Department of Literatures and Cultural Studies

The Department of Literatures and Cultural Studies at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is home to a dedicated, energetic, and diverse community of faculty and students committed to literary and cultural critique. The organization of the department is unique in that it is neither a traditional Foreign Languages, English, nor Comparative Literature department. Rather, it brings together in a single multilingual unit the study of many of the world’s literary traditions, film practices, and cultural forms.
Our goal is to train students in the histories of and theoretical approaches to diverse literatures and cultures, but it is, more broadly, to develop in them the analytical tools of advanced literacy that will make them successful in whatever career paths they pursue. The programs we offer in the Department of Literatures and Cultural Studies offer students the liberal education they need and will use to become successful professionals and engaged students. To that end, we offer two undergraduate majors, in Spanish literature and English literature, a degree plan in English Language Arts for students interested in pursuing this path to become middle school or high school teachers, and five minors, in Spanish, English, French, Film Studies, and Gender and Women’s Studies.