Department of Asian Languages and Cultures

College of Letters & Science

Welcome to Asian Languages & Cultures

We encourage students to study Asia in a regional and comparative frame while cultivating scholarly capacities in particular aspects of Asian culture, including East, South, and Southeast Asian Studies. To that end, we offer multiple degree options at the BA, MA, and Ph.D levels, reflecting departmental research strengths that allow students to approach the study of languages and cultures from a variety of perspectives and disciplines.

UW-Madison students and Professor Hongming Zhang at the 2016 Beijing Chinese Speech Contest at Peking University in July, 2016
Professor Junko Mori with UW Alumni and student at a WAA Japan Chapter gathering in June, 2016
Professor Kuo-P'ing Chou helped create the Department of Chinese and served as its first chair
Students in Choua Lee's First Semester Hmong class in October, 2008
UW-Madison's Korean Traditional Drumming and Dancing student organization, Ulssu, during the Homecoming Parade in October, 2015
Professor John Dunne with his Holiness the Dalai Lama during a meeting of the Mind and Life Institute at Sera monastery (Bylakuppe, India) in December, 2015

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News

ALC Department Newsletter - August 2017

We are proud to share our Inaugural ALC Newsletter - August 2017. Please make requests to ...

Terry Nealon retires after 53 years of service to L&S

Teresa "Terry" Nealon has been with the College of Letters and Science since 1964, and with the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature since 1975. Last July, Terry watched the merging of two departments (EALL and the Department of...
Courtside Language Lessons to Chinese Speech Contest

David Burnett put Madison on his back this Saturday at the 16th Annual Midwest regional chinese speech contest. He’s a first year student at UW-Madison in third year Chinese who had a drive to win on his home turf. The speech contest had over 60...
NSA Grant Funds Korean Language Program for Local High School Students

This summer, as many as 20 students from across Dane County will be exploring Korean language and culture through the UW-Madison STARTALK Korean...

Non-native foreign language instructors help students through shared experiences Foreign teachers can provide greater opportunities

When Junko Mori came to Wisconsin in the 1990s, Japan was experiencing an economic boom. To foster business collaboration, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction recruited native Japanese speakers to help elementary and secondary school...

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Publications

Perceiving Syllables and Contrasts: Second Language Learning Perspectives

Byung-jin Lim

Korea Univeristy Press

Japanese Counterculture The Antiestablishment Art of Terayama Shūji

Steven C. Ridgely

University of Minnesota Press

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Upcoming Events

ALC Department Committee meeting

09/26/2017 - 09:00 AM

9:00-10:30 am ALC faculty, staff, and graduate student reps are invited to attend the first Department Committee (DC) Meeting.
Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) Lunch Chat

10/2/2017 - 12:00 PM

ALC Graduate students are invited to join the DSG for an informal gathering over the Noon hour.
Japan Study Abroad Info Session

10/10/2017 - 03:30 PM

Students interested in learning more about study abroad opportunities in Japan are encouraged to attend this info session led by Andy Quackenbush (IAP Advisor) along with past participants.

View Our Calendar

Alumni Profiles

Bridget J.

Indonesian

Learning languages has enriched my life in many ways, and has has enabled me to communicate with people with whom I would otherwise not be able to communicate.

See all profiles