Departmental Newsletter for Modern Languages & Literatures at the College of William & Mary
(This story appeared previously here.) Stephen Sheehi, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Chair of Middle East Studies and director of the Asian and Middle East Studies program, organized the “Great W&M Asia Cook Off.” He brought in celebrity chef Katsuya Fukushima, chef and co-owner of Daikaya-Izakaya, Haikan and Bantam King, and restaurateur Yama Jewayni, co-owner of Daikaya-Izakaya,… Read More
The French and Francophone Studies Program celebrated its annual Fête de la Recherche on Friday September 28, 2018. This year’s celebration featured stimulating research presentations from students, information about the French and Francophone Studies Program and FFS course offerings for Spring 2019, a study abroad round table, and perspective on life after graduation and career… Read More
Speaker: Alexa Alice Joubin (Professor of English, George Washington University) Talk: East Asian Cinema’s Occidental Eye: Fair Ophelia and Sweet Hamlet Date/Time: 22 October 2018 (Monday), 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Venue: Washington 317 Abstract: East Asian cinema has given us fresh interpretations and visually stunning renditions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Korean and Chinese Ophelias are no longer silent; they gain agency by being seen and heard through… Read More
Talk: Post-socialism in Hong Kong: Zone Urbanism, Urban Horror, and Post-1997 Hong Kong Cinema Speaker: Professor Erin Huang (Princeton University) Date/Time: 28 November 2018 (Wednesday), at 5:00-6:20 p.m. Venue: Washington Hall 219 The film, directed by the Hong Kong director Fruit Chan (陈果), is called The Midnight After (那夜凌晨，我坐上了旺角開往大埔的紅VAN) (2014). Trailer (2 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoooAUiQqy0 Abstract: This talk examines the condition of Chinese “(post-)socialism” in Hong Kong—a city without… Read More
Aventures in Beijing (by Brian Donahue) I remember first looking out the airplane window as my flight began its descent into Beijing Capital International Airport. A smile was plastered on my face as I realized that, after six years of studying Chinese, I was finally in China. Despite the jubilation, anxiety took over as I… Read More
By Annecy Daggett When I found out I had been accepted into the William and Mary Summer in Beijing study abroad program, I was filled with pure excitement, but as the program neared, I developed many reservations about studying abroad. In the weeks leading up to my departure, I worried I wasn’t ready to live… Read More
Kaoru Suzuki was born and reared in Akita Prefecture, Japan. She sought a bachelor’s degree from Akita University and finished her master’s degree at Akita International University (AIU), where Ms. Suzuki studied Japanese Language Education. Akita International University is in Akita prefecture and is a proud partner institution with The College of William & Mary… Read More
Hayley Snowden, Class of 2019 Had I been able to draw an ideal picture of what my study abroad at Keio University would look like, it would have matched reality exactly. My classes in Japanese cultural studies and Asian business offered me the vastly unique opportunity to hear a wide variety of perspectives from both… Read More
By Reid Nagurka This summer I participated in William and Mary’s study abroad program in Russia. The College organized language class with Russian faculty, a history course taught by a William and Mary professor and multiple cultural and historical excursions per week. We spent five weeks in St. Petersburg and one week in Moscow and… Read More
This summer, I spent six weeks studying in St. Petersburg, Russia. I stayed with a host family, took daily classes in language and literature at St. Petersburg State University, and spent afternoons exploring the city’s many museums, parks, and cafes. The trip was an enriching cultural experience that both challenged and delighted me as I… Read More
By Kathrynn Weilacher and Katherine Olivette (the Кати) Last summer we had the incredible opportunity to participate in the College of William & Mary’s St. Petersburg Study Abroad Program in St. Petersburg, Russia. We attended classes at St. Petersburg State University and Moscow State University that covered Russian language, literature, and history. We went on… Read More
By Arika Thames (Theatre and Gender, Sexuality, & Women’s Studies double major ‘19) This summer I had the pleasure of living and working in Italy for six weeks. After studying Italian for two years I was determined to spend my summer in the country in some capacity. Instead of studying abroad, I searched for… Read More
Lena Böse, our German House Tutor, has organized a series of events around the German Fairy Tale tradition. I asked her a few questions on how she came to be so interested in this topic: Lena, what is your connection to fairy tales? When do you sit down with a book of fairy tales? Do… Read More
By Chiara Di Maio Is there a better way to celebrate World Pasta Day on October 25th than making pasta from scratch just like our grandparents used to? We invited Chef Eric Christenson, owner of LOKAL, a nearby restaurant, to the Italian house to teach us how to make different types of pasta. Eric is… Read More
The Monroe research grants allow students to explore anything that interests them. For many, it is a way to start answering a question that came to them in class. For nearly all who undertake a project, we end the summer with more questions than we started with. Last week, we all came together to discuss… Read More
The 100 Years of Women weekend gave students and alumni the opportunity to reflect on the role of women in the history of this campus. From the first Dean of Women to the induction of our current female President, women’s voices have been an integral part of William & Mary. The Hispanic Studies Program at… Read More
The Virginia Governor’s Foreign Language Academies are summer language immersion programs sponsored by the Virginia Department of Education, allowing Virginia’s most talented language learners to further explore their interests in world languages and cultures outside of the typical classroom. The full immersion academies, hosted at Washington & Lee University, provide students with the opportunity to… Read More
Introducing our 2018-2019 Language House Tutors: Traveling from all corners of the world, our tutors arrived at W&M on August 17th. The Language House Advisors prepared a welcome brunch for everybody to get to know each other! Our tutors clockwise from the left: Lena Böse (returning), Li Zhao (returning), Juan Hidalgo, Zoia Maslennikova (returning), Chiara… Read More
Michael Leruth has been recognized for his outstanding dedication to his students and the university with the prestigious Plumeri award. This prize shows the great appreciation and support for his work from both his colleagues and the student body. Michael Leruth holds a Ph.D. in French from Penn State University (1995) and teaches courses and conducts research on… Read More