Helen Wan

Biography

Dr. Helen Wan earned her PhD in sociolinguistics and Cantonese/Chinese Linguistics from the department of Asian languages and cultures at UCLA. With a focus on Asian cultures, her research spans identity construction, sociolinguistic analysis of Chinese literature, political discourse, gesture analysis, and gender studies. Prior to her current role at Pepperdine, Dr. Wan was teaching a range of courses at UCLA and the University of Hong Kong, covering areas such as Linguistics, Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics, Chinese Linguistics and Culture, Languages and Cultures in Asia, as well as Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese. She found her passion for linguistics and cultural studies during her bachelor degree at the University of Hong Kong, and later completed a master in linguistics at University College London.

Education

• PhD, East Asian Linguistics, University of California, Los Angeles
• MA, Linguistics, University College London
• BA, Linguistics and Comparative Literature, The University of Hong Kong