50 Years of Advancing Language Proficiency for a Multilingual World

In 1974, students wearing mood rings and flared pants strode across campus, toting paperback copies of “Jaws” or “Carrie” while making plans to see “The Great Gatsby” or “The Godfather Part II” at the local movie theater (where tickets cost less than $2).

They were also witnesses to major political events, such as President Richard Nixon stepping down after the Watergate scandal and President Gerald Ford taking office (and being memorably lampooned the next year on new television program “Saturday Night Live”). At Syracuse University, a less known yet still consequential development occurred.

That year, the department that became Languages, Literatures and Linguistics was born.

On July 1, five College of Arts and Sciences departments came together to become “one new department under the chairmanship of Louis W. Roberts,” according to a press release from the time. The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures unified the former individual departments of classics, German, linguistics, Romance languages and Slavic languages and literatures to create, as then-Dean Kenneth Goodrich noted, “a needed synthesis of the traditional and the progressive in the field of foreign language and literature education.”

Excerpt from the 1974 news release creating LLL’s forerunner (Photo courtesy of the Special Collections Research Center)

The department’s name was changed under Dean Robert Jensen to “Languages, Literatures and Linguistics” in 1995 to recognize the breadth of world languages and cultures being taught and the strength of the linguistics program.

As part of celebrating its 50 years as a multilingual, multicultural department, the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics (LLL) is hosting a film series this semester, including a discussion evening on Oct. 30. “Film is a critical medium through which students can develop cultural and linguistic competencies,” says Gail Bulman, professor of Spanish and LLL chair.

The films span genres, cultures and times, reflecting the department’s commitment to global perspectives and the exploration of language through art.

The film series includes the following screenings:

October

• “Il Postino” (Italy, 1994)—Oct. 9, 5:30 p.m., Kittredge Auditorium
• “The Three Musketeers” (France, 2023)—Oct. 10, 7 p.m., Kittredge Auditorium
• “Le chat du rabbin” (France, 2011)—Oct. 17, 7 p.m., Kittredge Auditorium
• “Capernaum” (Lebanon, 2018)—Oct. 18, 2 p.m., 341 Eggers
• “Profondo rosso” (Italy, 1975)—Oct. 23, 5:30 p.m., Kittredge Auditorium
• “Dans la maison” (France, 2012)—Oct. 24, 7 p.m., Kittredge Auditorium
• “Au Revoir Taipei” (Taiwan, 2010)—Oct. 28, 7 p.m., 113 Eggers
• Film Discussion Evening—Oct. 30, 5:30-10 p.m., Kittredge Auditorium:
  • “There’s Still Tomorrow” (Italy, 2023)
  • “Perfect Days” (Germany, Japan, 2023)

November

• “Barbara” (Germany, 2012)—Nov. 4, 6:45 p.m., Kittridge Auditorium
• “Lo Capitano” (Italy, 2023)—Nov. 14, 6:30 p.m., Kittredge Auditorium
• “Dersu Uzala” (Soviet Union, Japan, 1977)—Nov. 21, 11 a.m., 107 Huntington Hall
• “Mal-Mo-E: The Secret Mission” (Korea, 2019)—TBD

For more information about the film series, contact Gail Bulman.

Other events celebrating LLL’s 50th anniversary in 2024 included the annual Wor(l)ds of Love Valentine’s Day poetry festival in February, Women across the World events in March, theater and musical performances, an LLL majors and minors’ celebration and the department’s annual Culture(s) on the Quad in April.

Spring 2025 event dates will be announced at a later time.