Department of Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures Announces Name Change

07/01/2025

As of July 1, 2025, Saint Louis University’s Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures has a new name — the Department of Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures (LLC).

The new name reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the outstanding scholarship and teaching conducted by LLC faculty, whose work is tied to the Social Sciences (Linguistics), as well as to the Humanities (Literatures and Cultures), both having language and culture as their raison d’être.

While the offering of courses on languages other than English remains unchanged in the department, LLC will provide SLU students with new and exciting opportunities in the study of language and culture. 

LLC’s Linguistics program is dedicated to the scientific study of language, enabling students to investigate how language works, how it is acquired, how it is used in society, and how and why it changes over time. To that end, LLC has partnered with various units and programs on campus, including Forensic Science, Neuroscience, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, Mathematics and Statistics, Criminology and Criminal Justice, and Computer Science.

LLC’s World Cultural Studies program is designed to help students develop knowledge and critical skills to assess the cultural production from non-English-speaking parts of the globe and establish a connection with their own cultural practices, regardless of their background. This inherently fosters an understanding and appreciation for multiple perspectives and represents a crucial virtue in today’s globalized world and job market. To that end, LLC works together with other units, including the departments of English, Theological Studies, Sociology and Anthropology, and Women’s and Gender Studies.