The University of Pittsburgh’s Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC) Program offers students the opportunity to use world languages in courses offered in a variety of academic disciplines, including those outside of languages and literature. The program aims to provide a curricular framework to develop and apply language and intercultural competences within all disciplines. It is based upon the belief that languages and intercultural perspectives promote a better and more nuanced understanding of content in any course. It aims to promote a better understanding of world regions while demonstrating the relevance of practical language skills across the disciplines.
Pitt is a part of the CLAC Consortium, a nonprofit academic professional organization managed by volunteers from consortial member institutions. CLAC is dedicated to promoting the cultures and languages across the curriculum movement through conferences and the sharing of resources.
The University Center for International Studies (UCIS), with funding from Pitt’s Title VI National Resource Centers, has embarked on a four year initiative to increase the number of LAC courses offered on campus. Currently, six Title VI National Resource Centers support the development of new LAC courses: the Asian Studies Center (ASC), the Center for African Studies (CAS), the Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS), the Global Studies Center (GSC), the European Studies Center (ESC), and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (REEES).
Presently, students apply their second language skills in French, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian to the study of academic content in fields such as Anthropology, History, Art History, Film Studies, Literatures, and Environmental Science. In the future, the program will expand to more languages and other disciplines.
Languages Across the Curriculum Courses
2025
| Course Title | Language | UCIS Center |
|---|---|---|
| Korean Language and Culture in K-pop | Korean | ASC, GSC |
| Modern Chinese History in Mandarin | Chinese | ASC |
| Advance Chinese Across Genres | Chinese | ASC |
| Medical School: Advanced Medical Chinese | Chinese | ASC |
| Senegal: Intersections of Culture, History, Religion & Dance | Wolof | CAS, GSC |
| Renaissance Art | Italian | ESC |
| New German Cinema | German | ESC |
| Arabic Life and Thought | Arabic | CAS, GSC |
| Reading Historical Russian | 1-2 Russian | REEES |
| Ukrainian Culture | Ukraine | REEES |
2024
| Course Title | Language | UCIS Center |
|---|---|---|
| Modern Chinese History in Mandarin | Chinese | ASC |
| Advanced Chinese Across Genres | Chinese | ASC |
| World of Korea: Past & Present | Korean | ASC, GSC |
| Renaissance Art | Italian | ESC |
| Arabic Life and Thought | Arabic | GSC, CAS, ESC |
| Ukrainian Culture | Ukrainian | REEES, GSC |
| Reading Historical Russian | Russian | REEES |
| Memory & Patrimony in Brazilian Cities | Portuguese | CLAS, GSC, ESC |
| West African Cultures and Societies | Akan/Twi | CAS, GSC |
| Senegal: Intersections of Culture, History, Religion & Dance | Wolof | CAS, GSC |
| Medical School Professional Enrichment Course: Advanced Medical Chinese | Chinese | ASC, GSC |
| Arab Cinema and Politics | Arabic | GSC, CAS, ESC |
| Brazil: It's All for Yesterday(A Pop-up Course about Brazilian History, Culture, and Music) | Portuguese | CLAS, GSC |
| Jewish Immigration to Latin America: Brazil and Argentina | Portuguese | CLAS, GSC |
| Race, Ethnicity, and Politics in Brazil (3 students) | Portuguese | CLAS, GSC |
| Laboring Women in Brazilian History | Portuguese | CLAS, GSC |
2023
| Course Title | Language | UCIS Center |
|---|---|---|
| Modern Chinese History in Mandarin | Chinese | ASC |
| Advanced Chinese Across Genres | Chinese | ASC |
| French Kiss | French | ESC |
| Renaissance Art (Course Development) | Italian | ESC |
| Chornobyl in Ukrainian Cultural Memory | Ukrainian | REEES, GSC |
| Reading Russian Literature in the Original 1: Space, Robots, and Aliens in Russian SciFi | Russian | REEES |
| Reading Historical Russian | Russian | REEES |
| Environmental Engineering Lab (Course Development) | Portuguese | CLAS, GSC, ESC |
2022
| Catalog Number | Course Title | Language | |
|---|---|---|---|
| HIST 0423 | Modern Chinese History in Mandarin | Chinese | ASC |
| KOREAN 1901 | Intro to Modern Korean Literature | Korean | ASC |
| ANTH 0714 | Asia Now Language Teacher | Chinese | ASC |
| GEOL 0008 | Environmental Science | French | ESC, GSC |
| FR 1098 | History of French Film | French | ESC |
| HIST 1910 | Reading Historical Russian | Russian | REEES |
| RUSS 0091 | Reading Russian Fairy Tales | Russian | REEES |
Contact
For more information about Language Across the Curriculum, please contact Haixia Wang, LAC Coordinator, at haw27@pitt.edu.