About the Department of Modern Languages
Learn about our department, faculty, and program offerings.
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Department of Modern Languages
What We Do
Our department promotes multilingualism and cross-cultural understanding across the university. We prepare our students for the complexity and diversity of a rapidly changing job market. Our students achieve high proficiency in a second language. They also develop knowledge of global languages and cultures and the skills to analyze linguistic structures and literary texts in their language of choice.
Who We Are
The University of Mississippi is categorized as an R1 research institution, which means that our faculty are at the top of their fields and actively conducting groundbreaking research. It also means students work and study alongside some of the best.
The Department of Modern Languages faculty includes award-winning teacher-scholars who are ready to support our students’ interests in every aspect of language learning. The faculty conduct research in literature, linguistics, language pedagogy, cinema, and cultural studies, in languages from all over the world.
Faculty Spotlights
- Dr. Corina Petrescu, Professor of German, will serve as a fellow at the Israel Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem for the 2025-2026 school year. She will focus on collections at the National Library of Israel to support her work on Yankev Shternberg (1890-1973), an Ashkenazi poet, playwright, theatrical director, and cultural analyst of the twentieth century.
- Dr. Maria Jose Garcia Otero, Croft Instructional Assistant Professor of Spanish, won the Howell Family Outstanding Teacher of the Year from the College of Liberal Arts. The criteria for the annual award include excellence of class instruction, intellectual stimulation of students, and concern for students’ welfare.
This image of a medieval monk character is part of a video game project to gamify a 12th century text, The Voyage of Saint Brendan, to help teach Old French. The project, "Brendan's Voyage," is a collaboration between Dr. Daniel O'Sullivan, Chair and Professor of French, with his colleagues at Vanderbilt and Baylor that is partially funded by the National Endowment of the Humanities.
What We Offer
UG
Acquire superior levels of Chinese language skills and become a global professional.
- Oxford
UG
Become a global professional with superior levels of Spanish speaking skills.
- Oxford
GRAD
Achieve advanced proficiency and cultural knowledge in French, German, or Spanish or develop expertise in linguistics.
- Oxford
Welcome from the Chair
The Department of Modern Languages is proud of our outstanding faculty, staff, and students. We have a strong tradition of scholarship and dedication to teaching students to a high level of language proficiency. We support our language programs with sound linguistic and pedagogical principles, as delivered by our programs in linguistics and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). Equally important is the study of literature, cinema and culture, fundamentally important programs in all serious language departments.
Daniel Edmund O'Sullivan
Chair and Professor of Modern Languages
Mission Statement
The mission of the Department of Modern Languages promotes multilingualism and cross-cultural understanding across the university. It seeks to develop in its minors, majors, and graduate students high proficiency in a second language, knowledge of global languages and cultures, and skills to analyze linguistic structures and literary texts. Its faculty is dedicated to creating a dynamic intellectual atmosphere through continuing research and scholarship in literature, linguistics, cultural studies, and philology, thus preparing many of its graduate students to join the next generation of teacher-scholars. Furthermore, the Department provides opportunities for civic engagement, service learning, internships, and graduate assistantships. These opportunities develop students’ global and cross-cultural competence and thus prepare them for careers, leadership, citizenship, and stewardship. Consequently, the Department of Modern Languages prepares students for the complexity and diversity of a rapidly changing world.
Department Leadership and Support
Daniel O'Sullivan
- Chair and Professor of Modern Languages
Maria Filippi
- Administrative Assistant
Sasha Sims
- Administrative Secretary
Allen Clark
- Associate Professor of Modern Languages
Zhini Zeng
- Associate Professor of Chinese
Donald Dyer
- Associate Dean for Faculty & Academic Affairs and Distinguished Professor of Modern Languages
Zachary Adamz
- Project Coordinator
Emma Lane
- Project Coordinator
Sara Wellman
- Associate Professor of Modern Languages
Felice Coles
- Professor of Modern Languages
Maria Fionda
- Associate Professor of Spanish
Michael Raines
- Instructional Associate Professor of TESL
Arabic Language
Allen Clark
- Associate Professor of Modern Languages
Emad Gerges
- Instructor in Arabic
Charles Joukhadar
- Assistant Professor of Arabic
Ahmed Mansour
- Instructor in Arabic
Yasmine Sedeek
- Instructor in Arabic
Asmaa Shehata
- Assistant Professor of Arabic
Chinese Language
Zhini Zeng
- Associate Professor of Chinese