The languages and cultures of China, Korea, and Japan play a critical role in our increasingly interconnected world.
Through rigorous study of these enduring and ever more relevant East Asian languages and cultures, our students experience the life-changing rewards of alternative perspectives, greater confidence, and sharper cognitive abilities. Deeply fulfilling on a personal level, coursework in EALC prepares students for the global world of professional possibility that lies beyond Wellesley. In EALC, you will:
Learn to speak, read, and write (or improve your skills) in Korean, Japanese and Chinese
EALC students hone their language skills through intensive work on speaking, listening, reading and writing in the first through fourth-year levels and beyond. By the fourth year of language study, students are adept readers of authentic language materials and can express themselves with sophistication on a wide range of topics both orally and on the page.
Find a subject of study that intrigues you
EALC students study all aspects of East Asian culture, ancient and modern, in rigorous English-language courses that range from 100-level courses to advanced-level seminars. Topics range from chilling Japanese ghost stories; to the women who shaped Chinese history; to the great East Asian film directors of the twentieth-century; to the ways that gender and culture shape language in Korea. We expose you to the central literary texts and ideas that ground the East Asian tradition, and we teach you how to respond sensitively to the images of that culture, too.
Go abroad
Many EALC students spend a summer, semester, or year abroad, in a country where their chosen language is spoken. In an immersion environment, they enhance their language skills at respected programs or do selected internships from social service agencies to television to investment banks. Internships through the Center for Work and Service take you to Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Taipei, among others, where you will train for a future career.
Remember that you will have a career: a Wellesley diploma is your ticket! But while you’re at Wellesley, fall head over heels in love with your subject and study it from all angles, until you find yourself deeply absorbed in reading every work by your favorite author, doing an independent study on some aspect of East Asian culture, or even writing an honors thesis with your chosen professor. Find a major or minor that will continue to serve as a source of inspiration throughout your life.
If you have any questions, write to the Department Chair or to one of the Directors of the Korean, Chinese, or Japanese programs.
Mingwei Song, Chair
msong2@wellesley.edu
Qiuyan Tang, Director, Chinese
qtang@wellesley.edu
Yoshimi Maeno, Co-Director, Japanese
ymaeno@wellesley.edu