CHINESE-455
MODERN CHINESE CULTURE
Offered Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students say they actually learn something useful. Best for students who want substance, not a disposable elective.
DepartmentAMES
Terms offeredFall
Typical enrollment21–33
Semesters of data3
3.8
Hrs / week
45
Responses
82
Enrollment
55%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.4
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.4
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.5
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.0
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysishigh
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 51 comments across 3 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students say they actually learn something useful. Best for students who want substance, not a disposable elective.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Lighter homework load
Homework load looks light to manageable. Comments describe the weekly work as reasonable rather than overwhelming.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
• Readings, films, or outside materials come up repeatedly as a real strength rather than filler.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who want substance, not a disposable elective.
Watch out for
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
The Chinese Cultural Revolution, ethnic minorities in China, reformation after Tiananmen Square.
Fall 2025 · Liu, Kang
A lot of things and think globally and critically about a political parlance and climate
Fall 2025 · Liu, Kang
Very comprehensive and in-depth overview of modern chinese history, warfare, governance, ethnic problems, and economy.
Fall 2025 · Liu, Kang
1. Learn about the history of Modern China through original and secondary history resources 2. Develop the skills of analyzing historical resources, especially analyzing literature, speech, and other art forms 3. Develop a historical perspective in analyzing modern culture phenomena
Fall 2025 · Liu, Kang
1. Understanding a lot more about Chinese revolutions, the influence of different political leaders during eras of change, and how China arrived at where it is now. Lots of reckoning with my own childhood, having partially grown up in China, and what I've been taught by my pro-CCP father plus Western education. 2. Understanding that politics is all about theater and power. 3. Understanding polarizing events — especially relating to China, given the vitriol associated with China in Western discourse — from multiple perspectives. 4. Learning to express my ideas about Chinese politics, culture, and society in Chinese — I hadn't felt very confident in my language skills in terms of topics such as politics before.
Fall 2025 · Liu, Kang
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Liu, Kang 4.3Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.3Difficulty2.2Would retake100%Based on 11 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.4 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 33 |
| Fall 2024 | Liu, Kang 4.3Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.3Difficulty2.2Would retake100%Based on 11 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | — | — | 3.2 | 28 |
| Fall 2023 | Liu, Kang 4.3Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.3Difficulty2.2Would retake100%Based on 11 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.4 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 21 |
Instructor
Liu, KangAMES
Also teaches
AMES-435S CHINESE MEDIA AND POP CULTURE4.3