Greenberg-Starr Department of Chinese Language and Literature

The Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs program on Global Economics, Development and Political Economy presents  “Globalization and its Discontents: Stories from the Factory Floors of China and Egypt” with Leslie Chang. 

Lauren Szymanski, Director Hopkins-Nanjing Center, will visit campus to speak with Middlebury students about graduate programs in Nanjing. This year also marks the Hopkins-Nanjing Center’s 40th anniversary, and starting in Fall 2026 they’re excited to launch new program options in English at the HNC for students without advanced Chinese. 

Lecture by Alumnus Lucas Klein

Classical Piano and Jazz: On Translating Vernacular and Classical Chinese Poetry

Jack Zhang, University of Kansas, is the founder and director of the Trade War Lab, a social science lab dedicated to dual mission of understanding

Please join the departments of Arabic, Chinese, Dance, German, Japanese Studies, Luso-Hispanic Studies, Philosophy, Russian, and Theatre for a reception celebrating graduates in these disciplines. 

The following departments invite grads and their guests to join them in the locations listed below.

Arabic | MAC 221 | 3:30-4:15 pm

Dance | MAC Dance Theatre (110) | 3:30-4:15 pm

Japanese Studies | MAC 232 | 3:30-4:15 pm

Russian | MAC 125 | 3:30-4:15 pm

Theatre | Seeler Studio Theatre | 3:30-4:15 pm

Chinese | MAC 232 | 4:45-5:30 pm

German | MAC 121 | 4:45-5:30 pm

Luso-Hispanic Studies | Seeler Studio Theatre | 4:45-5:30 pm

The speaker, Kangni Huang, received a PhD from Harvard University and is currently a member of the Society of Fellows in the Humanities at the University of Southern California.  Description of her talk:  Premodern Chinese literature features pervasive anonymous authorship, despite the tendency in the critical tradition to prioritize authorial identity. This historical tension still shapes, to a certain extent, our general uneasiness about anonymous authorship: what does it mean to encounter texts without definitive author(s)?

International Karaoke is back!

The evening will begin with performances from student groups representing each language department - so come cheer on your department and help them win!

After the competition, the stage opens to everyone to sing a non-English song during Open Mic.

Come celebrate language, culture, and community at Middlebury College!

Abstract: This presentation explores how Arab intellectuals during the Nahda—the so-called Arab cultural renaissance—engaged with Chinese culture, its anti-colonial struggle, constitutional revolution, and women’s rights. 

The Rohatyn Center on Global Affairs program on Global Economics, Development and Political Economy presents “The Little Things (0-3 Year Olds) that Can Have Big Impacts on China’s Human Capital and Economic Development” with Scott Rozelle.

“Between Tongues: The Art of Arabic-English Translation”

Between Tongues: The Art of Arabic–English Translation – a conversation with acclaimed translator maia tabet, whose career has helped shape the reception of modern Arabic literature in English. She has translated celebrated authors such as Elias Khoury and Sinan Antoon and her work reflects a lifelong engagement with language, politics, and literary form. In this talk, she reflects on the art and labor of translation—its challenges, its pleasures, and its power to mediate between cultures while resisting simplification. The event offers a rare opportunity to hear from one of the foremost voices in contemporary Arabic–English translation.