Department of Languages, Literature and Linguistics

• Department of Modern Languages (1965 - 1978)

The Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics was established by the Board of Governors in 1965 under the name of the Department of Modern Languages. The Department was responsible, through its Head, for the promotion of research and the development and delivery of programs in the discipline of languages and linguistics. Initially, the Department offered a B.A. program in four language divisions— French, German, Russian, and Spanish— or in linguistics. In 1966, a M.A. in Linguistics was introduced, followed in 1967 by a Ph.D. program. The curricula developed and expanded steadily and by 1970, language courses consisted of three sections: the language itself, linguistics, and literature. While the French and Spanish programs expanded, the German and Russian divisions had smaller enrollments and faculty allocations were reduced. In 1974, an M.A. (Teaching French) program was added and in 1980 the French Language Training Centre was opened. In 1978, the Department was renamed Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, and in 1989 it was disbanded. Upon its dissolution, the Department was replaced by the Departments of French, Linguistics, and Spanish and Latin American Studies. All other language instruction, including Chinese, Hindi, Italian, Latin, and Swahili, was moved to the Division of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Faculty of Arts.

The Department was initially organized administratively into a Chair, four sub-departments or divisions (French, German, Russian, and Spanish), and a number of standing committees. The Chair was the chief administrative officer, whose responsibilities included the management of the operational budget; faculty tenure, promotion and salary recommendations; teaching assignments; and representation of the Department to external bodies. While the Chair had overall responsibility to the Department and the Dean of Arts for the efficient operation of the Department, most decisions were made at the committee level with major issues referred to departmental meetings. The Departmental Assistant was responsible for much of the day-to-day administration of the Department, which included the management of the departmental budget, the scheduling of courses, the provision of liaison with administrative offices, and advising students.

The number and composition of departmental committees varied over time. In 1966, there were eleven committees, including the Departmental Advisory, Scholarship, Library, Graduate Studies, Curriculum, Journal, Promotions, Projects, Amerindian, Teaching Experiments and Textbook, and Laboratory committees. There were also departmental meetings under the name of the Plenary committee. By 1969, the number of committees had been reduced to four, including the Committee of Chairmen, Graduate Studies, Tenure, and Salaries. The number of divisions within the Department had also expanded to five to include Linguistics, and each of these bodies conducted its own meetings under the leadership of a director who reported to the departmental chair. At the time of an external review in 1975, the significant change to the committees structure was the addition of a Committee of Chairmen -- consisting of the Department Chair, the Departmental Assistant, the five divisional directors, and the chair of the Graduate Studies committee -- and Tenure, Promotion, and Salaries committees. Throughout its history, the Department formed ad hoc committees when required.