Learn more about recent news in the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Western Michigan University.
Newsletter
Notable alumni recognized
Dr. Seven Mattes will receive the department's 2019 Alumni Achievement Award. Seven Mattes received her PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Michigan State University, with specializations in Animal Studies, Gender, Justice, and Environmental Change (GJEC), and Community Engagement. Seven’s work uses multi-species ethnographic methods to better understand how we can build resiliency for animals in disaster contexts. Her most recent project centered on the animals rescued from the Fukushima evacuation zone following the Tōhoku Disaster of 2011. Locally, she engages in numerous academic and advocacy projects exploring and aiding the multifaceted relationships people have with the animals in their lives, from the pigs they eat to the cats they love. She will present her work on Friday, Oct. 11, at 3pm., at Brown 3025
New Minors Now Being Offered
The department is now offering two new minors to WMU students: Classical Studies and German Study Abroad.
Medieval Institute Starts New Book Series
WMU's Medieval Institute Publications has launched Past Imperfect, a new series of short-form books that focus on the Middle Ages, are written in scholarly yet edgy and accessible language, and are garnering broad acclaim.
Faculty Achievement award
Dr. Mustafa Mughazy, head of the Arabic section at WMU, and Dr. Vincent Desroches, chair of the Department, received CAS Faculty Achievement Awards. Dr. Mughazy received the award for Research and Creative Activities and Dr. Desroches for Global Engagement.
Instructor won teaching award
Mr. Wessam Adbelaziz , our talented Arabic instructor, has received the doctoral level Graduate Teaching Effectiveness Award in 2018-2019.
WMU Offers Chinese Minor at Grand Rapids High School
WMU's Extended University Programs and the Department of World Languages and Literatures offers Chinese courses onsite to students attending Forest Hills Northern High School in Grand Rapids. Students will be able to earn a Chinese minor by the time they graduate high school.
Watch Odyssey Reading Marathon
In Nov. 2016, the department and its Classics language section hosted a community marathon reading of Homer's Odyssey.
Faculty's Poetry Translations Featured
Poetry International Web is featuring the poet Takako Arai along with Dr. Jeffrey Angles' translations of her work. On the site are videos showing Arai and Angles reading her work in Japanese and English translation.