(This Website News) To deepen understanding of the national strategic orientation outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan (FYP) regarding strengthening international communication and expanding educational openness, and to explore new pathways for the development of foreign language disciplines while advancing area studies, our college successfully held an academic lecture in the Area Studies Series on the afternoon of November 18 in Room C402 of the College Building. The lecture featured Professor LIU Chengsheng as the keynote speaker, who delivered a thematic report titled “The Shift of Language Services towards Area Studies.” Organized by the Pakistan Study Centre, attendees included XIAO Guifang, Party Secretary of the College; XIE Qiu’en, Vice Dean (Acting Dean); HE Shiting, Deputy Party Secretary; LI Huoxiu, Vice Dean; CHENG Yuan, Director of the Pakistan Study Centre; LIU Shaochen, Assistant Dean; and representatives of faculty and students from the college.
Professor LIU Chengsheng emphasized that in response to profound shifts in the global communication landscape, foreign language disciplines must proactively align with national strategies, transitioning from traditional language teaching to area studies to enhance international discourse power. He stressed that language services should move beyond conventional translation and pedagogy, actively expanding into strategic domains such as economic cooperation and mutual learning among civilizations. Additionally, he proposed integrating language services with modern technologies like cloud computing to build a new talent cultivation system, noting that reforms in foreign language programs at domestic universities offer valuable insights for our institution’s disciplinary development. Professor LIU expressed confidence in interdisciplinary growth with the phrase, “Our university is large enough, and area studies broad enough,” and cited Sino-Pakistani cultural exchanges to illustrate the unique value of language disciplines in promoting civilizational dialogue and sustainable development.
This lecture provided crucial insights for faculty and students to grasp the forefront of language discipline development and national strategic needs, clarifying the direction for transforming language services and advancing area studies at our college. Moving forward, the college will continue leveraging existing platforms to drive disciplinary depth-building and interdisciplinary integration, contributing to the cultivation of high-caliber talents with global perspectives and patriotic commitment. (By JIANG Yan Photos by WANG Wenjing Edited by ZHOU Linyu)
