East Asian Languages & Literatures

Welcome to the Wellesley College Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures

The Wellesley College Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures was established in July 2003, bringing together the former Chinese and Japanese Departments under one roof. The new department grew out of the College's recognition of the importance of dialogue across national borders and disciplines. With the addition of Korean language and literatures in 2005-2006, EALL now offers a comprehensive program in the languages and cultures of East Asia.

Curriculum

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures offers two distinct programs: Chinese language and literature and Japanese language and literature. The goal of each major is to provide students with a solid foundation in the disciplines of language and literature through intensive language training and broad exposure to the literary and cultural traditions of the culture under study.

The department also offers Korean language and culture courses.

The department reserves the right to place a new student in the language course for which she seems best prepared regardless of the number of units she has offered for admission.

Information about all classes and the curriculum can be found on the Courses Page Specific to East Asian Literatures and Languages.

Goals for all students taking East Asian Languages and Literature Courses

The Chinese, Japanese and Korean Programs share the goal of increasing students' grasp of the languages and cultures of East Asia. The goal for all students is to develop increased fluency in reading, writing, speaking and listening at the lower levels, and in Chinese and Japanese, to build up analytical skills in the literature and culture classes.