Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

The Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures is dedicated to fostering a critical understanding of European and Latin American cultures in a global context. To this end, we offer programs in German, Hispanic, Italian, and Russian Studies, immersing students in the study of specific languages, literatures, thought, cinemas, cultures, and national traditions while encouraging transnational approaches and cultural plurality. In addition, we offer a selection of courses that are not specific to just one language or culture, including film, eco-criticism, literary theory, book history and digital humanities.

In terms of undergraduate studies, we seek to broaden students’ liberal arts background. Our goal is to enable our undergraduates to develop communicative skills in at least one target language and to provide critical tools to understand the complexities of other cultural traditions. The skills acquired are invaluable for careers in business, in government, in the media, as well as in cultural and literary fields, and numerous other professions.

We are committed to international standards of excellence in graduate student training, and our graduate programs in German, Hispanic, Italian, and Russian Studies offer a vibrant research environment, combining the rigor of traditional philological inquiry with a range of other theoretical and methodological approaches, many of them informed and/or creatively challenged by broader transnational and interdisciplinary perspectives.