Business/Economics
Course Name: China and World Economy
Course Description:
Since 1978 when China initiated economic reforms and opening up policies, the Chinese economy has been one of the fastest growing economies with an average annual growth rate of nearly 10% for more than 4 decades. China is now the world’s second largest economy, and the biggest exporter in commodities. On the other hand, China is also becoming one of the world’s No.1 energy importer, raw material consumer and CO2 emitter. What are the impacts of China’s rise on the global economy? What will other counties react to China’s economic emerge? This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge of what has happened to China and its impacts on global economy in the last decades. The course will offer in-depth discussions of Chinese macroeconomic development, industrial structure, trade pattern, economic imbalance, and its impact on the rest of the world economy, particularly on Asia, the Latin America, and Africa.
Syllabus Download
China and World Economy.pdf
Course Name: Doing Business in China in Transition
Course Description:
The course of this project is committed to integrating the eastern and western perspectives, and carrying out exploration and research on the social, economic, cultural and other related business environment issues of China in transition with an open and inclusive attitude from an interdisciplinary perspective, so as to provide policy and ethical assistance to students for their future employment and entrepreneurship in China. Based on the transformation opportunities of contemporary China, the course focuses on placing all types of enterprises in the context of China in transition, systematically analyzing the business opportunities and risks contained in them with multidisciplinary theories and methods, especially highlighting the importance of innovation in the new environment, including the role that sustainable development should pay.The course offers the opportunities to visit Chinese enterprises or invite entrepreneurs to make speeches and encourages students to carry out research in team cooperation , and also inspires them to start their own businesses and experience both the opportunities and crisis response that come with China's transformation.
Syllabus Download
Doing Business in China in Transition.pdf
Sociology
Course Name: Globalization and Urbanization: China's Urban Transformation and What It Means for the World
(Only offered in the Fall semester)
Course Description:
China, once the biggest agrarian nation, has become the biggest urban society in the world, which not only poses enormous opportunities as well as challenges for China, but also carries far-reaching implications for the rest of the world. This course introduces students to the recent literature on the immense urban transformation and offers a critical understanding of China’s urbanization, social-spatial restructuring and urban issues. The course focuses on the post-1978 period, which fundamentally differs from the previous 30 years of state socialism. The topics are mainly divided into four parts. Part I sets the context, describing the global context of urban development, China’s geographical setting, and historical urban system. Part II focuses on the processes and the uniqueness of urbanization in China. Issues such as the socialist ideology, the household registration (hukou) system, rural-urban migration and globalization will be discussed. We will also pay special attention to the urban development in Shanghai. Part III outlines the social-spatial restructuring of Chinese cities in post-reform era. We will study the urban expansion on the edge as well as the urban renewal in the old city core. Part IV examines various urban issues emerging with the rapid urbanization, such as the massive migration, citizenship and incorporation, urban land and housing problems, urban inequality and social discontent, and environmental issues.
Syllabus Download
Globalization & Urbanization.pdf
Course Name: Understanding China with Data
(Only offered in the Spring semester)
Course Description:
China is undergoing unprecedented reform and transformations, which have huge impacts over the lives of Chinese people and people elsewhere. A solid understanding of China – the world’s largest and most rapidly transforming society—requires critical thinking, solid data analyses and quantitative reasoning. This course aims to help students to establish a data-based view of the changing China.
The course will focus on understanding major changes that occurred after 1949 and during the reform era, and are underway using open data. This course is divided into three parts: Methodology, Application and Practice. First, this course will explain how to acquire and critically use open data to analyze China in transitions. Second, this course will introduce some of the commonly used open data sources and important public datasets, and demonstrate the methods to analyze the different aspects that China is making the transitions, such as the economic transition, the demographic transition, the gender issue, the migration transition and the children of migrants, income and wealth inequality, marriage and family transition, education transition and urban housing transition. In the context of these topics, the course provides an introduction to the basic skills of searching for different types of data and the data analysis techniques. Third, this course will guide students to practice the skills of data searching and analysis by developing a data analysis project on a specific social phenomenon or social issue in China. Students are required to present the main findings from their data analysis project in class and write a report to tell a Chinese story with data. This course does not require any prior background in statistics or data science.
Syllabus Download
Understanding China with Data.pdf
Course Name: Introduction to International Relations of Modern China
Course Description:
This course includes historical and theoretical issues such as the historical development of Chinese International Relations, tradition and modernization of China’s diplomacy, national identity, strategic culture, diplomatic discourse, and Chinese diplomatic strategy. The course begins with a fundamental understanding of China's new form of international relations and international order, as well as its aims, principles, and patterns of diplomacy and international relations. It focuses on the policies and practices since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), especially since the reform and opening up and since the start of the 21st century, trying to respond to “Rumors about China” emerged in recent years, to explore an answer to the questions that concern the international community and foreign students, to help students comprehend internal and external conditions as well as the major tasks that China faces in international relations and further acquire comprehensive knowledge of China's diplomatic guidelines, strategic layout and policy implementation in dealing with global, regional and territorial issues. It also tries to explain China's plan for future development so that the international community and foreign students will gain a full and objective understanding of the International relations of Modern China both theoretically and in practice.
History & Culture
Course Name: History of Modern China
Course Description:
This course serves as a survey of modern Chinese history. It will guide the students to explore the drastic social, cultural and political transformations that took place in China in the past one and half centuries, which had led to the country’s current shape. Lectures and discussions will center on the introduction of general social context of different historical periods, significant incidents and events, key historical figures, as well as landmark literary texts and cultural artifacts. While generally following a chronological order, the course content will also be arranged in such a way as to address the various themes of social changes that have significant implications in the contemporary era – the reconstruction of national and ethnic identities of modern time, China’s international relationships, religions and secret societies, the transformation of gender role and family relationship, changes in economic policies, as well as trends in literature and popular cultures. Through the study of a wide array of texts that include historical documents, literary works, documentary and feature films, the course will provide the opportunities for the students to acquire and exercise analytical skills to critically examine materials from diverse sources, perspectives and media forms.
Syllabus Download
History of Modern China.pdf
Course Name: Chinese Civilization: An Introduction
Course Description:
This is an introductory course to multiple sociocultural aspects of China as an old civilized country undergoing a critical economic and political transition. With the understanding that contemporary Chinese sociocultural issues might be better interpreted and comprehended in the background of China’s abundant but complicated tradition, this course mainly covers the part of Chinese historical tradition and is dedicated to the question that what we can learn from the history of Chinese civilization in the modern development. This course starts from a general introduction to some basics of China, with a highlight on the brief depiction of China’s history. Based on the Chinese history framework, it is further followed by the elaborations on several important topics of China’s tradition and culture.
This course aims to present a diversified vision about China’s development, selectively raising some key topics concerning China’s change in both ideological and material spheres, in the hope of helping students acquire some basic understanding about China and develop fields to their own interest. Students are required to bring one or two questions about China’s traditional culture into the class discussion and final essay, and present their viewpoints, interpretations and analyses accordingly. The Lecture-Reading-Discussion method is applied to provide a better understanding of Chinese history and social culture.
Syllabus Download
Chinese Civilization.pdf
Course Name: Introduction to Chinese Philosophy
Course Description:
This course introduces the philosophical thought of ancient China. It starts with the questions of what philosophy is and whether there is“Chinese Philosophy”. It then explicates the problems, arguments, and key concepts of Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, and Buddhism. Topics to be discussed include: human nature, the ideal life, morality, virtues, self-cultivation, moral psychology, freedom, worldview, and so on. No prior knowledge of Chinese philosophy is required for this course.
Course Name: Modern Chinese Literature
Course Description:
This course explores modern Chinese literature from the 19th century to the present, interrogating the contested notions of “modernity” and their implications. Central questions include: What constitutes the “modern” in Chinese literature? How might we disentangle “modernization” as a historical process from its ideological valuation? When and how does a coherent “national identity” emerge in Chinese literary discourse? Works and genres that have been prioritized in standard historiography are read together with lesser–known writers and texts from not only the China, but also Malaysia, France, the United States, and other parts of the Sinophone world. This course provides students with a general knowledge of modern Chinese literature. It also hopes to help students develop a critical understanding of the tensions and dilemmas that have continued to define the contemporary stakes in Chinese–language writing.
No prior knowledge of Chinese literature or language is required, students with Chinese proficiency are encouraged to engage with original texts.
Art & Design
Course Name: Made in Shanghai: A City Exploration Tour
Course Description:
This course examines the dynamic interplay between architecture, landscape, and infrastructure in contemporary Chinese cities, with a focus on Shanghai—a metropolis emblematic of rapid urban transformation. Through the lens of Shanghai’s multilayered urban fabric, we explore critical questions: How can we unlock the latent potential of urban spaces? Can neglected or seemingly valueless structures—abandoned buildings, fragmented landscapes—be reimagined as resources to reconcile the city’s chaotic vitality?
If we project the concept of “growth” onto the entire city, a city cannot be fully “designed” but must instead undergo long-term “evolution.” The cycle of demolition and construction continues, and the constantly changing street facades often leave no lasting structures behind. The relationship with the adjacent environment also reacts against the “integrated” design approaches, creating a state of urban population fluidity. Thus, for urban renewal, one of the objectives is to increase the“stickiness”of spaces.
Course Name: Chinese Traditional Garden and Architecture: Measurement Formation and Reconstruction
Course Description:
This course integrates surveying principles and classical Chinese garden design, emphasizing the application of traditional architectural techniques to contemporary landscape architecture. Through field studies of Jiangnan residential buildings and analyses of iconic classical gardens, students explore the aesthetic, historical, and technical foundations of Chinese garden art. The curriculum bridges disciplines like aesthetics, engineering, and history, fostering an understanding of how ancient design methods—such as spatial harmony and material craftsmanship—can inform modern spatial design. Students learn to adapt traditional "garden-making" strategies into current practices, cultivating skills to thoughtfully reinterpret classical elements while addressing today’s architectural and environmental challenges.
Chinese Language
We offer Chinese language courses at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. You will be placed in the appropriate class based on your proficiency in Chinese.
Beginners' Class:
Chinese language is regarded as one of the most difficult languages to learn due to its distinct pronunciation and pictographic characters. However, learning Chinese is never a mission impossible. The beginners are expected to acquire the elementary vocabulary and patterns, which may seem to be hard at the outset. It is the indispensable step for the Chinese language learning though. This entry-level Chinese language course will offer students a genuine vision of what and how the Chinese people are thinking and talking, thus helping them to pave the way for a more real and pleasant experience of the Chinese culture.
Intermediate Class:
This instruction is designed to improve your overall ability to understand and use Chinese language. The course consists of pronunciation practice, explanations and practice of new linguistic items, and practice of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The course aims at improving students' overall language proficiency through a variety of learning activities and tasks.
Advanced Class:
Advanced Chinese class focuses more on analyzing the reading material or social phenomenon then presenting your opinions on it as well as writing reports. Students are expected to be familiar with the new words and new text before they come to the lessons thus in the class, the main focus will be discussions, reports, and presentations.
Course Selection Guidelines
Students should select 3 to 4 courses per semester from the available offerings. Chinese language courses may be included in your selection, but are not mandatory. Please note:
1. Course availability varies by semester.
2. Courses are subject to change or cancellation due to enrollment numbers.
For inquiries, contact Ms. Ariel SUN at Email: qsun@admin.ecnu.edu.cn.
