Dear University Council, President Norman and Deputy
Vice-Chancellor Kingman,
We, the undersigned, write with grave concern at the announcement
of the proposed closure of all Modern Languages programs at the University of
Nottingham. As researchers and instructors of Modern Languages who are based at
international universities, we strongly urge you to reconsider this proposal, which
will have dire consequences for students and researchers in the targeted programs.
It is unthinkable to us that one of the UK’s top-ranked universities should
entertain the prospect of depriving undergraduate students of the opportunity to
study languages and literatures in Russian, Mandarin, German, French, Spanish
and Portuguese.
Modern Language study is often presented as the acquisition
of a technical skillset, but it is also the opportunity to emerge oneself in
other cultural traditions, literatures, histories, and ways of seeing the
world. Language degrees produce graduates who are adaptable, creative,
resilient, and analytical, and who possess advanced communications
skills. Language students learn how to cope in unfamiliar situations and,
through the experience of living in other places, become global citizens. In
our increasingly polarized world, these intercultural competencies are to be
cherished. While these impacts may be less immediately visible than is the case
for the sciences, their value is just as high and just as real. Our graduates are
successful in a wide array of careers and contribute to increased economic
competitiveness in international markets. Additionally, language learners benefit
from a number of underappreciated advantages, such as improved self-esteem;
fewer cultural prejudices and negative stereotypes; and higher cognitive
performance (O’Brien et al., 2017). Amidst the current youth mental health
crisis, the acquisition of these benefits should be nurtured within institutions
of public education.
Historically, UK universities have been internationally
recognized as providing students with a strong education in Modern Languages,
as well as in the broader humanities. As your international colleagues, we would
highlight that measures such as the ones proposed give your prospective students
from our own countries much pause when they consider international study in the
UK, regardless of the discipline in which they hope to specialize;
students do not want to commit to international study at universities which
summarily close entire Faculties. In short, the closure of these programs at the
University of Nottingham would do irreparable damage to the university’s global
reputation.
We sympathize with the university’s financial predicament, as
many of our institutions face similar challenges. Nevertheless, we say: this is
not the solution. We strongly urge you to rethink the proposed cuts, which we
believe would be devastating to the field of Modern Languages research and
study both at the University of Nottingham and across the UK university sector.
Signed
[Your signature]
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If you have suggestions for edits to this letter, please email jessica.copley@uleth.ca
