About Me
A tireless explorer in life. My name is Jing Paul. I'm an Associate Professor of Chinese in the Asian Studies Program at Agnes Scott College and the founding director of the Agnes Scott College Critical Language Immersion Program.
My research primarily investigates the typological characteristics of different languages in their expression of motion events, by examining speakers' speech and gestures. My recent focus has been on my native tongues—Mandarin Chinese and an endangered southwestern Mandarin dialect called Babao (八宝话 bābǎo huà), as well as the comparison between three topologically different languages: Chinese, English and Turkish. In language teaching, I enjoy exploring culturally enriching fun ways of teaching Chinese. My students and I write characters with dance ribbons; we drum to reflect the rhythm of two-syllable words; we voice social justice in creative stories; and my team and I are creating a video game for Chinese learners!
In recent years, I discovered my passion for music. Traditional Chinese music connects me to history, art, literature, and philosophy; western music theory gives me a new lens in understanding music. I pursue plucked musical instruments and play the Chinese Lute (琵琶, pí pá ), the Chinese Zither (古筝, gǔ zhēng) and the harp during my free time. As someone who began to pursue music late in life, I firmly believe music creation is for everyone, old or young, with or without prior experience.