Faculty

Tomi Suzuki

Tomi Suzuki

Professor of Japanese Literature, Faculty Curriculum Advisor

Office: 410 Kent Hall
Office Hours: On leave 2026-27
Phone: (212) 854-5034
Email: ts202@columbia.edu

Educational Background

BA: University of Tokyo (’74)
MA: University of Tokyo (’77)
PhD: Yale University (’88)

Classes Taught

AHUM UN3830: Colloquium on Modern East Asian Texts
JPNS GU4008: Readings in Classical Japanese: from Heian to Meiji
EAAS GU4810: Women and Literary Culture in Japan: from 10th century to the present
JPNS GR8020: Graduate Seminar in Modern Japanese Literature

Research Interests

Modern Japanese literature, especially 19th-and 20th-century narrative fiction and criticism in a comparative and transnational perspective; literary and cultural theory, particularly theory of narrative, genre and gender, modernism and modernity, translation and adaptation; intellectual history of modern Japan; linguistic thought and language education in 19th-and 20th-century Japan; history of reading, issues of canon formation and literary histories.

Professor Suzuki joined the department at Columbia University in 1996. She has published extensively in both the English and Japanese languages. Currently, Tomi Suzuki is completing a book entitled Gender, Literary Culture, and Nation in Japan: 1880s-1950s, which investigates the formation of the literary field from the late nineteenth century to the postwar period in relationship to the process of nation building, gender construction, journalism, language reform and education. It explores the modernist construction and questioning of Japanese linguistic and cultural traditions in a transnational context. She co-edited The Cambridge History of Japanese Literature. She is now co-editing a volume entitled Rethinking Authorship in Comparative and Historical Perspectives: Transmission, Ownership, and Collectivity (forthcoming). The Japanese edition was published by Iwanami Shoten in 2021.

Selected Publications

Gender, Literary Culture, and Nation in Japan: 1880s-1950s (forthcoming).

Narrating the Self: Fictions of Japanese Modernity, Stanford University Press, 1996 [Japanese translation, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2000; Korean translation, Seoul: Saengak-ui-namu Publishing, 2004]

What is an Author?: Transmission, Ownership, and Collectivity (<Sakusha> to wa nani ka: keishō,senyū, kyōdōsei), Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 2021 (co-editor)

Cambridge History of Japanese Literature, Cambridge University Press, 2016 (co-editor)

Censorship, Media, and Literary Culture in Japan (Bilingual Edition), Tokyo: Shin’yōsha, 2012 (co-editor)

Inventing the Classics: Modernity, National Identity, and Japanese Literature, Stanford University Press, 2000 (co-editor)

Sôzôsareta koten: kanon keisei, kokumin kokka, nihon bungaku (Invented Classics: Canon Formation, Nation-State, and Japanese Literature), Tokyo: Shin’yôsha, 1999 (co-editor) [Korean translation, Seoul: Somyong Publishing Co, 2002; Chinese translation, Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2021]

Haruo Shirane

Haruo Shirane

Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature, Vice Chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Faculty Director of the Donald Keene Center

Office: 420 Kent Hall
Office Hours: On leave for the 2026-2027 academic year
Phone: (212) 854-5031
Email: hs14@columbia.edu

Educational Background

BA: Columbia College (’74)
MA: University of Michigan (’77)
PhD: Columbia University (’83)

Classes Taught

JPNS GU4007 Introduction to Classical Japanese
JPNS GR8040 Graduate Seminar in Premodern Japanese Literature

Research Interests

Japanese Literature, Print Culture, Performance and Media

Haruo Shirane, Shincho Professor of Japanese Literature and Culture and chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University, teaches and writes on premodern and early modern Japanese literature and culture, with particular interest in prose fiction, poetry, performative genres (such as storytelling and theater), and visual culture. He is finishing a book called Media, Performance, and Play: Japanese Culture from Outside In, which focuses on the role of manuscript culture, media, vocality, and performance, viewing cultural processes from the social periphery. Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons (Columbia University Press, 2012) explored the cultural constructions of nature across a wide spectrum of literature, media, and visual arts from the ancient period to the modern. Most recently, he has coedited Monsters, Animals, and Other Worlds: A Collection of Short Medieval Tales (Columbia University Press, 2018); Reading The Tale of Genji: The First Millennium(Columbia University Press, 2015); and Cambridge History of Japanese Literature (Cambridge University Press, 2015).

Haruo Shirane has been engaged in bringing new approaches to the study of Japanese literary culture. This has resulted in Japanese Literature and Literary Theory (Nihon bungaku kara no hihyo riron, Kasama shoin, 2009, edited with Fujii Sadakazu and Matsui Kenji) and New Horizons in Japanese Literary Studies (Bensei Publishing, 2009), both of which explore new issues and methodologies in the study of print and literary culture. He also edited Food in Japanese Literature (Shibundo, 2008), Overseas Studies on The Tale of Genji (Ofu, 2008) and Envisioning The Tale of Genji: Media, Gender, and Cultural Production (Columbia University Press, 2008). The latter two books analyze the impact of The Tale of Genji on Japanese cultural history in multiple genres and historical periods.

Haruo Shirane translated and edited a number of volumes on Japanese literature. These include Classical Japanese Literature, An Anthology: Beginnings to 1600 (Columbia University Press, 2006), Early Modern Japanese Literature: An Anthology, 1600-1900 (Columbia University Press, 2002; abridged edition, 2008), The Tales of the Heike (Columbia University Press, 2006, paperback 2008), and The Demon at Agi Bridge and Other Japanese Tales (Columbia University Press, 2010), a collection of setsuwa (anecdotal literature).

He is also deeply involved with the history of Japanese language and pedagogical needs and have written Classical Japanese Reader and Essential Dictionary (2007) and Classical Japanese: A Grammar (Columbia University Press, 2005).

Haruo Shirane is the recipient of Fulbright, Japan Foundation, SSRC, NEH, and Hakuhodo grants, and has been awarded the Kadokawa Genyoshi Prize, Ishida Hakyo Prize, and most recently the Ueno Satsuki Memorial prize (2010) for outstanding research on Japanese culture. He is presently the Chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures.

Professor’s Shirane’s personal website

Selected Publications

Cambridge History of Japanese Literature (chief editor, Cambridge, 2015)

Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons (Columbia, 2012)

Inventing the Classics: Modernity, National Identity, and Japanese Literature (co-editor with Tomi Suzuki, 2001).

Traces of Dreams: Landscape, Cultural Memory, and the Poetry of Bashô (Stanford, 1998)

The Bridge of Dreams: A Poetics of the Tale of Genji (Stanford, 1987)

Zhongqi Shi

Zhongqi Shi

Senior Lecturer in Chinese

Office: 626 Kent Hall
Office Hours: MTR 9:55-10:10 AM, 11:30-12:00 PM or by appointment
Phone: 212-854-0660
Email: zs2132@columbia.edu

Educational Background

PhD: Cognitive Science in Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
MA: Applied Linguistics, Beijing Language and Culture University
BA: Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, Beijing Language and Culture University

Classes Taught

CHNS GU4012 Business Chinese I
CHNS GU4013 Business Chinese II
CHNS GU4112 Advanced Business Chinese I
CHNS GU4113 Advanced Business Chinese II
CHNS UN3003 Third Year Chinese I
CHNS UN3004 Third Year Chinese II
CHNS UN2205 Second Year Chinese I

Research Interests

AI and Technology-Enhanced Language Learning
Chinese for Professional and Specific Purposes
Second Language Motivation and Teacher–Student Relationships
Corpus-Based Research and L2 Language Development
Curriculum Design and Experiential Learning

Zhongqi Shi is Senior Lecturer in Chinese in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University, where he has taught since 2005. He previously served as Associate Director of the Chinese Program and Coordinator of East Asian Language Programs.

His teaching and research focus on Chinese for professional and specific purposes, AI- and technology-enhanced language learning, second language motivation, and curriculum and program development. He has received multiple Provost’s Teaching and Learning Grants for pedagogical innovation at Columbia, supporting projects that have explored podcasting, video-based reflection, AI-assisted job interview preparation, and AI-powered conversational learning. His work on an AI-assisted chatbot for Business Chinese was featured by Columbia’s Center for Teaching and Learning in its “Faculty Voices on AI in the Classroom” series and as a Faculty AI Use Case on Columbia Magazine.

His publications address Business Chinese, second language motivation and development, and technology-enhanced language learning. His recent book, Embracing Change: A New Era in Chinese Teaching (《应变：中文教学新思路》), was published by Cheng & Tsui in 2026.

Shi has held a number of leadership roles in the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA-US), including President and Vice President, as well as chairing the ACTFL–CLTA Conference Program, the AI for Chinese Special Task Force, and the Media and Publicity Committee.

Selected Publications

Books on Chinese Language Teaching and Pedagogy

Shi, Z. (2026). 《应变：中文教学新思路》 Embracing Change: A New Era in Chinese Teaching. Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Co., Inc. ISBN 978-1-62291-770-9.

Shi, Z., & Qiu, Z. (2009). 《中文可以这样教》 Teach Chinese This Way. Beijing: QunYan Press. ISBN 978-7-8025-6051-2.

Selected Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Guan, D., & Shi, Z. (2026). Business Chinese Curriculum Development: An Analysis of Course Types and Pedagogical Approaches. In L. Y. Chen & C. M. Tu (Eds.), New Developments in Chinese for Specific and Professional Purposes.

Shi, Z., Tian, Y., & Liu, R. (2025). 美国高校中文教师的岗位特点与职业素养—基于招聘启事的分析和研究 [Characteristics and Professional Competencies of Chinese Language Instructors in U.S. Higher Education: An Analysis of Job Postings]. Journal of Language Governance, 3, 85–98.

Shi, Z., Du, Y., & Yu, W. (2025). Podcasting and L2 Listening: Impacts on Behavior and Attitude in Chinese Language Learners. Journal of Technology and Chinese Language Teaching, 16(1), 118–144.

Shi, Z., & Li, S. (2024). From Mock Interviews to Real Job Interviews: Assessing the Efficacy of Business Chinese Instruction. Foreign Language Annals, 1–20.

Shi, Z., & Yuan, Q. (2023). Machine Learning-Based Investigation of Syntactic Complexity Measures in Foreign Language Acquisition. Chinese as a Second Language, 58(3), 262–298.

Shi, Z., & Guan, D. (2022). 基于三维调查的商务汉语核心教学内容探讨 [An Investigation of Core Content of Business Chinese Instruction: A Three-Dimensional Perspective]. International Journal of Chinese Language Teaching, 3(1), 36–56.

Shi, Z. (2021). 专用汉语教学需求分析：从理论到实践 [Needs Analysis in Teaching Chinese for Special Purposes: From Theory to Practice]. Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology, 3(2), 84–94.

Shi, Z., Yuan, Q., & Guan, D. (2019). 1997–2017年商务汉语教学探索与实践: 热点与反思 [1997–2017 Business Chinese Teaching and Research Overview]. International Chinese Language Education国际汉语教育, 4(4), 6–19.

Selected Textbooks

Winning Strategies (V1): Learning Business Chinese through Real Companies 《商务中文案例教程—策略卷》. China Translation & Publishing Corporation, 2015. Editor-in-Chief/First Author.

Winning Strategies (V2): Learning Business Chinese through Cross-Cultural Cases 《商务中文案例教程—文化卷》. China Translation & Publishing Corporation, 2015. Editor-in-Chief/Co-author.

Understanding China: Advanced Chinese Reader 《理解中国—高级汉语教程》. Peking University Press, 2014. First Author.

Excellent Chinese: Business Practice 《卓越汉语—公司实战篇》. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2010. First Author.