Nicole Roldan

Now accepting graduate applications for 2019-2020!

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures is now accepting applications for our 2019 graduate programs. The deadline for the EALAC Ph.D. program is November 30, 2018. The priority deadline for application to the EALAC M.A. Program is November 30, 2018. Space permitting, applications will be accepted for the M.A. program on a rolling basis until May 31, 2019.

All applications to EALAC graduate programs, both M.A. and Ph.D., are submitted through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences online application system.

New Vietnamese Language Program

We are proud to announce the opening of a new program of Vietnamese language study beginning in the fall of 2018. Our new instructor, Nguyễn Phương Chung, comes to Columbia with extensive experience teaching Vietnamese at the college and graduate levels in Vietnam, developing pedagogy tailored to the specific demands of the Vietnamese language, and training diplomats at the US Embassy to Vietnam in Hanoi according to State Department standards.  Classes utilize a functional approach with heavy emphasis on learner participation and practical communication. Our program combines the basic six-tiered plan for language mastery currently used by the University of Social Sciences & Humanities in Vietnam with the standards and techniques developed by the State Department for diplomatic language training. Students are encouraged to apply and enhance their practical communicatory skills through exploration of Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage, as well as the diversity and vibrancy of contemporary Vietnamese society.

We currently offer an introductory level of Vietnamese, UN1101 (no experience necessary) and UN1102, as well as a second-year + heritage level course UN1201 and UN1202 (placement exam required)  throughout the year, with additional possibilities on a case-by-case basis, for those interested in advanced study during the 2018-2019 academic year. Regular third- and fourth-year courses will also be offered as the program grows.  The Vietnamese language program is also proud to serve the needs of Columbia’s newly-formed graduate program in Vietnamese studies.  With the recent appointments of Liên-Hằng Nguyễn (History) and John Phan (EALAC), Columbia is now one of the only institutions to offer a unified graduate program on Vietnamese history, culture, and literary criticism, from premodern to contemporary times.  The Vietnamese language program is working closely with Professors Nguyễn and Phan to establish a premier center for Vietnamese language training here at Columbia.  Our long-term goal is to develop a program that will serve the needs of all levels of interest, from the beginner, to the heritage learner, to advance graduate students working on primary materials.

For more information on the Vietnamese language program, please contact Nguyễn Phương Chung.  For more information on Vietnamese studies at Columbia University, please contact Professor John Phan.

Photo by Clay Eaton

Filed Under: recent-phds

Ling-Wei Kung

Ling-Wei Kung

Field: Chinese and Tibetan History
Advisors: Gray Tuttle & Madeleine Zelin
Email: lk2627@columbia.edu

Ling-Wei Kung is a Ph.D. candidate in History and East Asia Studies. His principal research area is the history of early modern/modern China and Inner Asia. He is completing his dissertation entitled “Great Convergence: Intelligence Collection, Trans-Regional Trade, and International Relations Between Modern China, Inner Asia, and the World.” His dissertation investigates modern China’s relationship with Inner Asia by focusing on global economic exchange and knowledge formation from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries, supplementing modern and classical Chinese sources with multilingual materials in Tibetan, Mongolian, Manchu, Japanese, and a range of European languages. Supported by the American Council of Learned Societies, the Social Science Research Council, and the Japan Foundation, he has conducted on-site research in China, Japan, and Tibet for eighteen months. In recognition of his exceptional intellectual ability and originality, the Tang Prize Foundation awarded him the Yu Ying-Shih Prize for Humanities Research in 2019. He has published widely on the history of China and Inner Asia. His works are available on his Personal Website.

Ling-Wei received a B.A. in History from National Taiwan University (2012), and his M.A. (2015) and M. Phil. (2018) from Columbia University. He has studied abroad at Tibet, Kyoto, Kyushu, Peking, and Renmin Universities.

 

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