Introduction to the Department of English Literature and Comparative Literature
Our Mission
The Department of English Literature & Comparative Literature cultivates elite professionals grounded in the humanities and adept in cross-cultural engagement. It fuses English language, literature, and comparative studies, fostering linguistic proficiency, cultural insight, and critical thinking. Through interdisciplinary courses, students acquire cross-cultural skills that enable dialogue and innovation in the context of globalization.
Our dynamic curriculum, taught by distinguished scholars, explores the nexus of literature and society, nurturing creativity and problem-solving. We collaborate with students, fostering an academic community that emphasizes cross-cultural competence and global perspectives.
Here, students can develop into versatile professionals, ready to excel in English studies locally and globally, contributing to the field with their linguistic mastery, cultural awareness, and innovative thinking.
Specialization Courses
● Survey of English Literature
● History of British Literature
● History of American Literature
● Introduction to English Literature
● English Poetry
● English Drama
● English Short Fiction
● Greco-Roman Mythology
● Appreciation of Masterpieces in Western Culture
● Heritage of Western Intellectual Tradition
● The English Idea of China
● Humanitarian China in the Globalized World
● Drama Workshop
● Drama Translation
● Shakespearean Drama
● Anglo-Irish Drama and Criticism
● An Introduction to Western Literary Theories and Critical Practices
● An Introduction to 21st Century Western Critical Theories
● Topics in Comparative Literature Studies
● Special Topics in Literary Studies
● 20th Century British Literature
● Narratological Reading of English Short Fiction
● American Culture and Novels of Initiation
● Selected Readings in Modern English Prose
List of National/Provincial Courses:
● The Virtual Theatre (2023 National First-Class Virtual Simulation Course)
● British and American Literature (2024 Provincial First-Class Online and Offline Blended Course)
● Greco-Roman Mythology (2024 Provincial First-Class Offline Course)
● Humanitarian China in the Global Era (2023 Provincial First-Class Online Course)
● British and American Literature (2022 Provincial First-Class Online Course)
● British and American Literature (2021 Provincial Online Open Course)
● British and American Literature (2020 Provincial First-Class Offline Course)
● British and American Literature (2021 Provincial Model Group for Ideological and Political Education)
List of Published Textbooks
Huang Jiaxiu, Liu Yan, Zhou Jingqiong, et al. American Literature: Understanding and Appreciation. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press, 2007.
Huang Jiaxiu, Du Yinyin, Fu Jingjing. British and American Poetry: A Guide to Its Understanding and Appreciation. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press, 2009.
Jin Lili. Readings from 20th Century British and American Drama. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press, 2012.
Liu Yan. New Perspectives on English Literature and Culture Series. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press, 2014.
Liu Yan, Hong Wenhui. A Handbook of Drama: Text and Performance. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2019.
Ma Jianjun. Selected Readings of English Short Fiction. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press, 2007.
Ma Jianjun. Selected Readings of Classic English Literature. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press, 2007.
Ma Jianjun, Liu Humin, Wang Qiong. A Coursebook on Greek and Roman Mythology. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2017.
Wang Hong. Readings in 20th Century British Literature. Wuhan: Wuhan University Press, 2006.
Wang Hong. English Literature: Reading and Appreciation (Second Edition). Guangzhou: South China University of Technology Press, 2007.
Zhou Jingqiong. Black Humor in American Fiction. Guangzhou: South China University of Technology Press, 2006.
Zhou Jingqiong, Han Hong. A Reader in American Fiction. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2012.
Zhou Jingqiong. A Reader in American Humor. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2012.
Zhou Jingqiong. 19th Century American Humor and Mark Twain. Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 2015.
About Us
The English Literature & Comparative Literature Department, formerly known as the British & American Literature Department, has flourished since its 2005 restructuring, inspired by retired luminaries like Ma Jianjun, Wang Hong, and Liu Yan. In 2022, Prof. Nie Zhenzhao, a renowned international scholar, joined to helm the Future Humanities Lab, fostering the fusion of humanities and technology.
Our department boasts nine professors, seven associate professors, and four lecturers, all with overseas experience and mostly holding PhDs. They excel in research and teaching, publishing widely, and leading national/provincial projects. The team has garnered provincial teaching accolades, showcasing its strength.
Academic Staff
Name |
title |
Research Interest |
Zhou Jingqiong |
Professor |
American Culture, American Literature, American Novels, American Humor |
Zhang Xin |
Professor |
English Literature, Drama Studies, Literary Narratology, Ethical Literary Criticism, and English Education |
Liu Humin |
Professor |
Modern and Contemporary British and American Novels, Trauma Literature, War Literature, and Greco-Roman Mythology |
Li Yuan |
Professor |
Modern and Contemporary British and Irish Theatre and Performance Studies, Cultural Translation Studies |
Yang Jing |
Professor |
Cross-cultural Studies, Hollywood Film Industry, English Literature |
Qiu Xiaoqing |
Professor |
Narratology, Rewriting of Modern and Contemporary Fairy Tales, Ecocriticism |
Zheng Jie |
Professor |
Modern and Contemporary Theatre, Ethical Literary Criticism, Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, and English Education |
Wang Dongqing |
Professor |
Comparative Literature between China and the UK, and Interdisciplinary Literary Studies |
Sang Cuilin |
Professor |
American Imagist Poetry, Contemporary English Intermedia Poetry Art, Contemporary Ecocritical Philosophy |
Du Yinyin |
Professor |
Second Language Writing, English Literature |
Guan Jianming |
Associate Professor |
English Literature, Diaspora Writers Studies, Western Literary Theories of the 20th and 21st Centuries |
Fu Jingjing |
Associate Professor |
English Literature, 20th-century Women's Poetry, English Education |
Cai Xiaoyan |
Associate Professor |
British Novels, Diaspora Writers Studies |
Jiang Zhuyu |
Associate Professor |
Comparative Studies of Chinese and Western Literature and Culture |
Zhang Wenxi |
Associate Professor |
Western Literary Theories, Frye Studies |
Zhang Lan |
Lecturer |
English Novels and Drama |
Du Jun |
Lecturer |
Irish Studies, Modern and Contemporary Western Literary Theories |
Research and Publications
Research Projects:
●Major Project of National Social Science Fund: Documentation and Research on the History of Sino-Foreign Drama Exchanges over the Past Century (2022)
●Chinese Academic Works Translation Project of the National Social Science Fund: The Future of Globalization (2024)
●Chinese Academic Works Translation Project of the National Social Science Fund: Shelley in China (1905-1966) (2024)
●National Social Science Fund Project: Research on Northrop Frye's Imagination of Community (2021)
●Sub-project of a Major Project of the National Social Science Fund: Documentation, Compilation, and Translation of Wordsworth's Critical Literature (2021)
●National Social Science Fund Project: Research on Traumatic Narratives and Ethical Reflections in British War Novels of the New Century (2019)
●National Social Science Fund Project: Research on the Construction of "Thing" Narrative Theory and Critical Practice (2018)
●Post-funding Project of the National Social Science Fund: Dimensions and Integration of Literary Interpretation (2020)
●Chinese Academic Works Translation Project of the National Social Science Fund: Introduction to Ethical Literary Criticism (2022)
●Chinese Academic Works Translation Project of the National Social Science Fund: Dialogue of Modernity: Chinese Imagination of English Literature (1750-1935) (2021)
●Chinese Academic Works Translation Project of the National Social Science Fund: Kafka and Chinese Culture (2018)
●Planning Fund Project of the Ministry of Education: The Intermedial Metamodernity in the Poetry of Jorie Graham (2022)
●Youth Fund Project of the Ministry of Education: Research on the "Material Ethics" in Brecht's Drama (2020)
●Discipline Co-construction Project of Guangdong Provincial Social Science Planning Office: A Study of Welsh Ecopoetics of Robert Minhinnick from the Perspective of Anthropocene Ecocriticism (2023)
●General Project of Guangdong Provincial Social Science Planning Office: Research on Ecological Narratives in American "Wilderness Literature" of the New Century (2022)
●General Project of Guangdong Provincial Social Science Planning Office: Writing of Chinese Landscapes in 19th-century British Literature (2021)
●General Project of Guangdong Provincial Social Science Planning Office: Research on Identity Politics in Contemporary Chinese American Films (2020)
●General Project of Guangdong Provincial Social Science Planning Office: Research on the Patterns, Discourses, and Functions of European Classic Fairy Tales (2020)
●Innovation Project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education: Research on the Immigration Narratives in Chinese American Films (2020)
●Youth Innovation Talent Project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education: Research on the Welsh Ecopoetics in Gillian Clarke’s Poetry (2020)
●Innovation Project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education: Research on Female Ethical Orientations from the Perspective of Chinese and Western Mythology (2019)
●Innovation Project of Guangdong Provincial Department of Education: Research on the Works of Contemporary Southern American Poet Natasha Trethewey (2019)
●Post-funding Project of Guangdong Provincial Social Science Planning Office: Research on Humor in 20th-century American Novels (2019)
●Discipline Co-construction Project of Guangdong Provincial Social Science Planning Office: Research on Shakespeare's Plays from the Perspective of Economic-Literary Criticism (2019)
Monographs
Jiang, Zhuyu. The Classic and Creativity: A Study in Chinese and Western Comparative Poetics in The Age of World Literature. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2023.
Li, Yuan. A History of Irish Theatre in the 20th Century. Beijing: The Commercial Press, 2019.
Li, Yuan. Trans. Franz Kafka and Chinese Culture. Zeng Yanbing. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022.
Liu, Yan. Gender. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2019.
Liu, Yan. Sexual Difference: The Philosophical Vision of Luce Irigaray. Beijing: Peking University Press, 2010.
Liu, Yan. A Study of Maternal Identity in Western Drama. Beijing: China Books Publishing House, 2004.
Wang, Dongqing. Trans. The Far East and the English Imagination, 1600-1730. Robert Markley. Beijing: SDX Bookstore, 2023.
Wang, Dongqing. Co-authoring Modernity: The English Idea of China,1700-1935. Beijing: The Commercial Press (forthcoming).
Zhang, Wenxi. The Canadian Literature Research of Northrop Frye. Guangzhou: Sun Yat-sen University Press, 2022.
Zhou, Jingqiong. Twentieth-Century American Urban Humor. Beijing: People's Publishing House, 2018.
Zhou, Jingqiong. The 19th Century American Humor and Mark Twain. Beijing: People's Publishing House, 2015.
Zhou, Jingqiong. Raymond Carver’s Short Fiction in the History of Black Humor. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 2006.
Pedagogical Research Projects
● The Ministry of Education's Industry-University-Research Collaboration Project for Education, “Enhancement of Ideological and Political Education Capabilities for Foreign Language Teachers” (2022)
● Guangdong Provincial Quality Education Project: “Research-based Teaching Reform of University English Literature Courses” (2018)
● Key Research Project of the Online Open Courses Committee of Guangdong Universities: “Reform of Online Open Courses to Strengthen Political Ideology in Humanities Courses: British and American Literature as an Example” (2022)
● Guangdong University of Foreign Studies' Ideological and Political Education Project for Postgraduate Courses, “Research on Foreign Literature Teaching under the Perspective of a Community of Common Destiny for All Mankind” (2020)
● Guangdong Provincial Postgraduate Education Innovation Project, “Research on the Effect of Enhancing Postgraduate Academic Competence Through Collaborative Teaching by Chinese and Foreign Supervisors” (2018)
Awards List:
● In 2007, the British and American Literature Teaching Group was awarded the title “the University Outstanding Teaching Group”.
● In 2009, the department received the title of “Outstanding Team” from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
● In 2011, the department received the "Excellent Teaching Team Award".
● In 2013, the department was recognized as an "Outstanding Team" by Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
● In 2013, the department was awarded the title of "Excellent Teaching Team Award".
● In 2014, the Guangdong Federation of Trade Unions granted the honorary title of " Outstanding Female Teachers of South Guangdong" to the department.
● From 2015 to 2019, the British and American Literature Teaching Team was consistently evaluated as a Provincial Teaching Team in Guangdong Province.
● In 2020, the teaching project titled "Learning through Performance: Practical Innovation of Drama Performance in British and American Literature Teaching" received the First Prize for Provincial Teaching Achievements.
● In 2021, the department achieved the status of a university-level "Three-Access" Virtual Teaching and Research Office.
● In 2022, the department was officially recognized as a university-level Outstanding Teaching and Research Office.
● In 2022, the British and American Literature Teaching Group was honored with the prestigious title of Provincial Model Group of Ideological and Political Education.
Student Activities
Our department emphasizes hands-on learning, promoting literary classics through “Drama Night,” a 27-year English drama competition showcasing 100+ classics & 10 originals. It's a nationally recognized campus highlight. In 2013, it debuted at Guangzhou Opera House. The 25th “Drama Night” in 2025, with a theme of “Becoming GDUFSer,” delved into our university’s history, writing and performing the original stories of the outstanding educators, Liang Zongdai, Rao Zhangfeng, Gui Shichun, and Li Xiaoju, as a special tribute to the 60th anniversary of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.
We offer drama courses, clubs, and workshops, fostering a “Theatre & Culture” vibe. Our drama club has staged five full-length plays. We have won a provincial teaching achievement award for our innovative, performance-driven pedagogy.
“Drama Night” winning the “Campus Cultural Construction Achievement Award”
“Drama Night” debuted at Guangzhou Opera House in 2013
The 25th Drama Night “Becoming GDUFSer”
Beyond the Blanks, an original play inspired by the great educator, Prof. Gui Shichun
Students were performing L__E, an original play
Students performing Folding Guangzhou, adapted from Folding Beijing
Sarah Jane Scaife, Professor at Trinity College Dublin and Artistic Director of Irish SJ Theatre Company, lecturing
Group photo with Whiti Hereaka, a renowned New Zealand author
Teachers giving feedback on the Drama Night rehearsal
Jiang Diwu, a drama performance expert of Guangzhou Theatre, instructing
Online Teaching for Drama Courses
Students of the English Drama Club were performing Grease
Graduation and Employment
Graduates from English Literature and Comparative Literature Studies boast robust English skills, broad humanities knowledge, and cross-cultural competencies. 50% join tech, aviation, consulting, government, finance, and translation sections, 15% become educators, and another 35% pursue further studies at prestigious institutions like Sun Yat-sen U, BFSU, SISU, HKU, CUHK, and international universities in the UK, the US, and Australia.
