Department of Japanese Language and Literature

The Department of Japanese Language and Literature in the School of Foreign Languages and Literature evolved from the Japanese Major in Shandong University’s Department of Oriental Languages and Literature. The Department began to enroll undergraduates in 1971. In 1994 it jointly initiated an MA degree program with the School of Chinese Language and Literature of Shandong University. In 2000 the Department was authorized to initiate an MA degree program independently. The Department has three research orientations: Japanese Language, Japanese Literature and Japanese Culture.

From its very beginning the Department persistently has adhered to the principle of placing equal stress on teaching and research and has made remarkable achievements in developing the discipline, students’ education, and academic exchanges. Presently the Department has a highly experienced staff of 22; eight are professors with one being a doctoral supervisor, seven are associate professors and seven are lecturers. Five of these teachers have PhDs and seven are doctoral candidates. This young and outstanding staff guarantees that the Japanese Language and Literature area will continue its outstanding development.

The Departmental goal is to be innovative in developing the discipline and students’ education. In both cases this is done by laying out a solid foundations and cultivating our students to meet the demands of society for highly competent and interdisciplinary talents. The Department also has established a Japanese and South Korean Language double-degree program and a Law and Japanese double-degree program so as to satisfy the social demand for diverse talents. Currently the Department has an undergraduate population of 250 and a postgraduate population of over 30.

The Department’s staff presides over, or participates in, six state research programs. These include Studies on Chinese Literature Relations in East Asia，and ten ministerial or provincial research projects such as China’s Lost Books Extant in Japan-Studies on Buddhist Efficacious Fictions of the Tang and Song Dynasties and Studies on Christianity and Romanticism in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Literature. Six research projects have won ministerial or provincial awards and four have received financial aid from the Japanese Academic Promotion Society and various Japanese financial groups. The Department has turned out over 30 monographs, textbooks, and translated works and has published more than 100 academic papers. It has also hosted a number of large-scale international academic seminars jointly with the Center For Japanese Studies and with the university’s Research Institute of East Asian Culture. Conference themes have included the Information Age and Japanese Studies and the National Japanese Language Teaching Forum. Such topics bring the Department national and international fame.

The Department attaches great importance to academic exchanges and has established exchange relationships with such Japanese universities as the University of Tokyo, Waseda University, Kobe University, Yamaguchi University, Wakayama University, and Daito Bunka University. Many Department teachers have been visiting scholars or visiting professors in Japanese universities and research institutions. These programs are financially supported by the China Scholarship Council, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Scholarships, and the Japanese International Exchange Fund. Many excellent students are also sent to study in Japan during their undergraduate terms and can take part in such short-term programs as the Kobe University Summer Camp and the Aichi University Students’ Social Practice Program. All of these enrich students’ overseas experience, help broaden their horizon and enhance their language studies. ?

Department graduates have been well received by society. Some excellent graduates now hold important positions in China’s Foreign Ministry, China’s Embassy and Consulates in Japan, and in the foreign affairs departments of Ministries and provincial governments. Many graduates have become backbones in Japanese teaching and research. Some graduates?have become associate professors and professors in prestigious Japanese universities and are playing key roles in teaching and research.

Address: Department of Japanese Language and Literature, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Shandong University
P.C.: 250100
Tel: 0531-88378277