A Brief Introduction

As one of the earliest departments, College of Foreign Languages and Literature (hereinafter CFLL), previously known as Department of Foreign Languages and Literature or DFLL, has a history as long as the University, and it celebrated its centennial in 2005.

History & the Present:

In 1949, DFLL started with two majors--English and German, soon followed by that of Russian, yet providing courses in general English, French, German, Russian and Japanese to other students. In the nation-wide discipline reshuffling in 1952, the German section was transferred to Nanjing University, while the English departments from nearly ten universities, including those of Shanghai's St. John's University and Hujiang University, and of Zhejiang University, were merged into Fudan, making DFLL the strongest in English at the time. 1956 saw the suspension of the Russian section and the entire department suffered serious damage during the 10-year Cultural Revolution (1966-1975), resulting in a 5-year suspension of student enrollment.

The 1970s saw a revival of the department as the country started a new round of diplomatic efforts. The Russian and German sections were restored, and Japanese, French and Spanish were added. Teaching staff was greatly improved, and over 700 students graduated during the decade. The department enjoyed another renaissance after 1978 when the nationwide college entrance examination system was reinstalled, which greatly ensured the quality of the students enrolled. The quality of education was also improved as many excellent professors came back to teach. Soon new institutions and sections were added, including the three research institutions (namely Institute of Modern English, Institute of Foreign Literature, and Institute of Shakespeare), and a section of the Korean Language and Literature. In 1985, the Department of College English was founded. The DFLL was also one of the four Chinese higher education institutions that began offering Ph. D. degrees in British and American literature in the 1980s.

The year 2003 marked a new stage in DFLL's development, when the Department was restructured as College of Foreign Languages and Literature in combination with the College English Department. In addition, CFLL was entitled to offer another Ph.D. degree in foreign and applied linguistics, and its post-doctoral program was started.

CFLL has been enjoying a wide range of academic relations with many teaching and research institutions throughout the world, including universities and colleges in Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Teaching & Research:

CFLL has a teaching staff of nearly 30 professors and over 60 associate professors. In addition, the college offers around 10 positions for teachers from foreign institutions as well as short-term visiting professors in language and literature. Over 90% of the domestic teaching staff has experience of studying or teaching or working overseas. Among the much renowned professors are the late Profs. Dong Wenqiao, who in 1980 won the Iron Cross from the German president, Quan Zengxia, Lin Tongji, Qi Shuhan, Wu Lifu, Xu Yanmou, Ge Chuangui, Yang Qishen, Yang Lie, Pan Shici, Yu Rixuan, Yu Nanqiu, Sun Dayu, Huang Youheng, as well as professors Yan Shanyou, Li Zhenlin, Yang Bi, Liu Dezhong, Cheng Yumin, and Lu Guoqiang. Most of their academic achievements fall within the study and teaching of foreign languages and literature.

As one of the nation's leading institutions, CFLL has been a main source of academic endeavors. Prof. Lu Gusun's The English-Chinese Dictionary has been the largest and most comprehensive dictionary of its kind in China since 1949. Since this originally 2-volume edition was published in 1991, the dictionary has won various major awards and has been enjoying great popularity. Another major dictionary project (a Chinese-English one) is currently under compilation. Achievements in textbook compilation demonstrate yet another strong point in CFLL's academic capacity, with the recent publications of English for Humanities, English for Science and Technology, English for Graduates, Comprehensive English, College English, as well as revised editions of the well-accepted traditional ones. Monographs and other academic publications on literature and languages have been numerous, and the translations of the world's classics, including Vanity Fair (translated by Yang Bi) and Faustus (translated by Dong Wenqiao), have been reprinted many times throughout the years.

Teachers & Students:

CFLL boasts of an outstanding teaching staff. The English Department won the title of "1993 Shanghai Municipal Model Unit" and Prof. Lu Gusun the year's Model Worker. Prof. Lu has also won numerous titles ranging from National Model Educator in 1994, National Advanced Worker in 2000 to the nation's Model Teacher of the Year in 2004. His dictionary won the first award for Outstanding Achievements in National Philosophy and Social Sciences in 1999. Among other members, Prof. Lu Guoqiang and his group won Municipal (first award) and National (second award) Achievement Award for Outstanding Teaching in 1993, while Profs. Zhu Yongsheng and Jiang Yinguo won the Municipal Award for Outstanding Teachers in 1997 and 1999 respectively.

Annually, CFLL enrolls around 100 undergraduates in 6 languages, 40 MA and 20 Ph.D. candidates. In 1997, the Students' Affairs Work Group won the title of Municipal Model Unit, and Class 2003 was awarded the title of Municipal Advanced Unit. In May 1998, two CFLL students represented the university in the Second National English Debate Competition and won the championship, and in 2004, another student won the first prize in the 21st-Century Cup National English Speech Contest. Every year, numerous students won various awards and scholarships, and achieve excellent results in TEM (Test for English Majors)-4, TEM-8, and other national language proficiency tests.