The China Syllabi Project aims to help China-focused professionals expand their knowledge of China beyond their current areas of expertise. We hope these syllabi will also help recent graduates and young professionals transition from academic China studies to a professional environment requiring more specialized knowledge. Finally, this project attempts to break down knowledge silos and get people thinking more holistically about China.
These self-study syllabi contain targeted readings in English and Chinese and have been prepared by experts in their fields. Each should be able to be completed in one month, with a hour or so of reading per day, five days a week. We have made efforts to ensure that most readings are available online; where the authors have suggested books, it means that they think these are worth buying and owning. When purchasing your books, please join in supporting the American Mandarin Society on Amazon Smile. Below each syllabus you will also find a vocabulary list to help with specialized terms from the readings with which you may not yet be familiar.
This is a living project. The syllabi are curated documents and will be updated as needed. The most recent update is January 2024. If you have any suggestions for edits, modifications, or improvements, please send suggestions to the authors via the links in the syllabi.
After registering (for free!), all AMS members and associates have full access to the syllabi. For now we have made the first syllabus, Military, available for viewing prior to registration.
If you find this project useful please help spread the word!