Modern Languages Now! Utility, Mobility, Curiosity
Charles Forsdick
Date: 21 February 2012, 18:15
Location: OPTOM Lecture Theatre, Maindy Road
Prof Charles Forsdick (Liverpool)
The lecture organised by our Languages, Cultures and Ideologies Research Unit, focuses on past, present and possible future understandings of Modern Languages, presenting the disciplinary field as a visible, distinctive, self-sustaining and strategically important area of study and research.
It draws on debates about the coherence (or otherwise) of Modern Languages as an academic subject. Drawing on Mary Louise Pratt’s definition of Modern Languages as practices focused on communicating the ‘importance of knowing languages and of knowing the world through languages’, the lecture will investigate three essential aspects of the field: utility, mobility, and curiosity. Exploration of these key words will allow discussion of a set of clear priorities for Modern Languages in the modern university, relating not least to the centrality of languages, linguistics and area studies to any meaningful process of internationalizing research and curricula in Higher Education today.
Coffees and teas will be available prior to the lecture in the OPTOM foyer from 18:00 to 18:15.
All welcome to attend.
To reserve a place, please contact Karen Owen.
