East Asian Languages and Literatures
- Degree Type Bachelor of Arts
- Department East Asian Languages and Literatures
- Academic Division The College
- Offerings Major
The Department of East Asian Languages and Literature offers a full four-year program of language courses in both Chinese and Japanese, as well as literature and culture courses in English. The department’s curricula provide solid disciplinary training, preparing students to meet the challenges in further graduate studies or in career development.
East Asian Languages and Literatures
Language courses in the EALL Department develop advanced communication skills in Japanese and Chinese through intensive language training and provide a foundation for understanding cultural traditions of China and Japan. The literature in translation courses foster an awareness and understanding of East Asian cultures through an interdisciplinary approach, introducing historical background, social, philosophical, political issues and other cultural concerns relevant and necessary to the understanding of the literary and other cultural texts.
Opportunities
The department encourages close interactions between students and the faculty. Diverse East Asian cultural activities such as A Taste of Asia and the Lunar New Year Celebration give students opportunities to practice their language skills outside the classroom in a relaxed, social setting. The department also sponsors Spring Term study abroad programs to China and Japan, where students are not only engaged in immersion language learning, but also in studying East Asian cultures through close contacts with their peoples.
EALL majors are encouraged to spend a summer, a semester or a year studying abroad in China and Japan to enhance their proficiency in language and to broaden their knowledge of East Asian cultures.
Each year the department awards The Andrew M. Hemm Prize of Excellence to two students with the highest average grades during their first two years of Chinese and Japanese studies respectively. In addition, the department offers The James Boardman Study Abroad Scholarship to two students preparing to study abroad.
World Language FDR
One of the Foundation and Distribution Requirements at Washington and Lee is proficiency in a world language. The EALL Department offers coursework towards language proficiency in Chinese and Japanese.
W&L’s Benton Copeland ’24 Awarded Fulbright to Taiwan
Copeland has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Taiwan.
Record Number of W&L Students Awarded Critical Language Scholarship
The Critical Language Scholarship Program funds a summer of overseas language and cultural immersion.
W&L to Host “Slices of Research” Program at Salerno Wood Fired Pizza & Taphouse
Newly promoted faculty members will present their research in a PechaKucha format on Jan. 30.
W&L’s Wren Markley ’23 Selected for Prestigious JET Program
Markley will start their role in the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program by early August 2023.
For W&L alumni Kevin Green ’07 and Amanda Green ’06, nature and nurture go hand-in-hand.
W&L Professor Publishes Book in English Translation with Full Annotations
Hongchu Fu offers a look into the Yuan Dynasty under Mongol Rule in “Three Yuan Plays by Yang Zi.”
The Museums at W&L invites visitors to reflect on “Born of Fire: Contemporary Japanese Women Ceramic Artists,” on display through April 29.
The residency, co-hosted by W&L and VMI, includes workshops on March 23 and a concert on March 24.
Museums at W&L Presents ‘Born of Fire’
This exhibit is free and open to the public, with a scheduled reception and lecture by curator and scholar Jacqueline Chao on March 8 at 5 p.m.
W&L’s Kristina Lozinskaya ’22 Among 2024 Class of Schwarzman Scholars
Lozinskaya, a 2022 graduate, will receive a master’s degree in global affairs from Tsinghua University in China.
Pass the Plate Celebrates Cultural Heritage Through Food
The Weinstein Scholar annual program invited students to take a culinary trip around the world without leaving the Washington and Lee campus.
Six W&L Students Awarded Critical Language Scholarships
Six undergraduate students received Critical Language Scholarships, which will provide them the opportunity to study language intensively during summer 2022.
Meet the Faculty
At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Yanhong Zhu
Department Head; Associate Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures
- P: 540-458-8277
- E: zhuy@wlu.edu
Yanhong Zhu’s research interests include modern Chinese literature and culture, contemporary Chinese cinema, and Chinese language pedagogy. She teaches Chinese language courses at all levels as well as courses on modern Chinese literature and East Asian cinema.
Hongchu Fu
Professor of Chinese Language and Literature
- P: 540-458-8829
- E: fuh@wlu.edu
Fu teaches courses in Chinese language ranging from the elementary to advanced level. He also teaches several courses in literature, such as Evolution of Chinese Fiction. His research pertains to pre-modern Chinese drama.
Janet Ikeda Yuba
Associate Professor of Japanese
- P: 540-458-8936
- E: ikedaj@wlu.edu
Ikeda teaches and researches Japanese language, culture and literature. Ikeda has been involved in U.S.- Japan relations and has been a member of several councils, committees and delegations to promote good relations.