School of International Letters and Cultures at Arizona State University

Among the several new schools that have been created at ASU over the past few years, the School of International Letters & Cultures (SILC) is the newest—and it is the only one primarily situated in the humanities. SILC developed out of the former Department of Languages & Literatures in response to changing educational needs. In addition to its very extensive traditional strengths in languages, literatures, and cultures, SILC also emphasizes making interesting new trans-disciplinary opportunities available to undergraduate and graduate students alike. It also encourages trans-disciplinary cooperation among faculty members across ASU.

The study of other languages and cultures has always been one of the most rewarding of human activities—one that is replete with intrinsic interest, practical value, and insights into one’s own culture and behavior. But in today’s increasingly global environment, intercultural and interdisciplinary communication and knowledge have unprecedented value. ASU, under the leadership of President Michael Crow, recognized this early on, and the establishment of SILC anticipated an important report from the Modern Language Association calling for “a broader and more coherent curriculum in which language, culture and literature are taught as a continuous whole, supported by alliances with other departments and expressed through interdisciplinary courses.”

SILC is organized into five Faculties—Classics and Middle Eastern Letters & Cultures; East and Southeast Asian Letters & Cultures; French and Italian Letters & Cultures; German, Romanian and Slavic Letters & Cultures; and Spanish and Portuguese Letters & Cultures. In addition, a branch of the school called Linguistics & Languages for Professional Purposes (LLPP) is charged with ensuring the quality of language instruction and with managing language and linguistics-related graduate and undergraduate degrees and certificates..

SILC’s Faculties, along with the LLPP, offer students a variety of educational experiences that will prepare them for life and citizenship in the modern world. For those seeking further study, whether the goal is a certificate or graduate degree, SILC provides the route to an abundance of professional and intellectual knowledge about languages and cultures of the world, both ancient and modern.