DEPARTMENT OF
ASIAN AND NEAR EASTERN
LANGUAGES AND
LITERATURES
DEPARTMENTAL
The primary mission of the Department of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Literatures is to provide education that leads to enhancement of cultural sensitivity and humanistic knowledge in a diverse world and to equip students with the necessary intellectual tools for exploration of the major linguistic, literary and cultural traditions of Asia and the Near East.
Language instruction is central to this academic goal. We offer a wide range of courses in Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Korean and Persian taught by highly professional instructors. Insofar as the strength of both our undergraduate and graduate programs hinges on the quality of language instruction, a central departmental goal is to provide students with proficiency in all four skills (reading, writing, comprehension, and cultural literacy). Thus, we help them to master communication skills and also provide them with the tools necessary to explore a wide range of literary/textual worlds.
The study of literature, widely defined, is the predominant discipline that engages the current faculty in terms of research and publications. Women’s Studies, Jewish and Near Eastern Studies, Comparative Literature, East Asian Studies, Islamic Studies, and Religious Studies are among the areas to which we regularly make major teaching contributions. Our teaching and research interests are diverse, but our academic mission is universal: understanding better the complexity of human experience as reflected in some of its major linguistic, cultural and literary expressions.
Approved: December 2, 1999