Faculty and Staff
Andy Rodekohr
Department Chair/Associate Professor
Carswell Hall 015B
336.758.7192
rodekoaj@wfu.edu
B.A. University of Georgia, 1999 (Comparative Literature)
M.A. Columbia University, 2004 (Modern Chinese Literature)
Ph.D. Harvard University, 2012 (Modern Chinese Literature)
Andy joined the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures in 2012. His research focuses primarily on Chinese-language literature, film, and other popular media. His current book project, tentatively titled Crowd Spectacular: Conjuring the Masses in Modern China, foregrounds the imagination, representation, and circulation of crowd images in China as a mode of cultural production pivotal to the ideological construction of the political masses. Andy’s other research interests include the development of cinematic new waves in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and China, the musical, cultural and technological legacies of the pop singer Teresa Teng, and the globalization of Chinese martial arts through narrative.
Yaohua Shi
Associate Professor
Carswell Hall 027G
336.758.3994
shiy@wfu.edu
B.A. Shanghai Foreign Languages Institute
M.A. Clark University
Ph.D. Indiana University
Yaohua joined Wake Forest in 2002. He received his doctorate in Comparative Literature from Indiana University. His research interests include early twentieth-century Chinese modernism, pre-modern Chinese vernacular fiction, and East–West cultural relations. He has published in Chinese vernacular literature, film, and architecture. He is co-editor of The Silk Roads: From Local Realities to Global Narratives and co-translator of Yang Jiang’s novel Baptism. He also co-authored the Chinese language textbook series Integrated Chinese, currently in its fourth edition. He has taught all levels of Chinese language and courses in Chinese literature, film, and East Asian cultures. He also serves on the advisory board of the Lam Museum of Anthropology.
Qiaona Yu
Associate Professor of Chinese
*ON LEAVE 2023-24*
Carswell Hall 027E
336.758.4817
yuq@wfu.edu
B.A. Beijing Foreign Studies University (Teaching Chinese as a Second Language)
M.A. Peking University (Chinese Linguistics and Philology; specialization in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language)
Ph.D. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (Chinese Linguistics and Pedagogy)
Qiaona joined Wake Forest in 2016. She has previously taught courses at all levels of Mandarin language and Business Chinese in the States and China. Her research specializes in the intersection between Chinese linguistics and second language acquisition and currently focuses on defining, assessing, and developing Chinese syntactic complexity. She is particularly interested in task-based language education, language for specific purposes, and cognitive linguistics.
Ziyi Geng
Assistant Teaching Professor
Carswell Hall 027C
336.758.4865
gengz@wfu.edu
B.A. Beijing Language and Culture University, 2010 (English)
M.A. Beijing Language and Culture University, 2013 (Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages)
Ph.D. Georgia State University, 2018 (Applied Linguistics)
Ziyi Geng joined the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Wake Forest University in 2022. She obtained her M.A. in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages at Beijing Language and Culture University and her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics at Georgia State University. Her research interests include Chinese language pedagogy, instructional technology, community-based language learning, and language teacher education. She has taught all levels of Chinese language courses and holds a special interest in developing technology-enhanced and authentic communicative tasks in class and in the target language communities. She also enjoys organizing cultural activities and events to immerse students in the diverse culture of Chinese-speaking countries and regions. Besides teaching, Ziyi has served as a program consultant and trainer for local and global Chinese language programs and the STARTALK Chinese teacher training program.
Shu-Yu Huang
Visiting Assistant Professor
Carswell Hall 027E
336.758.4817
huangs@wfu.edu
M.A. Austin Peay State University (Reading Education)
B.A. National Taiwan Normal University (Chinese Language and Literature)
Shu-Yu joined the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Wake Forest University in 2023. She is expected to receive a Ph.D. in Chinese Language and Linguistics at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in December 2023. Her research interests include language use and multimodality in Chinese social interaction, identity in intercultural interaction, and Chinese language pedagogy. She has taught various levels of Chinese language and linguistic courses and is especially keen to develop learners’ interactional competence through authentic communicative tasks.
Mari Ishida
Assistant Professor of Japanese
*On Leave Spring 2024*
Carswell Hall 027D
336.758.5665
ishidam@wfu.edu
LL.B. Keio University (Political Science)
M.A. San Francisco State University (Humanities)
Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles (Asian Languages and Cultures)
Mari Ishida joined the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Wake Forest University in 2019. She received Ph.D. in Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of California, Los Angeles, with a concentration in Modern Japanese literature and cultural studies, and taught Japanese literature, film, culture, and translation as an assistant adjunct professor at UCLA. Prior to her appointment at Wake Forest, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University. Mari’s research and teaching interests include Japanophone/Japanese literature, film, popular culture, gender and sexuality, postcolonial and decolonial studies and theories. Mari is currently working on the academic monograph, which examines the function of literature in the discursive production of multiethnic ideologies in the Japanese Empire from the 1920s to the 1940s.
Yasuko Rallings
Professor of the Practice
Carswell Hall 027B
336.758.1999
takatay@wfu.edu
B.A. Seinan Gakuin University (English)
M.A. Ohio University Athens (Applied Linguistics)
Yasuko came to Wake Forest in 1998 and has taught Japanese language courses at all levels. Her areas of interest are second language acquisition, language pedagogy, and curriculum development. Yasuko enjoys teaching and keeps current in the field through active involvement in a number of professional organizations. She received the 2020 Higher Education Teacher of the Year from the Foreign Language Association of North Carolina. She is also a recipient of the 2018 WFU CAT Innovative Teaching Award. Yasuko has taken leadership roles at state, regional, and national levels, and is currently serving on the board of directors of the American Association of Teachers of Japanese.
Kanako Yao
Assistant Teaching Professor of Japanese
Carswell Hall 017
336.758.4817
yaok@wfu.edu
Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 2017 (Japanese Linguistics and Pedagogy)
Kanako received her PhD in East Asian Languages and Literatures from the Ohio State University, where she developed expertise in Japanese linguistics and language pedagogy. She has been also involved in training future foreign language teachers in the Alliance for Language Learning and Educational Exchange (ALLEX). She serves as the Director of Japanese Teacher Training and the Japanese Language Program.
Kanako’s scholarship has grown alongside of her enjoyment of teaching. Her research interest lies at interactional sociolinguistics, pragmatics, intercultural competence, second language acquisition, and language pedagogy. She takes special interest in examining cultural convention in conflict strategies in a Japanese enterprise setting. Kanako is a certified ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview Tester of Japanese and ACTFL Written Proficiency Tester of Japanese.
Chiwen Hou
Chinese Language Teaching Intern
Carswell Hall 015A
houc22@wfu.edu
Chieh-Yu Liu
Chinese Language Teaching Intern
Carswell Hall 015A
liuc22@wfu.edu
Chika Ogura
Japanese Language Teaching Intern
Carswell Hall 006A
ogurc22@wfu.edu
Mana Omori
Japanese Language Teaching Intern
Carswell Hall 006
omorim@wfu.edu
Jennifer Taylor
Academic Coordinator
Carswell Hall 022
336.758.4817
tayloje@wfu.edu
B.A. Wake Forest University
Jennifer is a proud WFU Deacon, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Education
in 1989! She joined the Office of EALC in 2022, bringing with her 18 years of
experience in administrative support. Jennifer’s role includes assisting the Director in managing the day-to-day operations of the EALC Office, budget reporting, scheduling courses, and coordinating and implementing various programs. Prior to joining EALC, Jennifer taught school for twelve years and managed a veterinary hospital for eighteen years. She loves to hike, travel, and spend time with her husband, her two children currently in college, and her many pets. Please stop by Jennifer’s office in Carswell 022, to chat, grab some chocolate, or pet her office dog!
Jo Lowe
Instructional Technologist
Carswell Hall 007
336.758.4846
fenneljl@wfu.edu
B.A. Winston-Salem State University M.A. Full Sail University
Jo Lowe is the Instructional Technologist for the Department of Communication, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Debate. She has supported educational technologies for WFU academic departments for over 20 years. Jo has received several certifications, training certificates, accreditations, and degrees in technology from Microsoft, Adobe and a master’s degree in Educational Media and Design. Jo works with video graphics, music, lighting, programming,VR/AR and exploring new technologies. Jo relaxes by watching Sci Fi and Marvel movies, crafting, gaming, playing/listening to music or just hanging out with her pets!