Qin Herzberg
Advanced Chinese
616-526-8624
qherzber@calvin.edu
Office: Hiemenga Hall 402
Educational/Professional Background
Qin grew up in Beijing and received her degree from Beijing Normal University in Chinese Language and Literature. She came to Calvin in 1987 to pursue graduate studies in education. Qin has been teaching at Calvin since 1999.
Academic Interests/Areas of Specialization
Qin teaches advanced level Chinese language and literature at Calvin. Qin has been teaching private adult students, many of whom are from the business world, as well as individual Calvin students for over ten years. She is not only a teacher, but also a free-lance writer and journalist. Qin has published over a hundred articles for newspapers and magazines in both America and China.
Recent Activities/Publications
Professor Herzberg and his wife Qin Herzberg, fellow Calvin Chinese professor, recently produced a
60-minute documentary film on China entitled “China Today: Issues that Trouble Americans.” The film is based on several years of interviews with Chinese people from different walks of life, including college professors and other educators, free-thinking writers and intellectuals, marriage and family experts, and religious leaders, as well as peasants, migrant workers, and shop clerks. The film features extensive footage of daily life in China and seeks to answer the basic questions that have troubled our students over the years, such as “Will China become a democracy any time soon? How severe and cruel is the so-called “one child policy”? How much religious freedom is there really in China?” The film was published in 2008 with 1,100 copies distributed to High Schools around the world that send students to Calvin. The film in available for purchase from the Calvin Media Foundation.
Larry and Qin have also published a book with travel advice for China entitled “China Survival Guide: How to Avoid Travel Troubles and Mortifying Mishaps” (Stonebridge Press, 2008). It is the first-ever guidebook that deals with the daily, nitty-gritty hurdles a tourist faces when traveling around China, done with a lot of humor as well as invaluable travel tips.
Hobbies
Qin loves to travel with her husband, Larry, to observe different cultures and enjoy the varied languages and cuisines of the world. She also loves animals, particularly cats, and more particularly her own two cats, Diego and Cashmere.
Courses
Chinese 215/216 - Advanced Chinese
Chinese 217/218 - Modern Chinese Literature
Additional Information
