SFU Launches Department of World Languages and Literatures

By Hyva Saraie

For many, this January marked the beginning of a new decade. For those in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, it marked the launch of a new department.

The idea for the Department of World Languages and Literatures first surfaced a few years ago, when the Languages Training Institute and the World Literature Program came into each other’s orbits.

“It was actually the dean of FASS who saw the opportunity and began the conversation of creating this department,” says Melek Ortabasi, Associate Professor and World Languages and Literatures chair.  

“The combination of world languages and world literatures is common at universities – it also makes a lot of sense in that language and literature training provides a fundamental and crucial set of skills, especially in a global context. We feel like you can’t have one without the other.”

Ortabasi is not unaware that the timing of the launch could have been more opportune, but the fact is that "departments aren’t born overnight; they take years to form and organize. So, when we had everything organized and ready to go in January, we had no idea our launch would be happening in a pandemic.”

She laughs this off, saying that the global crisis actually makes it clearer how important it is for students to learn the skills the department teaches.

“I think that educating students to become global citizens today. World Languages and Literatures are fields of study that heighten your attention to what's happening around you. I take pride in knowing that our graduating students are being sent out into the world with skills that help them understand the plurilingual contexts and situations that define our current historical moment.”

The offerings of the new department will be on display on Oct. 15 during the Department of World Languages and Literatures' launch party.

“We're excited to introduce the student experience and educational value we offer to the university and the community as a whole. There’s more than one way to see the world and we’re here to help bring it to students. This event – a reflection of our department – is designed for curious people who love learning more things about the world, learning languages, and reading exciting books from different parts of the world.”

The event features a lecture from the department’s visiting professor and writer-in-residence, Anosh Irani.

For more information, please visit the Department of World Languages and Literatures' website and register here for their launch event.