East Asian Languages & Cultures
Academic Department Introduction
The languages and cultures of China, Japan, and Korea play a critical role in our increasingly interconnected world. The East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) Department offers an immersive study of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, from beginning to advanced levels. By the fourth year, students are adept readers who are able to express themselves with sophistication on a range of topics, both orally and on the page. In courses taught in English, students learn about all aspects of ancient and modern East Asian culture.
Many EALC students spend a summer, semester, or year abroad in a country where their chosen language is spoken. This opportunity connects students with people in their host countries while immersing them in the language and culture. Many students complete their major or minor credits while abroad, enabling them to take more elective courses (or focus on their other major) when they return to Wellesley.
Learning goals
- Understand literature, articles, social media, film, and other material in the target language.
- Present ideas in the target language.
- Master levels of formality appropriate to specific social and professional settings.
- Understand East Asian classical traditions as well as modern literature and culture.
- Identify salient marks of East Asian national cultures and draw connections among them.
- Assemble research materials in both English and primary language courses.
Programs of Study
EALC major
Students follow one of three tracks: Chinese language and culture, Japanese language and culture, or Korean language and culture. In each track, they learn a language and explore sociocultural practices through coursework and study abroad experiences.
Options for minor
Students majoring in another discipline can minor in Chinese language and culture, Japanese language and culture, or Korean language and culture.
Course highlights
Japanese Literature from Myth to Manga (in English)
THST251
This course explores Japanese literature from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries––including myths, poetry, narrative romances, diaries, essays, military tales, Noh drama, haiku, puppet plays, kabuki, and ghost stories––then traces its modern afterlife to film, television, and manga. Students will develop a critical and historically grounded appreciation of Japan's rich and varied literary tradition by analyzing it in light of such topics as religious practice, aesthetic ideals, dreams, desire, subjectivity, Chinese influence, the supernatural, war, gender, and sexuality.
(JPN 251 and THST 251 are cross-listed courses.)-
Seminar: The Chinese Script - A History of Writing in East Asia and Beyond
EALC346
This course narrates three thousand years of writing practices, with the Chinese script—the shared writing system in premodern East Asian—as a through line. We will focus on the social implications of writing, investigating questions such as how writing transformed political systems and interacted with ordinary people. Units and topics of this course include: mechanics of writing systems, empire formation and writing standardization, reading and writing practices in East Asia, evolving relationships between writings and (local, vernacular, and national) languages, writing as a technology, cross-cultural interactions and receptions, and finally, writing and gender. For the past two millennia, East Asia has been a source of media innovation. As we migrate with the Chinese script from bamboo slips onto paper, from printed books onto computer screens, we will tackle the theoretical toolkit and historical precedents for examining our current age of media disruption. (CPLT 346 and EALC 346 are cross-listed courses.)
Research highlights
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Professor Eve Zimmerman studies how female writers refashion the category of “girlhood” in postwar Japanese fiction, manga, and memoir. Her translation of “Remaining Flowers” by Nakagami Kenji can be found in the Penguin Collection of Contemporary Japanese Fiction (2020).
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Professor Heng Du’s current book project, Paratext and the Transformation of Early Chinese Writings, explores the intentions of the nameless thinkers and compilers involved in manuscript production.
Opportunities
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Mayling Soong Foundation
Funding for summer study in Asia is available from Wellesley’s Mayling Soong Foundation, named for Mayling Soong Chiang, class of 1917, who became first lady of China.
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Ted Wang Fellowship
Students interested in international careers spend a semester at one of our partner institutions in China, Japan, or Korea, gaining advanced knowledge of the culture and language. Fellows receive a stipend to cover the expenses of networking with professionals in their host country.
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Internships
We offer internships and fellowships for students and graduates to work at the National Palace Museum in Taipei, teach English in Nanjing, and teach English in Hong Kong.
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On campus
Residential language corridors, student organizations, and dining hall language tables offer opportunities to practice speaking skills outside the classroom.
Beyond Wellesley
Beyond Wellesley
EALC graduates follow a wide range of career paths that draw upon their language and culture knowledge, working in diverse fields, such as journalism, finance, medicine, law, academia, scientific research, diplomacy, politics, library science, computer programming, and IT.
Recent Employers
For more
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East Asian Languages & Cultures Alumnae Corner
This site is dedicated to recent EALC and EAS alumnae, what they studied at Wellesley and how it impacted their post-graduate lives.
Are you an EALC/EAS alum? Send us your story!
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