic and research opportunities in multiple other fields.

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Major Description

Chinese Studies is dedicated to the study of China both as a vital part of the world today and one of the longest continuing civilizations of human history. To study China is to be exposed to a world of difference evidenced in language, literature, art, philosophy, religion and history, as well as social, political and economic structures. In intellectual terms, these differences challenge students’ assumptions about themselves and the world they are living in and fruitfully lead to greater self-awareness and appreciation of the richness of human traditions and conditions. In practical terms, China’s unprecedented economic development and the critical role that she has come to play in the world today suggests the timely importance of Chinese Studies.

The Chinese Studies Major at Fordham has a dual focus on language and cultural studies. It provides students solid training in reading and speaking knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. An interdisciplinary major, it also introduces students to a broad range of Chinese cultural issues and critical phenomena through multiple disciplines. Students will take courses in both Chinese and English. Students will complete the major with not only a firm competence in Mandarin Chinese but also a deep familiarity of China’s literary, philosophical, and religious traditions and their transformations in modernity. The major will help to prepare students to begin a professional career with a China component or start their graduate studies.