About

About the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Mission Statement

This department has a three-fold mission: (1) to encourage and facilitate the study of languages, literatures, and cultures of the world, the nation, and the Commonwealth; (2) to represent international perspectives on academic endeavors and to contribute to the international presence at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; and (3) to promote the integrity of our component academic fields and to support the vitality of each of the programs housed in the department. Exploiting the synergistic potential inherent in combining both national and transnational approaches in a single entity, the department advocates an inclusive and interdisciplinary scholarship that develops new models, both theoretical and pragmatic, for the study of languages, literatures, and cultures.

Governance

Interim Department Chair
William Moebius, Professor of Comparative Literature

Executive Committee

This committee is responsible for long-range planning in the department.
The 2011-2012 Executive Committee roster:

Maria Barbon, Associate Professor of Spanish                                                                                                                                            Elena Chiu, Assistant Professor of Chinese
Andrew Donson, Associate Professor of German; Director of German and Scandinavian Studies
Edwin Gentzler, Professor of Comparative Literature; Director of the Translation Center
David Lenson, Professor of Comparative Literature; Director of Comparative Literature
Patrick Mensah, Chair, Associate Professor of French; Director of French and Francophone Studies
Michael Papio, Associate Professor of Italian; Director of Italian Studies and Spanish & Portuguese
Robert Rothstein, Amesbury Professor of Comparative Literature; Director of Slavic & East European Studies         Amanda Seaman, Associate Professor of Japanese; Director of Asian Languages and Literatures
Robert Sullivan, Associate Professor of German

Department Personnel Committee, 2011-2012

Barton Byg (German and Scandinavian Studies)
Patricia Gubitosi (Spanish and Portuguese)
Frank Hugus (German and Scandinavian Studies)
Kathryn Lachman (Comparative Literature)
Andrea Malaguti (French and Italian)
Stephen Miller (Asian Languages and Literatures)
Michael Papio (French and Italian)
Robert Rothstein (Comparative Literature), Chair
Dianne Sears (French and Italian)
Zhijun Wang (Asian Languages and Literatures)