Department of Comparative Philology of Eastern and English Speaking Countries

The Head of Department is Professor Victoria Lipina, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Full Professor, the founder of the Department in 1993.

The Department staff includes: 1 – Professor; 3 – Associate Professors, 2 – Assistant Professors, 5 – Senior Lecturers, 6 – Instructors.

The Department enrolls students for majoring in Chinese or Japanese (B.A, M.A, and PhD study programs). The curriculum includes courses in Chinese/Japanese/English/Turkish, Chinese/Japanese Literature, Classical Chinese etc. The Department accepts students for graduate study leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

B.A. students may apply for one-year scholarships to study in China or Japan.

Dramatized fairy tale “The Emperor and the Nightingale”: Сhinese story with Turkish accent

The research mission of the Department is the exploration of transcultural (language and literature) phenomena that results in published monographs, articles, chapters in books in Ukraine and abroad: Beijing, New-York, Salamanca, Tübingen, Ankara. Among the latest publications: “The Transformation of American Orientalism: The Chinese Novels of Pearl S. Buck”, published by Professor Victoria Lipina in a book “New Pilgrimages” (Beijing: Tsinghua University Press, 2015).

The Department staff are the members of international research organizations (IAUPE, EACS).

Сalligraphy class

International student mobility for short- and long-term language study in China and Japan is not only an important aspect of Department concerns but also an invigorating stimulus for students’ professional training.

Students have an opportunity to enlarge their cultural competences participating in extracurricular activities as members of student club “Dialogue of cultures: East-West”. In 2014 our student Yana Oliyarnick, the participant of this club, became the prize winner in Japanese Translation Competition of T. Shevchencko’s poems.

We are proud of our outstanding alumni Anna Sedova and Nadezda Kirnosova who have successfully defended their doctoral theses at leading Chinese universities, Juriy Skulditsky, who works at the Ukrainian Embassy in Japan, and Cyril Yaroshik, employed by Japanese Embassy in Ukraine.

The students of Oriental Department obtain today one of the most prestigious and globally demanded profession.

For over 30 years, the Department of Comparative Philology: Far Eastern and Anglophone Studies has been a leader in global cultural studies and a cornerstone of classical philological education. As one of the Faculty’s largest units, the Department provides comprehensive instruction to more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students annually, while offering prestigious PhD programs in Comparative Philological East-West Studies.
Our curriculum is built upon three fundamental pillars: Chinese and Japanese linguistics and literary studies, Anglophone philology, and the complex interplay between Eastern and Western traditions. What sets our Department apart is its commitment to comparative research. Faculty and students employ cutting-edge approaches to analyze the intellectual and creative dialogue between different cultures. By bridging the gap between Oriental and Occidental philology, we prepare our graduates for successful international careers in diplomacy, translation, business communication, and academia.

The Department provides training for the first (Bachelor's) level of higher education in the following educational programs:
B11.065 Chinese and English Languages and Literatures
B11.069 Japanese and English Languages and Literatures
Key Undergraduate Courses:
Oriental Languages: Major Chinese, Major Japanese, Phonetics and Grammar, Classical Language of the East. Linguistics: Introduction to Oriental Philology, Lexicology, Theoretical Grammar, Stylistics, Introduction to Literary Studies, Classical and Modern Chinese/Japanese Literature, The Image of the East in Western Literature and Culture. Translation Studies: Theory and Practice of Translation, Specialized Translation (Scientific and Technical Information, Media, Business Correspondence).

The Department offers advanced training for the second (Master's) level of higher education in the following programs:
B11.065 Chinese and English Languages and Literatures
B11.069 Japanese and English Languages and Literatures
Key Graduate Courses:
Advanced Philology: Methodology of Scientific Research in Oriental Philology,
Translation & Analysis: Problems of Literary Text Analysis and Translation, Literary Contexts: History of Foreign Literary Criticism in the Context of East-West Dialogue, Literary Translation and the Literary Process in the East and West. Professional Training: Teaching Methodology for Literature and Foreign Languages, Interpretation and Abstracting.

The Department hosts a postgraduate program in B11 Philology, training Doctors of Philosophy (PhD) at the third educational-scientific level.

Research Focus and Key Projects The primary vector of the Department's scientific research is the development of contemporary issues in trans-civilizational literary comparative studies. This defines the main direction of the state-funded research project: "New Directions of Linguistic and Literary Research in Western and Far Eastern Countries".

Conferences
In 2025, the Department organized the All-Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Conference: "Problems of Oriental Philology and Methods of Teaching Oriental Languages: Current Issues of Theory and Practice". This event was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Department of Comparative Philology of Eastern and Anglophone Countries, the department that pioneered Oriental philology at our university.
International Publications and Cooperation
Faculty members actively publish monographs, articles, and book chapters in major international academic centers, including Beijing, New York, Salamanca, Tübingen, and Ankara.
Key Publications:
Prof. Victoria Lipina’s work, "The Transformation of American Orientalism: The Chinese Novels of Pearl S. Buck," was featured in the collective monograph New Pilgrimages (Beijing: Tsinghua University Press, 2015).
Translation Projects:
Assoc. Prof. Natalia Chernysh has collaborated for many years with Prof. Gu Yu (Nankai University, China), resulting in a three-volume anthology of Chinese poetry translations (2020). Work is currently ongoing on a Chinese translation of Lesya Ukrainka’s poetry.
Global Academic Presence
The Department’s scholars participate in international conferences in Vilnius, Beijing, London, Bologna, Salamanca, Bordeaux, and Basel. They also hold memberships in prestigious international organizations such as IAUPE and EACS.
Close professional ties with the Embassies of China and Japan in Ukraine facilitate the recruitment of native language instructors, support international internships, and help expand the faculty’s library and technical resources.
Indexed Research (Scopus/Web of Science) The Department's staff regularly publishes in high-impact journals indexed in the Scopus database:
Lipina V.I. & Honcharova Yu.: "Stephen Dixon’s Novels: Autobiographicality as Transgression" (Vilnius, 2021).
Lipina V.I. & Bilianina T.S.: "Kyoko Mori’s Polite Lies: Language as Resistance" (2022).
Chernysh N.O.: Numerous translations and critical articles on Chinese authors (Bing Xin, Shi Tiesheng, Lu Xun) published in The World of the Orient (Skhidnyi Svit).
Mashchenko O. The View from The East on The Problem Field of Western Literary and Theoretical Studies. Alfred Nobel University Journal of Philology, 2024, № 1. С.24-33.
Mashchenko O. Existential Perspective Of The Lost Generation in J. Okada’s Novel No-No Boy. Alfred Nobel University Journal of Philology. Dnipro, 2025. 1(29). P. 50-60.
Faculty members are the authors of monographs and chapters in collective monographs within the framework of the Department's state-funded research project:
Seligei, V. V., & Lipina, V. I. At the Crossroads of Eastern and Western Cultures: The Transcultural Phenomenon of Frank Chin's Work. Dnipro, 2013.
Naduta, T. V., & Lipina, V. I. The Themes and Poetics of Amy Tan's Works in the Aspect of Literary Imagology. Dnipro, 2015.
Student Research Groups. Active scientific engagement is fostered through several specialized student circles:
Modern Theories of the Origin of Chinese Characters.
Dialectology of the Modern Chinese Language.
Turkish Language in the Context of Cultural Interaction.
Japanese Language in a Cross-Cultural Dimension.
Dialogue of Cultures: East – West.

The staff of the Department of Comparative Philology: Far Eastern and Anglophone Studies are actively engaged in global academic collaboration. Our faculty members participate in international conferences (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, the USA, Germany, Portugal, Japan) and undertake research internships at prestigious institutions such as Collegium Civitas University (Warsaw, Poland) and Freie Universität Berlin (Germany).

A landmark event in the Department's history took place on October 27, 2025, with the official opening of the Ukrainian-Japanese Center at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University. This Center serves as a vital hub for cultural exchange, scientific collaboration, and the popularization of Japanese heritage. During the inauguration, students and faculty showcased the Department's expertise by presenting professional translations of Japanese poetry, highlighting our deep commitment to mastering Oriental languages.

Our Department’s material and technical resources have been significantly enhanced through a prestigious grant from the READ JAPAN PROJECT. This initiative, funded by The Nippon Foundation and managed by the Japan Science Society, aims to promote a global understanding of Japan. As a result of this grant, the university library received a curated collection of high-quality English-language books covering Japanese politics, economy, society, history, and culture. These resources provide invaluable support for students and researchers specializing in Japanese Philology and Comparative East-West Studies.

Diplomatic Ties: We maintain close professional contacts with the Embassies of China and Japan in Ukraine. This cooperation facilitates the recruitment of native language instructors, international internships, and the continuous expansion of our academic resources.

Our graduates represent the Department internationally, holding positions at the Embassy of Ukraine in Japan and the Embassy of Japan in Ukraine. Furthermore, our faculty members are regularly invited to teach at leading educational institutions in Taiwan, Japan, and Poland.

The Department actively collaborates with key industry partners and specialized institutions to enhance the practical relevance of its educational programs and research initiatives. Our primary stakeholders include:
Stanislav I. Volodarskyi, Director of "Metal-Courier" Ltd. Dnipro, Ukraine.
State Institution "Central State Scientific and Technical Library of the Mining and Metallurgical Complex of Ukraine" (SI CSSTB MMC of Ukraine). Director: Iryna Perepelytsia.Address: Dnipro, Ukraine.