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History and Objecitives

●Funding History
•Department of Sinophone Literatures (Undergraduate program and Master programs) was renamed from Department of Chinese Literature (Undergraduate program , Graduate Institute: Master and Ph. D programs)  in 2010, National Dong Hwa University, Shoufeng Campus, Hualien.
• Undergraduate program was established in August of 2010.
• Master Program, Division of Creative Writing and Division of Literary and Cultural Studies, were established in August of 2010.
 
 
● Brief History
Nestled between the Coastal Mountain Range and the Central Mountain Range, National Dong Hwa University (NDHU), along with its cultural and humane profusion, is situated in a spectacularly beautiful natural environment. In 1996, four important and outstanding predecessors in field of literary studies, Wang, Jingxian (Yang, Mu), Cheng, Ching-Mao, Yen, Kun-yang and Wang, Wen-chin, co-founded the Department of Chinese Literature. By dint of our predecessors' great aspiration, they pioneered a whole new scale in field of Chinese literary studies: Department of Chinese Literature was an unique department combining theory with practice, classic with modern, and China with the West, by which it expected to cultivate fresh blood, in field of literary studies, whom having the keen observation to probe into the contemporary social and cultural tendencies, and being able to apply their knowledge to practical implementation. Due to the integration of NDHU with National Hualien University of Educations in 2008 and the corresponding re-organization of departments, starting from August of 2010, Department of Chinese Literature was re-organized and renamed Department of Sinophone Literature, through which the Department recruited ten teachers from Department of Chinese Literature, Department of Taiwanese Literature, Department of Indigenous Language and Communication and Graduate Institute of Folk Literature, and started enrolling students for undergraduate program and master program (Division of Creative Writing and Division of Literary and Cultural Studies) . Therefore, the Department, on the one hand, inherited the legacy of Literary studies from the former Department of Chinese Literature. On the other hand, the Department had been responding actively to the emerging issues of "Sinophone Literature" that was highly regarded by the contemporary international literary studies; accordingly Department of Sinophone Literature would be continuing to explore the new fields of literary studies.
 
【Education Objectives】
 1. Training students for acquiring broad vision in field of literary studies by reading through classic and modern, cross-strait and abroad literary and cultural texts mediated by Sinophone language.
2. Stressing on theory and methodology in context of contemporary cultural issues; accordingly carrying on the multidisciplinary integration of literature and culture.
3.Inaugurating Creative Writing and Cultural Industries Program aiming to emphasize the integration of theory and practice.
 
【What will you get when entering Department of Sinophone Literature?】
1. Along with the scholarly introduction to the World Literature, you are going to have mass reading and go through various ways of literary appreciation, and interpretations of the Sinophone literary pieces from the classical to the modern, and from the local to the global. Department of Sinophone will bring you into the cross-boundary approach to literary studies.
2. We will lead you to understand the classical Sinophone literary pieces and grasp their process of dissemination, with which they bring about the great influence on contemporary Sinophone Literature; accordingly, we will, together, establish a broader historiography of literature.
3. You will receive the academic training of the contemporary influential discourses elaborated from literary criticism, cultural studies, social science and even those from anthropology and ecology; hence Department of Sinophonse will stress on the multidisciplinary studies.
4. Literature and media, and social practice of literature will be included in our programs and courses.
5. You should acquire solid knowledge of literary and philosophical thought, be adept in using language and writing, cultivate professional abilities to do the creative writing and to present keen literary appreciation, and be able to inspire new ideas in cultural creativity.
6. The knowledge and the training that we provide to you and ask you to undergo will help you to develop international perspectives in the process of academic exchanges.
 
【What kind of courses will the Department provide in Undergraduate program?】
The Basic Course and the Core Course are the required courses, such as Introduction to Sinophone Literature, or History of Sinophone Literature...etc. These courses will provide the basic concept and knowledge of literary studies. The characteristics of these courses are as follow: 1. Stressing on mass reading of literary pieces with broader perspective on basic readings, the classic selected reading of World Literature, and the selected reading of Contemporary World Literature; accordingly enriching student's foundation to develop advanced studies. 2. Stressing on the courses of theoretical thinking and research method, such as Literary Appreciation, Introduction to Cultural Studies, or Thought on Literature and Art...etc.; accordingly helping student to develop the abilities to engage the broader possible studies. 3. The course of Practice and Presentation will provide opportunities to student to conduct their own works in practice, and to engage, in advance, the practical industries for possible future.
The Sinophone Literature Course will take a step further from the basis of Basic Course and Core Course. Sinophone Literature Course is a multiple series of literary texts studies courses that are more systematic and advanced according to the classification of historical periods, genres, themes and particular issues, such as Reportage, Digital Literature, Telescript and Screenplay, Script for Stage-Play, Nature Writing, Family Writing, Selected Reading of Sinophone Literature (the authors in the genres mentioned above are included people using Sinophone language to write from Taiwan, Europe, US, HK, Macau, Malaysia and Mainland China) These particular courses are relatively rare to see in other Departments of Chinese Literature. Beside carefully reading literary pieces, we also have courses of Critical Introduction to Sinophone Literature and Critical Introduction to Western Literature in order to reinforce the theoretical and the methodological training for critical thinking and analysis to literary texts.
The Department inaugurates course of Practice and Presentation, which is an initial act among other literary departments in Taiwan. Furthermore, Cultural and Creative Industries Program is a cross-colleges/cross-departments/cross-institutes project integrating courses related to media-editing, creative practice and curatorial project, film and television production, digital archive...etc. The Program provides opportunities for students to put their knowledge and creativities into practices in the publishers, performance groups, and cultural and creative industries. Moreover, in accordance with the concern of multidisciplinary studies, the Program, on the one hand, sets up the courses related to a series of important contemporary cultural issues, such as Theory and Practice of Fieldwork Studies, Popular Culture and Popular Literature, Gender Identity, Image, Internet and Literary Dissemination...etc. On the other, the Program also sets up the courses related to research method and theory, such as Research Method on Social Science. Consequently, the traditional knowledge of Chinese philosophy and thought, classical poetry, lyrics, and novels will have brand new ways of interpretations and bring about different viewpoints to probe into the content. In sum, the directions for these courses and programs will maintain their dynamic characteristics and keep on setting up different courses responding to the new trends of cultural studies in the world. According to this Program, the Department has been transformed from the ordinary literary departments (relatively remain still and are lack of positivity) into the rather active one that advances with times and corresponds to the social situations and industrial tendencies.
In the past, the creative works by the students from NDHU were highly regarded. Integrated with the teachers being able to do creative writing from Department of English and Department of Chinese Literature, Department of Sinophone Literature has inaugurated the Creative Division of Master Program, sets up courses of creative writing related to poetry, novel, drama, prose, digital literature, reportage...etc., and annually invites resident writers. The Department will carry forward NDHU heritage of creative writing.
In accordance with the directions of these courses and programs, the vision of Department of Sinophone is: on the one hand, the Department emphasizes on the traditional Chinese Literature as well as the very basis. On the other hand, the Department will further focus on the modern and the contemporary Taiwanese Literature, actively think through and probe into the Sinophone Literature in order to participate the transformation of World Literature, and cultivate talented young researchers in field of literary studies, whom are both able to acquire rich cultural heritage and grasp the worldview. Hence, considering Literature as the core and going across the interrelated cultural fields, the Department, on the one hand, expects to cultivate the intellectuals acquiring broader perspective and being able to keenly observe and respond to the inner truth behind the ever-changing world and circumstance. On the other hand, starting from the creative writing and integrating with various practices of cultural and creative industries, the Department aims to bring up more researchers, creators, artists and producers in field of cultural and literary re-production and re-creation as well as to bring about the dynamic force enhancing the vitality of contemporary literature and culture.    
 
【Graduated from the Department of Sinophone Literature...】
After the professional training by the Department, students are ready to develop the advanced studies in various fields, such as Chinese Literature, Taiwanese Literature, Social Research and Cultural Studies, Art Theory and Artistic Creation, Theatre Theory and Theatrical Creation...etc. Additionally, the Department enrolls graduate students for Master Program (Division of Literary and Cultural Studies and Division of Creative Writing).  
Accordingly, as well as those from Department of Chinese Literature, Department of English, Department of Taiwanese Literature, Department of Communication or Department of Language Education, the students graduated from the Department are perfect candidates to work in fields related to language and literature, such as education, academic research, government officials, publication industries, media industries, creative and artistic industries in design, theatre, fine art etc., in which they could contribute their professional knowledge and abilities to social/cultural re-creation. Moreover, according to our emphasis on practical aspects, the students would also be capable to join to the jobs dedicating to the regional literature and cultural practice; for example, the methodological training of fieldwork, ethnography and oral history can help our students to engage the commissions of (re-)establishing community and tribe history, composing personal biography, or collecting other cultural archives. The Department is not only a place that sets up the basic training and the path for students to develop advanced studies, but also encourage them to engage our society. Accordingly, Department of Sinophone Literature expects itself (including our teachers and students) to be a department acquiring profound sense of humanity and local awareness, and holding confidence in international participation.