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Dr. Theodore Hsi-en Chen (1902-1991): Chinese American Education Pioneer and Founder of East Asian Studies at USC

East Asian Studies at USC

Under Dr. Chen’s influential leadership, Asian studies at USC experienced rapid growth during the 1960s and 1970s, with increased budgets and enrollment, as well as enhanced curriculum, programs, and events. In addition, he received several grants (including $180,000 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1963) to promote Chinese and Japanese language courses in high schools in the greater Los Angeles Area.

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1. Coming to the United States
2. Elementary Chinese Reader and Grammar 國語讀本 Dr. Chen and his wife wrote this textbook in dedication to their two American-born daughters. It was used as a textbook in the Chinese class at USC in the 1940s. This book, though used for “elementary” level, includes longer reading passages/conversations, a large amount of vocabulary as well as extensive comparisons between Chinese and American history, culture, and society-- roughly comparable to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Intermediate High to Advanced Low level of Chinese language competence. Note that the transliteration system used in this textbook was Wade-Giles, not the Bopomofo or Pinyin system.
4. East Asian Studies at USC Under Dr. Chen’s influential leadership, Asian studies at USC experienced rapid growth during the 1960s and 1970s, with increased budgets and enrollment, as well as enhanced curriculum, programs, and events. In addition, he received several grants (including $180,000 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1963) to promote Chinese and Japanese language courses in high schools in the greater Los Angeles Area.
5. Tunghai University

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