Department of Languages and World Literatures

This interdisciplinary department offers the opportunity to study languages, global literatures, and cultures.

What we do

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.

Programs & Study Options

French (BA)

Gain strong skills in French language and a critical insight into Francophone literatures and cultures within a global context. (major, minor)

German (BA)

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)

SpanisH (BA)

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)

Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies

Masters and PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, work closely with faculty across a diverse set of disciplines.

LanguaGes (BA)

Study culture, history, linguistics, translation and much more to acquire practical skills in reading, writing and oral communication. (major)

Japanese (BA)

Explore Japanese literature, film, or popular culture in English, or learn how to express yourself in Japanese while you fulfil your language requirement. (courses)

World Literatures (BA)

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)

 

 

Who We Are

Faculty

Faculty

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

Term Faculty

Stephanie Tolman | French Language

Alexandra Tonnel | French as a second language

Annick Pellegrin | French Language

Faculty

Martin Blum | Medieval and Renaissance studies, short narrative genres, German language and culture

Claude  Desmarais | German language and Culture

 

Faculty

Nina Langton | Japanese Language, Japanese Pop Culture and Film

Term Faculty

Mayu Takasaki | Japanese Language, Japanese Culture

Faculty

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).

Term Faculty

Jamie Boyzo | Advanced Beginners Spanish

Cynthia Hernandez Garcia | Spanish Language

Carmen Miranda-Barrios | First-year Spanish

Faculty

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

Term Faculty

Francois Gauthier | Ancient Mediterranean Science and Technology

David Meola | War in Literature

Term Faculty

Meilan Ehlert | First-year Chinese, First-year Korean

Administrative Office

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