The Department of Languages and World Literatures invites students to examine language and literature as inherently human endeavours that cross time and national boundaries. We offer programs and courses in languages and global literatures, from the ancient Middle East to modern Japan and from ancient mythologies and oral traditions to current pop culture.
Going beyond the Euro-American canon, courses taught by our award-winning faculty are designed to foster plurilingual competence and transcultural literacy—valuable skills for thriving in a global economy. We welcome students in a richly interdisciplinary learning environment, synthesizing the study of languages, literatures, theatre, art history, religions, and film.
Gain strong skills in French language and a critical insight into Francophone literatures and cultures within a global context. (major, minor)
Experience a practice-based approach to language learning as well as literature, culture, history, film and the environment with courses taught in English and in German. (courses)
Explore Spanish language, literature and culture. The language-learning aspect of these courses covers practical skills and daily application of Spanish. (minor)
Chinese (BA)
Learn the grammar, syntax, and function of modern spoken and written Mandarin Chinese. (courses)
Masters and PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, work closely with faculty across a diverse set of disciplines.
Study culture, history, linguistics, translation to acquire practical skills in reading, writing and oral communication. (major)
Explore Japanese literature, film, or popular culture in English, or learn how to express yourself in Japanese while you fulfil your language requirement. (courses)
Examine a spectrum of national literatures, historical periods, artistic communication and cultural phenomena through the ages and across the globe. (minor)
Korean (BA)
Learn the grammar, syntax, and function of modern spoken and written Korean. (courses)
Ramine Adl | French Language and Literature
Christopher Gordon | French Language
Jelena Jovicic | French Language; French Literature; French Culture
Francis Langevin | French Language, French Literature; French Popular Culture
Marianne Legault | French Language, French Classical Fairy Tales, French Literature
Stephanie Tolman | French Language
Alexandra Tonnel | French as a second language
Annick Pellegrin | French Language
Martin Blum | Medieval and Renaissance studies, short narrative genres, German language and culture
Claude Desmarais | German language and Culture
Nina Langton | Japanese Language, Japanese Pop Culture and Film
Mayu Takasaki | Japanese Language, Japanese Culture
Diana Carter | Spanish Language, bilingualism, Spanish language history, Sociolinguistics; language, gender identity and education; corpus linguistics; bilingual code-switching.
Monica Good | Spanish Language; Spanish Culture and Literature; Indigenous literature; Indigenous language reclamation and revitalization (specifically for the case of Mexico); Indigenous peoples rights to court interpretation (Case of Oaxaca).
Cynthia Hernandez Garcia | Spanish Language
Carmen Miranda-Barrios | First-year Spanish
Anderson Araujo | Transnational Modernism, First World War Poetry, Twentieth-Century British and Irish Literature
Virginie Magnat | Performance Studies; Culture, Creativity and Health & Well-Being; Cultural Anthropology; Qualitative Research; Arts-Based Inquiry; Indigenous Epistemologies and Methodologies
Francisco Peña | World Literature, Spanish Culture and Literature, Ancient and Medieval Mythology, Biblical Literature, and Judeo-Spanish and Converso studies
Alwyn Spies | World Literature, Japanese Language, Japanese Culture
Francois Gauthier | Ancient Mediterranean Science and Technology
David Meola | War in Literature
Meilan Ehlert | First-year Chinese, First-year Korean
Sean Lawrence
Department Head, Languages & World Literatures
Associate Professor, English
Email: sean.lawrence@ubc.ca
Tel: 250.807.9415
Office: CCS 372
Sheila Andrulevich
Assistant to the Department Head
Email: sheila.andrulevich@ubc.ca
Tel: 250.807.9399
Office: CCS 323