Academic Program

This information is part of the Colgate University catalog, 2024-25.

Faculty
Professors Crespi (Chair, fall), Hirata Associate Professors Mehl (Chair), Wang Assistant Professor Albertson Visiting Assistant Professor Z. Hu

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures offers courses in the languages and cultures of China and Japan. Students who continue through the four-year sequences of rigorous classroom language training, combined with study abroad experiences, acquire the proficiency they need to pursue graduate study or a variety of careers related to East Asia. Courses taught in English include Chinese literature and film, Japanese linguistics, the Japanese Village, Chinese medicine, Japanese tea culture, and Japanese popular culture. Qualified students may arrange independent study beyond the courses offered.

Related Majors

The Asian Studies program offers interdisciplinary majors that focus on China or Japan.

Awards

The Award for Excellence in Chinese Language — awarded by the department to the student with the highest achievement in the Chinese language.

The Award for Excellence in Japanese Language — awarded by the department to the student with the highest achievement in the Japanese language.

The Mori Family Awards for Excellence in Japanese Language — awarded annually to outstanding students from each of the four levels of instruction in Japanese and to the winners of the annual Central New York Japanese Speech Contest.

Advanced Placement and Transfer Credit

Normally no more than one credit for a language course and one credit for a content course can be transferred toward either major from intensive study at another institution in the United States or abroad. Advanced placement can be arranged after consultation with the instructors in charge.

Honors and High Honors

Chinese

Students who have demonstrated marked excellence and an unusual degree of independence in their work may participate in the honors program supervised by a member of the Chinese faculty. Candidates for honors and high honors must achieve a minimum GPA of 3.30 and 3.70, respectively, in the courses taken for the major and a cumulative GPA of 3.00 for both distinctions. In addition, candidates for honors must successfully complete a thesis or project judged to be of A or A– quality by the faculty supervisor and one other faculty member, and, for high honors, successfully complete a thesis or project judged to be of A quality or higher by the faculty supervisor and one other faculty member after an oral examination. Normally, work toward the thesis should begin in the fall term in a 300- or 400-level course (or any independent studies course) and continue through the spring term in independent study as CHIN 499 - Honors Project in Chinese , which must be taken in addition to the minimum number of courses required for the major.

Japanese

Students majoring in Japanese who have demonstrated marked excellence and an unusual degree of independence in their work may participate in the honors program supervised by a member of the Japanese faculty. Candidates for honors and high honors must achieve a minimum GPA of 3.30 and 3.70, respectively, in the courses taken for the major, and a cumulative GPA of 3.00. In addition, candidates for honors must successfully complete a thesis or project judged to be of A or A– quality by the faculty supervisor and one other faculty member, and, for high honors, successfully complete a thesis or project judged to be of A quality or higher by the faculty supervisor and one other faculty member after an oral examination. Normally, work toward the thesis should begin in the fall term in a 300- or 400-level course (or any independent studies course) and continue through the spring term in independent study as JAPN 499.

Study Groups

China

The China Study Group is offered biennially in the fall semester in Shanghai in the People's Republic of China. Students take one course in language, two area studies courses from the Colgate director, and one CET elective (this course will not count towards the Chinese major). Prerequisites for the China Study Group normally include at least one year's coursework at Colgate in modern standard Chinese and one China-related Literature and Culture elective. For more information, see Off-Campus Study.

Japan

This program is based in Kyoto, Japan. This program provides lodging with Japanese families, intensive language training, and instruction in Japanese literature, art, religion, and linguistics. Prerequisites for the Japan Study Group include at least one year's coursework in Japanese language and CORE Japan. See Off-Campus Study.

Facilities

The Japanese Studies Center, funded by the Japan World Exposition (1976) and located in Lawrence Hall, consists of a seminar room, a multipurpose Japanese-style tatami room, and a kitchen. Activities sponsored by the Japan Club and the Japanese Conversation Club are held at the center.

The Robert Ho Center for Chinese Studies, established in 1993 in Lawrence Hall, offers a classroom and a reading room with Asian architectural features complemented by artwork, audiovisual equipment, reference materials, and a small collection of books on China. An attached kitchen enhances extracurricular activities such as brush writing and celebrations of Chinese festivals.

The department also offers an East Asian Lounge with both Chinese and Japanese alcoves for quiet study and small gatherings.