Skip to main content
Appalachian Today
News and events at Appalachian State University
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Podcasts
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • Accolades
  • Alumni
  • Arts and Humanities
  • Athletics
  • Awards and Honors
  • Community Engagement
  • Diversity
  • Events
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Gifts and Grants
  • Global
  • Health and Wellness
  • Publications
  • Research
  • Safety
  • Scholarships
  • Students
  • Sustainability
☰ Menu
  • Events
  • Webcams
  • Podcasts
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact

Learn a language, expand your worldview

Q&A with Dr. Wendy Xie

View larger image

Dr. Wendy Xie teaching Chinese to Appalachian State University students. Photo by Marie Freeman

By Linda Coutant
Posted May 7, 2019 at 1:43 p.m.

As a professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Dr. Wendy Xie said she finds that when students learn language skills, they also develop thinking processes that expand their worldview and enhance both their career potential and personal lives.

Xie grew up in a small mountain town in China and studied Chinese literary and cinematic studies at Yale University. She teaches courses in beginning- and intermediate-level Chinese language and Chinese cinema and literature, and also leads summer study abroad programs in China.

“When students come to my class in September, they can’t say a thing in Chinese. By the end of the academic year, they can get along in the language. … To watch and be a small part of my students’ progress and growth is a huge privilege.”

Dr. Wendy Xie, associate professor

What excites or inspires you about this degree field?

I used to call myself a literature person because I was trained in literary and cinematic studies. But now I mainly teach language courses and enjoy every single minute of it. I find the work itself rewarding. When students come to my class in September, they can’t say a thing in Chinese; by the end of the academic year, they can get along in the language. I find such palpable results to be much more elusive when I teach literature or cinema courses. To watch and be a small part of my students’ progress and growth across the year is a huge privilege, which I treasure.

Why did you choose to come to Appalachian to teach?

I grew up in a small mountain town in China, just like Boone. Quaint and beautiful. Even though I lived in big cities for my education, such as Beijing (China) and Berlin (Germany), I always felt more at home in smaller towns. When I came to Appalachian for my job interview, I fell in love with the town and the university right away. I have been at Appalachian for 10 years now, and my amazing colleagues and students make it a very exciting and fulfilling place to be!

What is your research specialty and how does it strengthen your teaching?

In addition to learning the intricacies of Chinese sounds and grammar, our language students are expected to understand the importance of Chinese culture. I am able to share my research with them by integrating it into the language classroom.

My current research interests include issues of emotion and intimacy in Chinese popular culture, especially in operatic and cinematic narratives. Recent publications include “Mother’s Suffering and the Politics of Tears in ‘Mama, Love Me One More Time’” and “What’s Chairman Mao Got to Do with It? Nostalgia, Intertextuality and Reconstructing Revolutionary Myth in Tsui Hark’s ‘The Taking of Tiger Mountain by Strategy.’”

I am also collaborating with Appalachian colleague Dr. Xiaofei Tu on a book project titled “J-Pop Goes to China: AKB48, SNH48 and Nationalism.”

What do you hope students take away from the classes you teach?

I love what world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma said about the value and importance of a different point view: “When we enlarge our view of the world, we deepen our understanding of our own lives.”

I strongly believe in a close relationship between language learning and thinking processes. I hope that the language skills and cultural literacy my students acquire in my classes not only equip them for a wide range of careers in local and global spheres, but also with critical analytical and interpretive abilities that enrich their lives and experiences beyond the classroom and the workplace.

Among your department’s offerings for the Bachelor of Arts in Languages, Literatures and Cultures is a concentration in East Asian languages and cultures. Why should a student interested in this topic choose Appalachian?

In our East Asian Studies major, students can study Chinese or Japanese language (or both) and explore the exciting literature, film, popular culture, religion and other forms of cultural expression associated with East Asia. We have a highly qualified and dedicated faculty team who strives to create an enthusiastic, accessible and dynamic learning environment. Our classes are small and our students are consistently awarded competitive Chinese and Japanese scholarships, such as the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship. We offer a variety of study abroad opportunities in Japan, China, Taiwan and South Korea — and, our graduates go on to successful careers in law, business, education, international relations and other fields in the United States and Asia.

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

‘The High Country Meets the Middle Kingdom’
‘The High Country Meets the Middle Kingdom’

Appalachian’s STARTALK Program immerses students in Chinese language, culture

May 7, 2019

Through the three-week program at Appalachian, 20 students from regional high schools will explore Chinese language and culture in and beyond a structured classroom setting.

Read the story
Appalachian awarded funding for second STARTALK Program — an immersion in Chinese language, culture
Appalachian awarded funding for second STARTALK Program — an immersion in Chinese language, culture
May 7, 2019

The three-week program — to take place July 8–26 on Appalachian’s campus — is open to rising ninth through 12th grade students in the High Country area with limited or no previous exposure to Chinese.

Read the story
Intertwining triple majors open the door to a doctorate for Appalachian graduating senior
Intertwining triple majors open the door to a doctorate for Appalachian graduating senior
May 6, 2019

A childhood passion for Pokémon led this graduating senior’s path toward Asian studies and comparative literature.

Read the story

About the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures

The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures offers courses that enhance students’ understanding of other cultures and languages as well as their own, making them prepared for lifelong learning in a multicultural world. Learn more at https://dllc.appstate.edu.

About the College of Arts and Sciences

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and unique location. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,400 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.

Share

Topics

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Diversity
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Global
  • Research

What do you think?

Share your feedback on this story.

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian

Share

Topics

  • Arts and Humanities
  • Diversity
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Global
  • Research

Other Recent Posts

  • Campus emergency siren test to be conducted <span style="white-space: nowrap;">April 5</span>
    Campus emergency siren test to be conducted April 5
  • Troy Johnson named vice chancellor of enrollment management at App State
    Troy Johnson named vice chancellor of enrollment management at App State
  • From waste to wear: App State alumna develops sustainable pigments for fashion, printing industries
    From waste to wear: App State alumna develops sustainable pigments for fashion, printing industries
  • <span style="color: #bc8801;">Appalachian Outdoorosity:</span> Dressing for the Cold (Part 2)
    Appalachian Outdoorosity: Dressing for the Cold (Part 2)
  • Appalachian Journal marks 50 years of spotlighting Appalachia
    Appalachian Journal marks 50 years of spotlighting Appalachia
  • Honoring women’s leadership and history at App State
    Honoring women’s leadership and history at App State
  • Lumbee tribal flag now hangs in App State’s student union, honoring the Lumbee people and their history
    Lumbee tribal flag now hangs in App State’s student union, honoring the Lumbee people and their history
  • Fact check: Mushrooms share more DNA with humans than plants [faculty featured]
    Fact check: Mushrooms share more DNA with humans than plants [faculty featured]
    USA Today
  • Since 1958, App State's Southern Appalachian plant collection has aided research, teaching and conservation
    Since 1958, App State's Southern Appalachian plant collection has aided research, teaching and conservation
  • <span style="color: #bc8801;">SoundAffect:</span> Daniel E. Dawes, JD on how to overcome deep-rooted challenges in the American health care system
    SoundAffect: Daniel E. Dawes, JD on how to overcome deep-rooted challenges in the American health care system
  • App State Office of Diversity brings monthly read-alouds to lab schools
    App State Office of Diversity brings monthly read-alouds to lab schools
  • 5 award-winning authors to visit App State for spring 2023 Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series
    5 award-winning authors to visit App State for spring 2023 Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting Writers Series

Archives

Appalachian Today is an online publication of Appalachian State University. This website consolidates university news, feature stories, events, photo galleries, videos and podcasts.

The migration of materials from other sites is still incomplete, so if you cannot find what you're looking for here, please refer to the following sources:

  • Additional feature stories may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Podcasts may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • Photo galleries and videos published prior to Jan. 1, 2015 may be found at Appalachian Magazine
  • A university-wide Google Calendar may be found at Events at Appalachian
  • Events
  • Videos
  • Galleries
  • In the Media
  • Grants
  • Speakers
  • All Posts
  • Topics
  • For the media
  • COVID updates
  • Contact

App State

Copyright 2023 Appalachian State University. All rights reserved.

University Communications
ASU Box 32153
Boone, NC 28608
828-262-6156
ucomm@appstate.edu

Abouts

Disclaimer | EO Policy | Accessibility | Website manager: montaldipa (beltmr) .. | Website Feedback

Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Snapchat