School of Languages & Literatures

The School of Languages and Literatures (SLL) was formed in 2002 through the amalgamation of the Department of Southern African Languages and the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures. The School brings into one organisational unit the teaching of languages and literatures (excluding English Literature) at the University of Cape Town. The current Director is Associate Professor Markus Arnold.

The School covers a wide range of teaching and research areas, including language, literature, and cultural studies in Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese, Classics (including Classical Culture & History, Ancient Greek, and Latin), Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Portuguese, Sotho, Spanish, and Xhosa. There is a strong emphasis on the role that these languages and literatures, and the cultures they embody, have played and continue to play in Africa. The School is also home to the Centre for Creative Writing.

The School has a number of formal and informal links with universities elsewhere in Africa and further afield. These include the National University of the Ivory Coast at Abidjan, the University of St Denis in Réunion, the University of Zimbabwe, École Normale Supérieure de Cachan, Université Stendhal Grenoble 3, and the University of Bologna. View information about the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).