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July 9, 2019
With the retirement of Emperor Akihito and the accession of Emperor Naruhito on May 1, Japan entered a new reign, titled Reiwa. Breaking with some thirteen hundred years of tradition, the Japanese government drew the name, which it says means "beautiful harmony," not from one of the Chinese classics but rather the eighth-century Japanese poetic anthology Man'yōshū (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves).
In an engaging and wide-ranging talk, professor of Japanese and department chair Paul... Read more
June 25, 2019
Supported by a grant from UW East Asia Center (US Department of Education, Title VI National Resource Center), Virtual Tokyo (JAPAN 412), a new 4th-year Japanese class, made its debut in Spring 2019.
Virtual Tokyo was designed and taught by senior lecturer Dr. Kaoru Ohta, with inspiration from Virtual Berlin, an advanced German course designed by Dr. Richard Korb of Columbia University. Virtual Tokyo offers 4th year Japanese students virtual visits to the... Read more
June 19, 2019
On Friday, June 14 over 200 students, family members, and faculty joined to celebrate their achievements and receive their degrees from Asian Languages and Literature.
The opening remarks were given by Ms. Naoko Shatz of the Shatz Law Group. Many awards were given to students by faculty members.
After the ceremony, a reception was enjoyed across the hall. We hope for continued success for all of our new alumni!
Click ... Read more
June 11, 2019
Renowned calligrapher Ustàd Ali Rouhfar visited UW Urdu students on May 3, 2019. In this one-day calligraphy workshop he gave an overview on the development and salient features of different styles of Urdu, Persian and Arabic calligraphy such as Kufi, Nashk, Tuluth and Nastaliq. Students learned the basic movements, measurements and strokes of Kufic and Nastaliq. Ustàd Ali Rouhfar invited students to copy the words and phrases he wrote. Then he checked students writing and gave feedback. The... Read more
June 4, 2019
On May 31, 2019 our Chinese program was visited by fifteen 8th grade students from Mercer International Middle School. This is the third cohort to have graduated from Seattle Public School's K-5 Chinese immersion program. They were accompanied by their teachers, Jingwen Li of Mercer International Middle School and Feng Zhou of Rainier Beach High School.
The students came to UW to participate in activities hosted by the Alliance for Multilingual... Read more
May 21, 2019
The annual Asian Languages and Literature Graduate Student Colloquium took place on May 18th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Traditionally, the Graduate Student Colloquium is designed for Asian L&L students to get together and share ideas with graduate students from other departments, and practice presenting their work in a friendly, supportive environment. It is a great opportunity for students to not only to learn from each other, but also to network and meet students studying similar topics... Read more
May 17, 2019
In late nineteenth-century South Asia, the arrival of print fostered a dynamic and interactive literary culture. There, within the pages of Urdu-language periodicals and newspapers, readers found a public sphere that not only catered to their interests but encouraged their reactions to featured content. Cosmopolitan Dreams brings this culture to light, showing how literature became a site in which modern daily life could be portrayed and satirized, the protocols of modernity challenged, and new... Read more
April 4, 2019
Vietnamese lecturer, Dr. Bich-Ngoc Turner participated in a panel discussion titled, "Trimming the Hegemony: Linguistic Imperialism and Ethnic Diversity in the Language Classroom" at this year's AAS conference in Denver, CO on March 24, 2019.
Panelists discussed the roles and responsibilities of Southeast Asian language programs and teachers in designing curricula and materials that reflect linguistic diversity in Southeast Asia. Dr. Turner, along with other discussants shared strategies on... Read more
March 6, 2019
Associate Professor Zev Handel has a new book being published in April, 2019.
In Sinography: The Borrowing and Adaptation of the Chinese Script, Zev Handel provides a comprehensive analysis of how the structural features of these languages constrained and motivated methods of script adaptation. In the more than 3,000 years since its invention, the Chinese script has been adapted many times to write languages other than Chinese, including Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Zhuang. This... Read more
February 21, 2019
Check out all of the College of Arts & Sciences Fulbright recipients!
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