From translation workshops to an international lecture series, the LCL, which an expansive range of major and minor programs in languages and literary and cultural studies, is committed to bringing together students and scholars in dialogue about the role of language in shaping our understanding of the world. 

, the new convener of the program and chair of the Department of Classics, emphasized adaptability as central to the LCL’s mission. 

“I feel that the LCL is very well placed to create tailored education that gives students a fuller sense of human culture and its potentialities,” Nichols said.

Translation Seminar Series

The “Between Differences, Across Divides: A Translation Seminar Series” debuted this semester with

The event, organized by the with the support of a Global Humanities Faculty Seminar Grant awarded by Georgetown University’s Office of the Vice President for Global Engagement, featured two distinguished literary translators and authors, Jennifer Croft and Lily Meyer. 

It helped draw attention to the artistry and complexity of translation, asking what happens when translators, who are so often behind the scenes, step into the spotlight as authors. The “Translation Seminar Series” highlights how the LCL reaches far beyond grammar drills or vocabulary lists. 

“It is not just about the act of learning vocabulary and syntax,” Nichols said when asked about the meaning of language learning. “It is fundamentally interdisciplinary. Films, novels, culture through food, business practices and norms across the world all become part of how we engage.”

The series will give students further opportunities to learn directly from practitioners shaping the field, with one upcoming session in the fall – on November 4 – and additional workshops and panels planned for the spring. 

Islamic Studies Lectures and Theology in Arabic

The remains a cornerstone of the LCL’s engagement with religious and intellectual currents. The series – launched in 2010 by , chair of the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies – reflects her commitment to bringing leading scholarship to the Georgetown community.

In September, the series featured Rushain Abbasi, an assistant professor of religious studies at Stanford, on “The Kingdom of Heaven and Earth: On the Life of Islam.” It will continue this month with Walid Saleh from University of Toronto on “The Late Meccan Suras of the Qur’an: A New Reading” on October 29.

More lectures are planned in the spring, keeping with the tradition of five to seven per year. 

“The Islamic Studies Lecture Series is a way to expose the audience to the state of topics and questions in the field and various methodologies used,” Opwis said. “It aims at providing a fertile ground for discussion and scholarly exchange.”

In tandem, the , organized by assistant professor , continues as an online forum where scholars gather monthly to explore Christian, Jewish and Muslim Arabic theological traditions. 

A Humanities Conference

Another highlight this fall is the conference, on October 30–31. Organized by Georgetown’s German and English departments, together with the Fritz-Hüser-Institut in Dortmund and the , the event asks how the humanities offer distinctive insights into work’s human dimensions.

“This symposium is an inspiring example of collaboration across departments for an event that will bring together faculty, students and non-Georgetown scholars from the U.S. and Europe,” said , director of the Georgetown Humanities Initiative. “It embodies the intercultural dialogue to which Georgetown is committed and explores a quintessential human experience – work – that is central to the definition and dignity of the person, in line with Georgetown’s values.”

While the social sciences often emphasize structural aspects of labor, the humanities delve into narratives, meaning and representation — through novels, films, poetry and performance — to explore work as lived experience. 

Featured speakers include Sonali Perera, author of No Country: Working-Class Writing in the Age of Globalization, Sarah Ann Wells, author of Media Laboratories: Late Modernist Authorship in South America and Jasper Bernes, author of The Work of Art in the Age of Deindustrialization. They will discuss working-class writing, labor in cultural forms and the aesthetics of work under deindustrialization. 

The conference comes at a moment when questions of meaning, labor, automation and human flourishing are increasingly urgent. 

“The humanities play a vital and intellectually generative role across disciplines,” Pireddu said, “because they foster critical inquiry, ethical reflection and a nuanced understanding of human culture, history and expression.” 

Looking Ahead

For students looking to expand their horizons, the LCL is not only a place to learn languages but also a community where conversations across cultures come alive.

There will be no shortage of opportunities for student engagement.

LCL departments are marking the calendar with a range of special events, including a conference on the 10th anniversary of the 2015 Paris terror attacks, an Andrea Camilleri celebration and Persian Poetry and Cinema weeks.

Nichols expressed confidence in the LCL’s future. 

“We are standing on the precipice of enormous change in academia,” she said. “But I believe we are well placed to continue posing the deepest questions — What does it mean to be human? How do we relate to one another across boundaries? — and to answer them through our teaching, research and events.”

“I’m incredibly grateful to be recognized by the ACLA for my work in comparative literature,” said Pham, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in biophysics at Stanford University. “I’m especially appreciative that the ACLA has a history of recognizing undergraduate work in the field in an effort to make scholarship more accessible.”

Pham’s award-winning research project, “The Struggle Continues: Cosmopolitan Encounters and Spatial Disjunctions in Singaporean and Vietnamese Literature,” explores the idea that those living in city centers were multicultural citizens of the world despite their specific national contexts. 

Cosmopolitanism and Class

“My thesis tries to unpack how cosmopolitanism in Southeast Asia developed alongside the histories of colonialism, political violence and migration in the late 20th century,” said Pham. “Cosmopolitanism has historically applied to elites with the socioeconomic resources that would allow them to become world travelers, but I engage with an alternative view of cosmopolitanism influenced by postcolonial theory, which reads refugees and displaced people as cosmopolitan.”

For Pham, whose family experienced life as Vietnamese refugees in the 20th century, the project was deeply personal. 

“At the heart of the thesis are people; I tried to center those who have been pushed to the margins in mainstream history whether it be migrants in Singapore or Vietnamese refugees,” said Pham. “I felt honored to engage in scholarship and criticism that tried to make sense of their experiences.”

The thesis project was completed under the mentorship of , an associate professor in the , and , director of the and the inaugural director of the .  

“We couldn’t be prouder of Dominic, for his exceptional work and for this prestigious recognition,” said Pireddu. “With a distinct voice of his own, Dominic offered not only a groundbreaking study of complex novels across national, linguistic and historical boundaries, but also a compelling testimony to the power of literature in people’s lives.” 

“His exemplary dedication to the humanistic component of his academic formation despite the demands of his other major in science makes him really special. It was wonderful to be at the ACLA Conference in Montréal and celebrate Dominic’s achievements.”

Founded in 1960, the ACLA is the largest group of scholars in the United States whose work “involves several literatures and cultures as well as the premises of cross-cultural literary study itself.” The Presidential Undergraduate Prize is one of just two awards that the organization bestows upon students to highlight budding scholars in the field of comparative literature. 

Pham is a true polymath. As a graduating senior, he received the distinct honor of receiving two commendations at the ������Ƶ & Sciences 104th annual Tropaia Exercises. A double major in biochemistry and comparative literature, Pham took home both the Miljevic Chemistry Award and the Global and Comparative Literature Award. Additionally, the Faculty of Literatures, Cultures and Language Studies recognized Pham at its annual awards ceremony with a certificate for his achievement in global and comparative literature. 

“This project is a reflection of the personal growth I underwent as an undergraduate at Georgetown,” said Pham. “I went on exchange at the National University of Singapore and studied Singaporean literature with Gwee Li Sui for a semester and was introduced to Asian Diasporic literature in a class here at Georgetown with .”

His scientific research as an undergraduate, which focused on a signaling protein that controls processes of cell growth development and metabolism, earned Pham a Goldwater Scholarship, one of the most prestigious national awards for undergraduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

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“The Faculty of Language and Linguistics is a national and preeminent leader in language education,” said Rosario Ceballo, dean of the ������Ƶ & Sciences. “As we look at the world today, it’s important to reach out to others, to listen, to learn and to dialogue across our differences. Speaking and learning languages can help us to be people for others.”

In her remarks, Ceballo spoke to the unique power of interdisciplinary, humanistic learning to bridge cultural and linguistic barriers. 

“This learning might come in linguistics, where our faculty and students research and study the forms and contexts of language,” said Ceballo. “It might come in languages no longer spoken, like Ancient Greek and Latin, whose legacies surround us everywhere we turn or it might arise in the panoply of modern languages that our Faculty of Languages and Linguistics research and teach.” 

Distinguished Service Award

As part of the ceremony, each year a member of the faculty who has “made extraordinary contributions to the programs and mission of the FLL through his or her research, teaching and service to the community” is presented with the FLL Distinguished Service Award. 

This year, , a professor in the and faculty directory of graduate liberal studies in the , received the award. , the chair of the , presented McNelis with the honor. 

“Professor McNelis challenges students to confront the fundamental human questions raised by ancient texts, even as he develops students’ ability to identify the elements of diction, meter, and style that together make up a poem’s literary texture,” said Lee. “His trademark combination of sharp wit, modesty, and wisdom make him an ideal teacher and invaluable colleague.”

McNelis served as chair of the classics department for six years. He is one of the world’s foremost Latinists and his translations of difficult texts challenge contemporary notions of gender and sexuality in the ancient world. 

“Perhaps the most important lesson to be drawn from your studies is that there is not a single way of speaking, of conceiving of the world, of trying to communicate ideas to others, of capturing the excitement, beauty or even the disappointment of a given moment in life,” said McNelis to the assembled FLL graduates. 

The Regent’s Address

Each year, the FLL Awards Ceremony features The Regent’s Address, which is delivered by a senior in the FLL with an exceptional GPA who is chosen by the faculty. This year’s remarks were delivered by Chloe Olivia Morris (C’23). 

“The Faculty of Languages and Linguistics has opened my eyes to something paradoxical: we’re not just students of ‘languages’ and ‘linguistics.’ We are students of history, literature, art, political science and anthropology,” said Olivia Morris, a Spanish major. “The FLL has taught us to become global citizens of an ever-changing world with the goal of intercultural communication, understanding, and bridge-building.”

For Morris, studying a language is about far more than just proper syntax and pronunciation. 

“The Department of Spanish and Portuguese has taught me that languages are more than just phonetics,” said Morris. “Languages are vehicles that simultaneously unbuild and rebuild our worlds, and they change us just as much as we change them.”

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