The University of Washington’s Department of Asian Languages & Literature is proud to announce that Dr. Gian Duri Rominger has been awarded a 2026 ACLS Fellowship by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). The ACLS Fellowship Program is the organization’s longest running program and supports outstanding scholarship in the humanities and social sciences.
Rominger is one of 63 scholars selected from a pool of over 2,000 applicants through a multi-stage peer review process. ACLS Fellowships provide up to $60,000 to support scholars for six to 12 months of full-time research and writing. Awardees who are independent scholars, adjunct faculty, or have teaching-intensive roles receive an additional stipend between $3,000 and $6,000.
Rominger's research explores how sound in language use — especially patterns like rhyme and wordplay — shaped meaning in ancient Chinese argumentative writings that stand at the beginning of Chinese philosophy, specifically in texts from the Warring States period to the Han dynasty (ca. third century BCE–first century CE).
“We are proud to award ACLS Fellowships to 63 outstanding scholars across a range of fields,” said ACLS President Joy Connolly. “Deep understanding of humanity and human endeavor doesn’t come out of thin air: it rests on the work of generations of scholars who need time to do research and develop their arguments. We salute the new fellows’ contributions to knowledge and to society, and we celebrate their expertise and dedication.”
The ACLS Fellowship Program is funded primarily by the ACLS endowment, which has benefited from the generous support of esteemed funders, institutional members, and individual donors since the organization’s founding in 1919.