The
University of Wisconsin-Madison offers both M.A. and Ph.D.
programs in Chinese literature. Professors
Nicole Huang,
and
William H. Nienhauser,
Jr.,
mentor
students in most eras and genres of traditional and
modern literature. Training is especially strong in
close reading of texts, cultural studies, visual culture
studies, philology, translation, and the application of
modern Western theory. Nicole Huang specializes in
twentieth-century Chinese literature, film, and popular
culture. William Nienhauser emphasizes careful
philological readings of early narrative and poetry in
the context of relevant modern Western theory. Wang Ping
focuses in early and medieval Chinese literature,
especially Six Dynasties poetry. The faculty value close
interaction with graduate students in research projects
(Translation of Classical Literature
Projects),
through a Sinological Circle held in faculty homes in
which faculty or graduate students present papers for
discussion, followed by refreshments, and in regular
informal discussions.
The
program has also sponsored the journal
Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles,
Reviews (CLEAR) since
its inception in 1989.
The
nearly fifty Ph.D.s who have graduated from our literature
program since its inception in the early 1960s have been
provided the kind of solid background in texts and theories
that have allowed them to find positions at Columbia,
Dartmouth, Harvard, Ohio State, Princeton, Wisconsin, Yale,
and many other noted institutions in the U.S. and abroad.
Our
literature program encourages students to study with
well-known experts in programs such as art history, Asian
American studies, communication arts, English literature,
history, political science, and women’s
studies.
University
fellowships, project assistantships, and teaching
assistantships are offered to support graduate students. An
intensive mentor program supervised closely by our language
instructors prepares all graduates for teaching modern
Chinese.
