School of Modern Languages & Cultures

I started as Head of School of Modern Languages and Cultures at the beginning of August this summer and these first three months have gone by like a flash. I’ve received such a warm welcome and I trust that this welcome has been extended to everyone who has started in our School in the last few months – staff and students alike! I have also never eaten so much cake at work in my life – keep those delicious things coming, Jenny Munro-Hunt and Barbara Divers! They certainly make my weeks sweeter!*

I have been learning a lot about our School, the College of Arts and Humanities and the University of Glasgow more broadly and am really enjoying the all-round positive atmosphere. Highlights have included the recruitment work, brilliantly organised by Mónica Legazpi-Iglesias, in the shape of two Open Days, a Schools Day hosted on campus and a Schools event at George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh. I’ve also very much enjoyed welcoming students (from undergraduate to postgraduate – I’ll meet the PGR students soon) at various induction events. We’ve been recruiting for our new programme in Liberal Arts which is due to start in September 2026 and I’m keen to make this a huge success as I know many colleagues are too. I’ve been to Stephan Ehrig’s wonderful book launch and was impressed by the number of colleagues and students who came along – the same was true on all accounts for Michèle Hanoosh’s research seminar, which I was unfortunately unable to attend. Last week I was at the SMLC quiz night, ably organised by Teresa Newman and hosted by our quizmaster extraordinaire, Kate Fry. This was such a lovely event with many colleagues and students (16 teams!) puzzling together over the excellent questions that Kate had put together. My favourite activity had to be all the different translations of ‘I love the School of Modern Languages and Cultures’.

I want to thank all my colleagues in SMLC who have supported me in my first months at Glasgow. I’m so impressed by all the hard work that goes on here – teaching, learning, research, public engagement and the list goes on… I’m looking forward to learning more and getting to know you all better in the next months.

_{*Bad puns are part of the job description for Head of School – Stephen Forcer can confirm.}

First published: 14 November 2025