World Cultures and Literatures

Overview

About the Program

With an emphasis on languages, literatures and cultures, the World Cultures and Literatures program of the University of Houston involves a wide range of possible directions as it seeks to meet an individual student’s academic and career interests and needs. The program addresses issues such as modernity, postmodernity, globalization, colonialism and postcolonialism, transnational and transcultural concerns, urban and diasporic studies, and the formation of cultural identities. It incorporates literary, film, visual, media and gender studies. Students in language core areas acquire high proficiency in the target language, translation skills, and, in some areas of concentration, training in applied linguistics and second language teaching.

Our faculty, dedicated scholars and teachers drawn from the Chinese, Classical Studies, French, German, Italian, and World Cultures and Literatures programs of the department of modern and classical languages as well as from other disciplines and departments, provide students with diverse perspectives and approaches relevant to the study of cultures and languages in multiple contexts. Instruction is student-centered, engaging and encourages faculty-mentored individual and collaborative research. We are committed to excellence in scholarship, student success and cultural diversity.

The M.A. in World Cultures and Literatures prepares and qualifies students for a wide range of career areas or for doctoral studies in given languages. In a rapidly changing job market, there is a growing demand for people with an understanding of historical and global contexts who can think across cultures and disciplines, imaginatively frame questions and consider multiple perspectives, combine various approaches and find innovative solutions.