Beginning Chinese This course is a continuation of the fall and winter terms with accelerated introduction of vocabulary, grammar, and sentence patterns designed to facilitate speaking and reading. Toward the end of this semester students will read Huarshang de meiren (Lady in the Painting), a short book written entirely in Chinese.

Advanced Chinese (Modern Chinese) This course is a continuation of CHNS 0301 with continued practice in conversational Chinese and a greater emphasis on reading works of a literary nature.

Beginning Chinese An intensive continuation of CHNS 0101, this course is required of those wishing to take CHNS 0103 in the spring.  Students may anticipate learning a significant amount of new vocabulary, sentence patterns and idiomatic expressions.  Skits, oral presentations, writing assignments, and cultural activities are also part of this course.

Beginning Chinese This course is an introduction to Mandarin (guoyu or putonghua). The course begins with simple words and phrases, the pronunciation and cadences of Mandarin, romanization, Chinese characters, and simple vocabulary items, all taught in the context of practical communication. Sentence patterns and other fundamentals of speaking, reading, and writing will be taught, including both traditional characters (used everywhere before the 1950s and still used in Taiwan and Hong Kong) and simplified characters (used in China). Students should have achieved active command of more than 600 Chinese characters and more than 800 compounds by the end of the sequence CHNS 0101, CHNS 0102, and CHNS 0103.

Women in Chinese American Diaspora Literature, 1950s-1990s In this course we will analyze literary works written about Chinese American women by Chinese American women in the second half of the twentieth century. A comparison of commercially successful English-language works, such as Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, and works originally written in Chinese for an overseas audience in Asia, such as Nieh Hualing’s Mulberry and Peach, will be the starting point for investigating questions about who these narratives are for, how they shape the Chinese American identity, and how they reflect the intersections of gender, race, and language. Students will engage in multi-format discussion, written literary analysis, and peer review throughout the course. This course will be taught in English.

First Contact: Language in Science Fiction In this course we explore how humans conceptualize communication with extraterrestrial beings and artificial intelligence. Through fiction and film works in the “first contact” subgenre of science fiction, we will reflect on how language functions as a device in these narratives to reveal our own limited perspective, sense of in-group and out-group, and anxieties about the “other” and our own future. Students will learn critical analysis skills by dissecting the works of writers such as Ursula K. Le Guin and Ted Chiang; additionally, students will engage in thematic gameplay and creative writing in the genre.

Intermediate Chinese This course is a continuation of the first term's work, with the class conducted primarily in Chinese.

Advanced Chinese (Modern Chinese) This course aims at further development of overall language proficiency through extensive reading of selected texts representing a wide variety of subjects and styles. Classes will be conducted entirely in Chinese except for occasional recourse to English by the instructor to provide a quick solution to problems of definition. The main text will be All Things Considered with supplementary readings selected to help students both continue to work toward competence in conversational Chinese and also begin to master a more sophisticated register of language.

Women in Chinese American Diaspora Literature, 1950s-1990s In this course we explore literary works written about Chinese American women by Chinese American women in the second half of the twentieth century. A comparison of commercially successful English-language works, such as Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, and works originally written in Chinese for an overseas audience in Asia, such as Nieh Hualing’s Mulberry and Peach, will be the starting point for investigating questions about who these narratives are for, how they shape the Chinese American identity, and how they reflect the intersections of gender, race, and language.

Mairead Harris

Reviews and ratings for Mairead Harris at Middlebury College.Mairead Harris teaches Beginning Chinese, Advanced Chinese, Continued Beginning Chinese and more.  Explore top rated instructors and find the best for you.Is Mairead Harris good ? Find out on MiddCourses.

I love taking Chinese with He Laoshi. She is super enthusiastic and makes classes so fun. There are a lot of new grammar points and vocab but the work load is manageable. He Laoshi really cares about her students and is understanding. The tests are long but it gives you good opportunity to show what you know and making small mistakes don't hurt your grade that much. 

Professor Harris is a wonderful Professor! This was my last pick in terms of First Year Seminars, but wasn't all too difficult because there were no exams. However, there was a lot of constant reading to be expected, but other than that, there were only about 2/3 papers for the entire semester and a group podcast to do. Overall, not a bad class at all!

Chinese 103 is an absolute blast, and I had a ton of fun going through it despite the 8.40 wake up daily. The material is relevant, helpful, challenging, but not impossible, and I really feel that the work I put into the class shows in the ways I'm able to speak/read/write. Its a lot of effort, but more than enough payoff. 