Exciting opportunities
EALC News
- The next Korean Proficiency and Placement Test (KPT) will be scheduled for an in-person administration at 9:30 AM [CT] on Friday, January 15, 2027. Please note that this test will NOT be administered online. Time: 9:30 am to 12 pm (CST)... Read full story
- Course DescriptionThis course explores the intricate relationship between language and identity in both Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) and Chinese diasporic communities around the world. Through the lens of sociolinguistics, students will examine how... Read full story
Faculty Spotlight: Anna Jungeun Lee to join EALC faculty in Fall 2024
We are delighted to announce that Dr. Anna Jungeun Lee will join the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures as Assistant Professor of Korean History. Dr. Lee, previously the Global Korean Studies Invited Professor at the College of International Studies at Korea University, is a historian of Korea’s transnational consumption. Her research focuses on the intersection of state and society in consumer spaces in modern South Korea. Her first book project, “Resisting Consumers: Transnational Consumption in Authoritarian South Korea” examines the irony of foreign and luxury...
Faculty Spotlight: Three New Instructors/Lecturers to join EALC in Fall 2024
We are delighted to announce that three new faculty will join the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures starting Fall 2024: Quillon Arkenstone (Lecturer in Modern-Contemporary Japanese Literature), Yujie Pu (Instructor in Imperial Chinese History), and Jihye Yun (Instructor in Korean Language). Our new colleagues will add to our strengths in the study and teaching of Japan, China, and Korea. Dr. Quillon Arkenstone Dr. Arkenstone holds a PhD in Japanese literature from the University of Hawai’i. His research, which involves literary studies, theory,...
Event Spotlight: Chi Lung Kang Endowed Lecture Series (2025)
Public Talk by Professor Dali Yang, U.S.-China Relations: How Did We Get Here, Where Are We Going. Speaker: Professor Dali L. Yang, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago; Chair: Professor Matthew S. Winters, Department of Political Science, and Director of the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. From...
Student Spotlight: UIUC Cameron Roberts wins highest standing award in the 5th Midwest Korean Speech Contest
Cameron (Cam) Roberts, the winner of the Beginning Level at the 8th UIUC Korean Speech Contest, won the Highest Standing Award of the Beginning Level at the 5th Midwest Korean Speech Contest held on April 6, 2024. Cam will receive a scholarship to study at Sungkyunkwan University in Korea, in addition to an $800 cash airfare support award. Congratulations, Cam! Cam is receiving his award from Mr. Moon, Director of the Korean Education Center in Chicago, at the 5th Midwest Korean Speech Contest held on April 6, 2024.
Student Spotlight: EALC Senior Grace Mitchell Named Schwarzman Scholar
Grace Mitchell, a senior double majoring in EALC and Political Science, was named a Schwarzman Scholar, one of 151 recipients selected from an international pool of 3,000 applicants. The program fully funds an annual Schwarzman class consisting of 40% U.S. students, 20% from China and Taiwan, and 40% from the rest of the world. Grace will be heading to Tsinghua University in Beijing for this fully-funded one-year master’s degree and leadership program. Congratulations, Grace!
Publication Spotlight: New book by EALC Professor Emeritus Ronald Toby: Engaging the Other: 'Japan' and Its Alter-Egos, 1550-1850
In Engaging the Other: “Japan and Its Alter-Egos”, 1550-1850, Ronald P. Toby examines new discourses of identity and difference in early modern Japan, a discourse catalyzed by the “Iberian irruption,” the appearance of Portuguese and other new, radical others in the sixteenth century. The encounter with peoples and countries unimagined in earlier discourse provoked an identity crisis, a paradigm shift from a view of the world as comprising only “three countries” (sangoku), i.e., Japan, China and India, to a world of “myriad countries” ( bankoku) and...
Why Study EALC?
A degree from the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures equips you with the knowledge and skills for a successful career in a variety of fields while nourishing your interest in different languages and cultures.