PKU School of Foreign Languages establishes four new research departments
May 11, 2022
Peking University, May 11, 2022: On April 19th, four new research departments were formally established in PKU’s School of Foreign Languages, namely the research department for Portuguese, the research department for Italian, the research department for Bengalese, and the research department for African Language and Culture.
PKU established its Portuguese major in 2007, making it the first comprehensive university in the country to do so. In 2020, PKU’s Portuguese major was approved as one of the majors under the National First-class Undergraduate Professional Construction Site s. The establishment of the research department for Portuguese is conducive to the development of educational reform and practice, as well as talent training. With the establishment of the research department, PKU's Portuguese major will expand its research directions to new fields such as Comparative Literature, Cross-Cultural Communication, National and Regional Studies, and Translatology, while maintaining its competitive advantage in Foreign Literature and Literary Translation. In addition, through cooperation and exchanges with foreign countries, it also hopes to exhibit Chinese characteristics and let China's stories reach out to more people across the world.
PKU’s Italian major was established in March 2021. Undergraduates were recruited that year and a series of Italian courses were being offered to them in cooperation with the Language Center. The establishment of the new research department for Italian would aid in the cultivation of talented Italian major students and facilitate international cooperation with top universities in Italy and around the world, opening up new channels for academic cooperation between teachers and students as well as cultivating future generations of students into scholars possessing encyclopedic knowledge of the Italian culture.
PKU School of Foreign Languages began to provide Bengalese language courses to undergraduates and postgraduates in 2004 and has been the only institution offering these courses at a postgraduate level in the country. The establishment of the Department of Bengalese will mark a new step forward in the nation’s cultivation of Bengalese language professionals.
PKU’s African Language and Culture discipline was established in 2009 and has seen a considerable number of masters and doctoral students graduate from PKU over the years. The establishment of the new research department of African Language and Culture will fill in the gaps in the study and research of African languages, literature and culture. Its focus will be on the developing academic platforms and research teams to improve PKU’s master's and doctoral degree programs, as well as to strengthen the university’s overall teaching and research strengths.
China regards with high importance the fostering of high-level multidisciplinary language talents, as these talents are vital to national development, the Belt and Road Initiative and cultural exchanges between the East and West. In the future, PKU School of Foreign Languages will continue to explore the language civilizations of Asia, Africa and European, facilitating exchanges and the mutual learning of world civilizations.
Written by: Chen Chuyun
Edited by: June Tan Rui Min
Source: PKU School of Foreign Languages (Chinese)
