Welcome To CHIN 302-80/ASN 306-80

Chinese Popular Culture
Fall 2009

Dr. Ming Jian, Department of Languages and Cultures
William Paterson University
Atrium 247; (973) 720-3716; jianm@wpunj.edu

Introduction

Welcome to the online course CHIN 302-80/ASN 306-80 Chinese Popular Culture. You will be required to log on to the course web site at least twice a week and you need to regularly check for new announcements and assignments. It is very important for you to actively participate in the online discussion, as class participation is a substantial part of your final grade. You are to post your contribution to class discussions at least twice a week. First postings should be done by Wednesdays so that an online discussion is possible.

Course Description

This course examines the Chinese culture made and consumed by ordinary Chinese people, and analyzes how some of the critical Chinese ideological, political, social, and cultural factors are shaped in popular culture. We will discuss popular belief systems, popular religions and religious activities, domestic and communal rituals and customs, various forms of popular performance, material culture, TV, films, newspapers and magazines, popular music, consumption in everyday life, etc. These subjects will be studied through both written and visual documentation.

Textbooks

Kam Louie (Editor). The Cambridge Companion to Modern Chinese Culture. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. ISBN 9780521681902

Other course materials are available on Blackboard

Orientation Session

I will give an on-campus orientation session on Sept. 1 (Tuesday), 5:00-6:00 p.m., in Atrium 131 (Language Lab). You are not required to attend the session. But if you are not familiar with Blackboard, this is an opportunity for you to learn how to use it. Please let me know by email (my email address is jianm@wpunj.edu) if you are planning to attend the orientation session.

How to Access Blackboard:

To log on to Bb point your web browser to http://bb.wpunj.edu and click the Login button in the upper left. Then enter your username and password in the spaces provided and click login again -- you'll find your course Bb sites listed on the right.

Some things to be aware of as you work with Blackboard:

• You probably won't find all your courses listed; the only ones that will appear are those that have been activated by the professor teaching the course. Professors who don't use Blackboard will not activate their courses.
• Your username is comprised of your lastname and firstinitial, sometimes appended with a numeral. If you don't know your WPUNJ system username password you can use the Username lookup link at http://bb.wpunj.edu , or go to it directly at: https://webapps.wpunj.edu/misc/username_lookup/username_lookup.cfm
• If you are already logged in to the WPUNJ system through WPConnect you won't have to re-enter your username and password -- just click the first login button.
• Extensive Bb help, including a number of dynamic animations, can be found at http://www.wpunj.edu/irt/teambb/student/
• You can always obtain Bb help by using the Problem Report form at http://bb.wpunj.edu, or by going to it directly at: http://euphrates.wpunj.edu/bb/sc/ .

WPUNJ Student Email:

To log on to WPUNJ Student Email point your web browser to http://student.wpunj.edu and enter your username, then RETURN. A dialogue box will pop up, into when you re-enter your username and password, then RETURN.

Some things to be aware of as you work with Student email:

• Blackboard courses will use student email; third-party email addresses will not work on Bb.
• If you are already logged in to the WPUNJ system through WPConnect you won't have to re-enter your username and password -- just click the Email tab.

Good luck and have fun in the course!