Languages

This course explores the emergence of gastronomy, restaurants, and food culture in 19th-century France through literature, art, film, and journalism. Students examine how French cuisine reflects broader social, political, and aesthetic concerns in realist and naturalist fiction. Through hands-on exploration of local culinary traditions, students connect contemporary food culture to the legacy of early French food writers.

De Rerum Natura is a six-book poem attempting to explain the origins of the universe and atomic theory. Vergil’s Aeneid not only recounts the founding of Rome by refugees from Troy, but also puts forth a depiction of the afterlife. Both texts are examples of highly wrought and deeply moving poetry, segments of which students will read and analyze, in discussion and critical writing.

In this course, students are expected to manage extensive readings in Modern Standard Arabic, and to comprehend lengthy authentic listening materials and follow-up discussions on a variety of social, cultural, and political topics by using argumentative discourse, and to give extended oral presentations with facility.

This course is designed to delve deep into the pressing issue of climate change and the pathway to achieving a net-zero carbon footprint in China and worldwide. Students will explore the study of climate issues, their environmental and socio-economic impacts, and the urgent need for collective action. Language assignments within the course aim to enhance proficiency in reading authentic materials, composing articulate essays, and delivering insightful presentations.  

This course examines the literary sources of stereotypes and archetypes of masculinity – the Don Juan, the Latin lover – and how they have evolved over time. Furthermore, students will study many feminine voices in literature and explore the construction of gender and changing perceptions of masculinity, femininity and non-binary identities.