East Asian Languages and Cultures (EAL)
Chair Yaohua Shi
Associate Professors Patrick Moran
Assistant Professor Yaohua Shi
Senior Lecturer Yasuko T. Rallings
Lecturer Yan-feng Hu
The department offers majors in Chinese language and culture and in Japanese language
and culture. In addition to language proficiency at the level of CHI 201 or JPN 201, the majors require ten three-credit-hour courses in language and culture and related courses. Study abroad in Japan, China, or Taiwan is also required. Under special circumstances, a student may substitute an approved intensive immersion program in the United States for the study abroad requirement, with permission of the department chair. A minimum “C” average is required for all courses in the major.
Majors in Chinese and Japanese require seven core courses:
a survey course in East Asian culture(EAL 275 or equivalent),
three advanced language courses (CHI or JPN 220, 230, and 231),
a course taken abroad in reading and writing (CHI or JPN 190),
a course in East Asian history(HST 249 or equivalent), and
Research and Methodology in East Asian Studies (EAL 300).
The inclusion towards the major of language courses taken abroad other than those which are officially designated Wake Forest programs requires permission from the department. In addition to the seven core courses, the majors include three elective courses; up to two elective courses may be in the other East Asian language.
Honors. Highly qualified majors should apply for admission to the honors program in East
Asian languages and cultures. To be graduated with the designation “Honors in Chinese” or
“Honors in Japanese” following completion of EAL 300, the student must enroll in EAL 302,
present an honors-quality research paper, successfully defend the paper in an oral examination, and earn an overall grade point average of 3.0 with an average of 3.3 on work in courses taken as part of the major in Chinese or Japanese. For additional information, students should consult members of the department.
Minors in Chinese language and Japanese language require twelve hours of advanced study
in the language following completion of core courses (CHI or JPN 101, 102, 153, and 201). The standard sequence consists of CHI or JPN 220, 230, 231, and 190, although substitutions are allowed with permission from the department chair. Minor candidates are also required to
participate in an approved semester educational exchange program in China, Taiwan, or Japan.
A cumulative C average is required for courses taken in the minor.
Requests for exceptions to the stated curriculum should be made to the department chair. Elective courses should be selected from an approved list in the department chair’s office. More specific descriptions of each of the majors and course sequences are also available there.
East Asian Languages and Cultures (EAL)
170. Understanding Japan. (3h) Understanding Japanese culture and behavior from the structure of social units such as family, educational institutions, and sports, artistic, and professional organizations. Credit not given for both EAL 170 and EAL 175. Also listed as HMN 170. (CD)
175. Japanese Culture: Insight and Outreach. (3h) Develops an understanding of Japanese culture through reading, class discussion, and individual research, with subsequent outreach to area high schools through presentations. Credit not given for both EAL 170 and EAL 175. Also listedas HMN 175. (CD)
219. Introduction to Japanese Literature. (3h) Major works of poetry, drama, and fiction from the classical and modern periods. Also listed as HMN 219.
221. Introduction to Chinese Literature. (3h) Readings and discussions in fiction, drama, and poetry from the traditional and modern periods. Also listed as HMN 221.
251. The Asian-American Experience: Literature and Personal Narratives. (3h) Introduction to the writings and narratives of Asian Americans of South and Southeast Asian descent, including Asian Americans of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Indian descent. Explores the process of assimilation, including the effects of immigration and cultural conflict on literary forms of expression, as well as the formation of new cultural identities. Also listed as HMN 251. (CD)
252. Introduction to Chinese Film. (3h) Introductory study of film from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan from its inception at the turn of the twentieth century to the present. Explores Chinese film as an art form, an instrument of political propaganda, and a medium of popular entertainment. Also listed as HMN 252.
275. Survey of East Asian Culture. (3h) Exploration of the cultural, historical, political, and economic development of China and Japan, with an emphasis on cultural shifts that resulted from the transition from pre-industrial societies of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to world powers of the mid- to late- twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The interaction between these cultures will also be examined. (CD)
300. Research and Methodology in East Asian Studies. (1h, 2h, 3h) Capstone course for majors on research methods and use of sources in Chinese and Japanese studies. Focuses on approaches to identifying and translating sources, and to conducting research in Chinese and Japanese. This course must be taken prior to or during the fall semester of the candidate’s senior year. P—POI and permission of chair.
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301. Special Topics. (3h) Selected themes and approaches to East Asian literature, drama, culture, and film. Topics to be chosen by staff prior to the term the course is offered. May be repeated for credit. P—POI.
302. Honors Seminar. (3h) Writing of a major research paper. P—EAL 300 and POI.
303. Field Research Preparation. (1h) Development of target language (Chinese or Japanese)
field research materials and preparation for field research practicum in China, Japan, or Taiwan. P—POI.
304. Field Research Practicum. (2h) Use of target language research materials in a field research project in China, Japan, or Taiwan to investigate aspects of culture and belief systems and to apply specific disciplinary frameworks. Not offered on the Wake Forest campus. P—POI. American Ethnic Studies (AES)
240. Asian-American Legacy: A Social History of Community Adaptation. (3h) Introduction to the history, culture, and literature of the Asian-American communities, exploring issues of migration, assimilation, and the process of developing Asian-American identities in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. (CD)
Chinese (CHI)
101, 102. Elementary Chinese. (4h, 4h) Emphasis on the development of listening and speaking skills in Mandarin. Introduction to the writing system and to basic sentence patterns. Lab required. P—for CHI 102 is CHI 101 or equivalent.
153. Intermediate Chinese I. (4h) Study in grammar, reading, conversation, and composition.
Lab required. P—CHI 102 or equivalent.
190. Reading and Writing Chinese. (3h) Teaches reading and writing skills in Chinese language at the beginning and intermediate levels. Designed to accompany concurrent courses taken abroad in conversational Chinese and to provide a rigorous framework for the study and
memorization of Chinese characters. Not offered at the Wake Forest campus. May be repeated
for credit with POI.
196. Chinese Across the Curriculum. (1h) Coursework in Chinese done as an adjunct to specially designated courses throughout the college curriculum. P—POI.
199. Individual Study. (1-3h) P—POI.
201. Intermediate Chinese II. (4h) Further study in grammar, reading, conversation, and composition. Lab required. P—CHI 153 or equivalent.
220. Advanced Chinese I. (3h) Integration of speaking, reading, and writing skills with emphasis on written and audiovisual sources including newspapers, literature, and film. P—CHI 201 or POI.
230. Advanced Chinese II. (3h) Continuation of CHI 220, with emphasis on oral presentation and compositional skills. P—CHI 220 or POI.
231. Advanced Chinese III. (3h) Continuation of CHI 230, with emphasis on advanced reading
and writing. P—CHI 230 or POI.
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250. Introduction to Literature Written in Chinese. (3h) Readings in Chinese in prose and poetry. P—CHI 231 or POI.
252. Recent Literature Written in Chinese. (3h) Readings in recent Taiwan and mainland Chinese literature. P—CHI 231 or POI.
255. Business Hanyu. (3h) Communicating in Mandarin Chinese for business purposes.
Addresses cultural differences in communication and spoken and written linguistic forms.
P—CHI 201 or POI.
350. Chinese Modern Literature Survey. (3h) Examines several key works of modern and contemporary literature in Chinese. Fosters critical reading and interpretive skills and teaches the stylistics of writing analytical essays. P—CHI 250, 252, or POI.
351. Classical Chinese. (3h) Vocabulary and syntax of the written Chinese language prior to the twentieth century, including readings from the fourth century BC authors such as Mencius, along with writings from later centuries. P—CHI 250, 252 or POI.
