Exciting opportunities
EALC News
- Medieval Studies is hosting a festive celebration for their faculty members who have new books out or on the way—one of them is Gian Piero Persiani, assistant professor at EALC. His book Poets, Patrons, and the Public: Poetry as... Read full story Celebrate Professor Gian Piero Persiani’s New Book with Medieval Studies’s New Books Event
- On Oct 3, Prof. Xin Wen (Princeton University) will give the 2nd Annual... Read full story Lux Veritatis Lecture / EALC Speaker Series | An Envoy State: Turfan and the Integration of Medieval Eurasia | Prof. Xin Wen (Princeton University)
- The next Korean Proficiency and Placement Test (KPT) will be scheduled for an in-person administration at 9:30 AM [CT] on Friday, January 16, 2026. Please note that this test will not be administered online. Time: 9:30 am to 12 pm (CST)... Read full story SP26 Korean Proficiency and Placement Test on Friday January 16, 2026
Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Belinda Qian HE joins EALC faculty in Fall 2025
We are delighted to announce that Dr. Belinda Qian He has joined the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures as Assistant Professor of East Asian Cinema and Media Studies.Dr. Hé's work lies at the intersection of film/media studies, art history, and legal humanities, exploring the role of film, photography, video, and emerging media in policing, punishing, and justice making. She pays specific attention to the history of East Asian and global cinema, exhibitions, and participatory media, associated with atrocity, witnessing, sexual violence and ...
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: Spring 2025 End-of-Semester Reception Recap
To wrap up the Spring 2025 semester, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures hosted an end-of-semester reception to celebrate our students, faculty, and staff. It was a warm and lively gathering, filled with conversation, shared memories, and a variety of East Asian snacks and Kimbap provided by the department. We’re grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make the event a success. Special thanks to our student volunteers who assisted with setup and cleanup! As we look ahead to EALC’s 25th anniversary celebration in AY 2025-2026, we’re excited to continue highlighting the...
Student Spotlight: UIUC Student Ana Engelbrecht Wins the Excellence Award at the 6th Midwest Korean Speech Contest
Elizabeth Jones and Ana Engelbrecht, winners of the Beginning and Advanced Levels respectively at the 9th UIUC Korean Speech Contest, recently represented the Korean Language Program at the 6th Midwest Korean Speech Contest on April 5, 2025. We are proud to share that Ana was awarded the Excellence Award in the Advanced Level category.As part of this honor, Ana will receive a $500 cash prize and a scholarship to study at Chungnam National University in Korea.Congratulations, Ana, on this outstanding achievement!
Student Spotlight: Jinsub Song Wins The Percy Buchanan Graduate Prize for 2024 MCAA
Jinsub Song, who graduated this summer with his PhD from EALC, won the Percy Buchanan Graduate Prize for the China and Inner Asian Region at the 2024 Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs. His paper is titled “The Divergence of Self in the Dasheng Qixin Lun and True Self as A Priori Foundation” and a description of his research is shared below. Jinsub has also been nominated to present this paper to the Council of Conferences at AAS in 2025. Congratulations, Dr. Song! Paper Abstract This research investigates the divergence...
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...
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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.