Current Students of the MA in Chinese Language and Culture Program
'I am a first-year graduate student in the Chinese Language and Culture MA program at GW. I am from Wuhan, Hubei, China. My research interests include Chinese language acquisition and pedagogy. I am also interested in the history of Chinese language learning and translation, especially how Chinese grammar, literature, and culture were interpreted and translated in nineteenth-century European Sinology. At GW, I work as a teaching assistant for first-year Chinese. I hope to explore the intersections of Chinese language teaching, translation, and cross- cultural knowledge production, while continuing to develop my interests in Chinese literature and the history of Sinology.'
Mingjie Li (李鸣洁 Lǐ Míngjié)
'I am a second year graduate student, with a focus on literature and translation. My current research projects explore the relation between zhiguai and magical realism in contemporary Chinese literature and Taiwan’s promotion of literature in translation as a form of cultural diplomacy. I received a BA in Foreign Languages, Chinese Concentration, with a minor in Linguistics from George Mason University in 2025. During my undergrad, I also spent a summer abroad at National Sun Yatsen University in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Outside of my studies, I enjoy watching dramas, creative writing, and taking long walks. I hope to help facilitate cultural exchange in my future career through various paths, including literary translation.'
Leah Hamaker
'I am currently a second-year masters student at George Washington University, and will be graduating with a Masters in Chinese Language and Culture in Spring 2027. Before attending GWU, I graduated from the University of Central Arkansas where I earned dual degrees in Linguistics and Chinese with a minor in Asian Studies. I first started my journey studying Chinese in 2021. I then studied abroad in Taiwan in 2023 and also took part in the Arkansas Chinese Heritage Project the same year. My Chinese Capstone project in 2024 focused on a linguistic analysis of Mandarin and Cantonese. At GWU, besides attending Chinese-language courses, I have also studied culture-related classes such as Sociolinguistics, gender and religion in China, as well as traditional Chinese theatre. I am doing the non-thesis option of the program, focusing on enhancing my Mandarin Chinese translation capabilities, also including Classical Chinese. I aspire to one day teach English to Chinese-speaking learners who want to develop a deeper understanding of the language, drawing on my background in linguistics to help them explore how English works beyond the rudimentary equivalence of their translated definitions.'
Eden Sharp (夏怿 / 夏懌)