Department portrait

Romance Languages at Saarland University is a bridge to Europe and the world

Romance Languages at Saarland University combines research into European linguistic, literary and cultural history with the aim of understanding contemporary globalization processes through francophone, italophone and hispanophone perspectives.

Located in Saarbrücken in the centre of the European Union, we understand the Europeanization of educational practice as our mission by teaching academic and intercultural and transcultural skills in bi- and trinational study programmes in French (with Metz and Speyer), Italian (with Salerno and Siena) and Spanish (with Seville). Certificates in European Regional and Minority Languages in the Romance-speaking World, Portuguese and Catalan complete the Department's profile in the field of Romance languages. Our teacher training degree programmes in French and Spanish provide students with an in-depth knowledge of the language, literature and culture of the Romance countries. We organize regular French and Spanish teacher days as well to provide teachers and students with a platform for exchange and continued education and training.

The department is extremely well connected within the University of the Greater Region and also benefits from intensive academic partnerships in Europe and overseas, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb, Latin America and Canada. Students can choose from more than 100 partner universities for their study period abroad. We further provide institutional support for students looking for international internships.

In addition to philological research into the Romance languages and their rich literatures, our teaching and research focus is on the history of knowledge, linguistic policy, aesthetic and ethical aspects of media and cultural change resulting from globalization. (Post)colonial questions, plurilingualism and the diversity of European and non-European societies are considered in their historical and current dimensions. Within Saarland University's core research area Europe, the department researches inner-European constellations and Europe's interdependencies with the world.

Maintaining close ties with the Institut d'Études Françaises in Saarbrücken and the Franco-German University, we offer numerous cultural events such as the Latino Film Festival, the Italian and African Film Days and the French theatre festivals Perspectives and Primeurs in order to make the rich Romance-speaking cultures accessible to Saarland outside of the university context.