The School of Modern Languages and Cultures welcomed more than 140 pupils from local North East schools through two pilot widening access events: Discover Languages at Durham and Across Languages: A Multilingual Poetry Workshop. Through language activities, creative challenges and multilingual performance, pupils explored the opportunities offered by language learning and experienced the excitement of studying languages at university.

Durham students have contributed a translation to Un tast de literatura – De Xarxa Llull al món: Territori, llengua, cuina, a new publication by the Institut Ramon Llull celebrating Catalan literature and culture. The project, supported by Lecturer Elsa Sala Gonzalo, highlights the creativity and expertise of student translators.

MLAC alumna Sophia Smith-Galer celebrates the publication of How to Kill a Language, a Sunday Times Book of the Week, following her journey from Durham student journalist and performer to award-winning reporter and author.

Professor Marcela Cazzoli, Professor of Hispanic Studies and Director of the MA in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, has recently published a thought provoking article in Wonkhe on the future of modern languages through widening access and inclusion. She has also visited China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing to strengthen international partnerships, promote postgraduate study opportunities at Durham, and explore future collaboration in teaching and research.

The School of Modern Languages and Cultures (MLAC) and the Centre for Foreign Language Study (CFLS) are proud to present Reclaiming Hidden Histories: Black Presence in European Art and Culture, a special Black History Month film screening and educational programme for secondary schools, students, and the wider community, featuring the multilingual documentary "We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe".

The School of Modern Languages and Cultures (MLAC) at Durham University is delighted to offer two outreach opportunities for secondary schools this summer.

Durham University has established a new partnership with Southwestern University (Georgetown, USA), creating a streamlined progression route for qualified Southwestern graduates onto a selection of Durham taught Master’s programmes, including many in Arts and Humanities.

A two-day research impact event will take place in Newcastle on 29–30 May, exploring the role of touch, movement, and kinaesthesia in artistic practice and community formation.

A two-day conference exploring representations of gendered violence in early modern literature and art will take place in Durham on 10–11 June 2026. Funded by The British Academy, the event combines the launch of the new Daphne and her Sisters research project based in the Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies with a concluding series of readings dedicated to Matteo Maria Boiardo’s Inamoramento de Orlando.

A Durham-led activity from the Horizon Europe project RELISH was recently featured in the Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia. The article highlighted collaborative workshops with Fundació Alícia exploring medieval Catalan recipes, food heritage, and culinary migration through innovative historical gastronomy methodologies.

Annual Leslie Brooks Lecture featuring Silvia Albert Sopale on Black theatre in Spain, followed by academic discussion and reception at St Cuthbert’s Society, Durham.

We welcomed Dr Francesco Bongarrà, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in London, and Mr Gabriele Magagnin, Italian Consul General (Manchester), to celebrate and strengthen our longstanding ties with Italy. We marked our strong international profile and our deep and enduring connections with Italian institutions, underpinned by close collaborations with the Italian Cultural Institute in London since 2015.