French at the UvA is still alive and kicking – and will remain so
“Separate language programmes at the UvA appear to be disappearing,” was the headline of an article in Folia last week. A follow-up to earlier alarming reports? Another French programme facing closure as a result of budget cuts? Certainly not, argues Thom Westveer.
Anyone who takes the trouble to read the rest of the article after such an ominous headline will come to the conclusion that the message needs to be nuanced. Quite a bit, in fact: the French programme at the UvA is alive and kicking and working hard on the future. Studying French in all its facets at the UvA will still be possible, albeit under a different umbrella: no longer as part of Language, Culture and Regional Studies, but within a fresh new programme, which is currently being developed in collaboration with colleagues from other language programmes. This is a project that has been in the works for several years, so it is certainly not a rush job.
French-language background
It is precisely the creation of such a new programme that gives us at French the opportunity to develop new directions for our programme, so that the study of French continues to be relevant to current themes and can also offer space for new developments and interdisciplinary collaboration. And all this through the lens of our own language and cultural expertise. Language proficiency will also remain at the same level as it is now, with a series of language proficiency courses that continue from the first year into the second and third years of the bachelor’s programme, alongside language-specific courses in and about French, of course, and the opportunity to study at a French university for a period of time. At the end of the programme, students will therefore still have sufficient French language skills to meet the entry requirements for, for example, the educational master's programme.
Although I was initially somewhat sceptical about the development of a new programme, see my previous article in Folia, and I was particularly concerned about the phenomenon of “broad education”, I now see our new programme as an opportunity, a chance to strengthen the position of French. In any case, the new programme is definitely not another broad programme in which language only plays the role of a language course, but rather a coherent programme in which language is the connecting factor.
Smooth transition
Yes, things are going to change, and change is exciting and can sometimes be quite difficult, but this is definitely a change for the better. There is absolutely no question of a sudden abolition of the language programmes; on the contrary, there will be a smooth transition to a revamped programme, which is scheduled to start in September 2029. Until then, our current French programme will remain active, and even after that, it will still be possible to study French at the UvA.
The French programme is and will remain very much alive. Although we recently said goodbye to three colleagues, the team has been supplemented with a new generation in recent years. So there is no question of a dying institution here.
If there is one thing that linguists (and other language specialists) know, it is that a language that stands still is a dead language. A living language continues to adapt and develop. And that is exactly what is happening at the UvA. Vive le Français!
Thom Westveer is an assistant professor in French linguistics at the UvA.
