We are pleased to announce the return of summer online Manchu courses offered by Manchu Studies Group members. Three courses will be offered this summer: a beginner course, a review/intermediate course, and an advanced reading workshop.
The deadline for applications is May 10th, 2024 for all levels.
Please find the descriptions, schedules, prerequisites, and application information for each course below, and please send your application materials directly to the instructors. If necessary, the instructors will refer you to the course level that best matches your background and research needs.
Course 1: Introduction to the Manchu Language
This course is intended for scholars at all career stages in any field interested in acquiring basic reading skills of the Manchu language, with a focus on the standardized script in use throughout the Qing dynasty. Class will cover the alphabet/syllabary, basic grammar, and vocabulary commonly used in Qing texts. By the end of the course, students will be able to transcribe, read, and translate short Manchu texts with the help of a dictionary.
Prerequisites:
This class is primarily intended for academic scholars working on various aspects of Chinese or Northeast Asian history between the seventeenth and twentieth centuries. Members of the general public are welcome to apply but the available seats may be prioritized for scholarly purposes first.
Instructor:
Dr. Sarah Bramao-Ramos, Research Assistant Professor, Society of Fellows in the Humanities, University of Hong Kong.
email: [email protected]
Please note, this course has no affiliation with the University of Hong Kong, and there is no possibility of formal course credit.
Dr. Bramao-Ramos is a cultural historian of late imperial China, with a particular focus on Manchu-language books. She taught Manchu at Harvard and has helped out with both online and one-on-one classes.
Schedule:
This course will meet over Zoom and will run from July 9 to August 27, meeting 10 times. There will be 2 weeks where the class meets twice, with the additional sessions depending on student availability. Tuesdays from 10am-11:30am Eastern time.
How to apply:
Please send the following materials/information by e-mail to Dr. Bramao-Ramos at [email protected] by May 10.
- A short CV (1-2 pp)
- A one-paragraph summary of your past experience with Manchu (if any)
- A one-paragraph explanation of why you are interested in learning Manchu, and how you might (if at all) intend to use it in your future study/work.
- Your current location / time zone and any known schedule conflict / time constraints that may prevent you from participating in the class.
Fee:
This course is offered free of charge.
Course 2: Restorative Manchu: Reading Pre-Conquest documents (in standard script)
We will return to the basics of Manchu by closely reading archival documents of the pre-Conquest period, but after the reform of the script in 1632 (so no old scripts without dots and circles). A selection from annotated and translated documents will be provided by the instructor for the group to read slowly and closely, dwelling on finer points of analysis as requested.
Prerequisites:
Basic familiarity with the script and grammar, either through a formal course on the introductory level (even if it was a some years ago on Zoom) or self-instruction through the Manchu Studies Group website. This is not a class for absolute beginners. Reading knowledge of Japanese and/or Chinese is preferred. The course will be conducted in English.
Instructor:
Dr. He BIAN, Associate Professor in History and East Asian Studies, Princeton University.
e-mail: [email protected]
Please note, this course has no affiliation with Princeton University, and there is no possibility of formal course credit.
Dr. Bian is a historian of late imperial China with a focus on the history of science and medicine. She has taught Manchu at Harvard, Princeton, and the University of California at Berkeley.
Schedule:
Two three-week segments, two 75-minute meetings a week, tentatively planned for T/Th evenings US central time. Segment 1: May 20-June 7; Segment 2: July 1-19. The size of each group is limited to 6-8. Participants should indicate their preference in the application which time works better for them and commit to attending one segment regularly having prepared for the readings.
How to apply:
Please send the following materials/information by e-mail to Professor He Bian at [email protected] by May 10.
- A short CV (1-2 pp)
- A maximum one-page explanation of why you are interested in learning Manchu, whether you have had previous experience of studying Manchu, and how you intend to use it in your study / work.
- Your current location / time zone and any known schedule conflict / time constraints that may prevent you from participating in the class.
Fee:
This course is offered free of charge.
Course 3: Advanced Reading Workshop
This course is intended for scholars at all career stages in any field interested in advancing their use of Manchu language materials. Over the course of the summer, each participant will share a text that they are working on to be read collaboratively. In addition to directly helping you make progress in your own research, this course will also be an opportunity to gain familiarity with a wider range of Manchu sources and to improve your Manchu reading ability more broadly.
Prerequisites:
This course is intended for scholars with a solid grasp of the fundamentals of Manchu grammar.
Instructor:
Dr. David Porter, Faculty Lecturer, Department of History and Classical Studies, McGill University.
e-mail: [email protected]
Please note, this course has no affiliation with McGill University, and there is no possibility of formal course credit.
Dr. Porter has taught Manchu, both at Harvard and online, and has extensive experience using a range of Manchu sources in his own research. He is the author of the introductory Manchu lessons found on the Manchu Studies Group website.
Schedule:
The advanced reading workshop will run between the weeks of June 3 and July 29, meeting 8 times (so there will be 1 week where we don’t meet) on Tuesdays from 11AM-1PM Eastern time.
How to apply:
Please send the following materials/information by e-mail to Dr. David Porter at [email protected] by May 10.
- A short CV (1-2 pp)
- A maximum one-page explanation of why you are interested in learning Manchu, whether you have had previous experience of studying Manchu, and how you intend to use it in your study / work.
- Your current location / time zone and any known schedule conflict / time constraints that may prevent you from participating in the class.
- Identify a specific Manchu text that you would like to read with the class. This can be a text that is available online or in a published collection or one that you have collected/copied in the course of your own research (it’s ok if you only have a transcription). If you need help identifying a text that you would like to read, please contact the instructor.
Fee:
This course is offered free of charge.