Department of Languages & Literature

History

San Carlos started as an “elite” school, and remained so even in the American regime of “popular education.” The feminists would be interested to know that it opened its doors to women students only in 1940, five years after the SVDs took over its management. But long before that, in 1891 to be precise, it offered collegiate-level courses including Latin prose and poetry, French and even Greek. No one can trace exactly when English became the medium of instruction but is probably came earlier or at the time that San Carlos gained university status in 1948. Though the SVDs and its founder Blessed Arnold Janssen are noted for their natural sciences and anthropological thrusts, the languages and humanities are part of USCs commitment to delivering “excellent” services.

The setting up of a distinct English department is untraceable at the moment but the first known appointee to head the department in 1949 was Atty. Cornelio Faigao, a Cebuano writer and poet. Then, the curriculum was AB English, and expectedly a literature-oriented specialization.

The introduction of second language courses was initiated by a Fulbright grantee (Ms. Maria Gutierrez) in the early 60’s that saw the construction of the speech laboratory in 1960, a pioneering venture here in Cebu City, if not the first outside Manila.

A unique curriculum that produced secretaries with substantial English training, infused with a 2-year associate certificate in secretarial studies emerged in 1969 which degree drew most of the English major population until the approval of a full-blown 4-year course in secretarial science in the early 1980s. Although a revised AB curriculum with secretarial studies was designed to meet the competition, this development gradually depleted the department’s majors population until its extinction in year 2002.

The division of the sections into speech, Language and Literature already existed in the 60s, with the speech section in-charge of dramatics as it still is today. The Theater Guild was organized as the co-curricular arm and annual major plays dominated the department’s activities in the 2nd semester for years. PETA and CCP workshops became a regular feature, with the department sending teachers and students to Manila or sponsoring workshops here. The staging of major plays eventually ceased when the administration co-sponsored them, and the department realized that it wasn’t a beneficial venture.

The infusion of humanities into the department’s offering came in the 80s when DECS mandated a 6-unit requirement. Though a humanities 1 subject was already handled by the history department, the task was assigned to the English department, for in lieu of humanities 2, the introductory literature course served as the second subject. In 1990, the biggest department in terms of faculty, grew even more populous when the Filipino and foreign languages department was fused with it to form the Department of Languages and Literature. This move was resorted to the reduction of Spanish units, and cost-cutting measures on office space and staff.

Pre-empting the 1996 CHED Memo mandating the AB English Language degree (with applied linguistics courses), the department, in 1994, revised its AB English program to offer a balanced curriculum of Language and Literature subjects. To make it distinctive, the degree carried the subtitle “with applied linguistics” in consonance with its other program (with secretarial studies.). In 2003, the program shall be more precisely identified as AB Linguistics and Literature.

Harmonizing with the specializations in the undergraduate program, the masteral Degree in the 60’s, MA in English, had a major either in TESL (Teaching English As A Second Language) or Literature, but the students had to take subjects in both disciplines. Later in the 90’s, two distinct MA’s arose, MA in TESL and MA in Literature; and until this year, with some minor revisions, sustained the graduate offerings.

But in 2002, a new curriculum, MA in Applied Linguistics, was designed to keep up with the trends in language researches. 2002 likewise marks the return to verticalization – that is, the department handles and manages its graduate program unlike in the early 90s when a separate college, the graduate school, took charge of all graduate programs.

The chairperson is the most dominant and influential person in a department. His/her interests and expertise are the forces that energize and inspire the faculty. His/her integrity binds the faculty. Only one SVD sat as chair of the Department – Fr. John Vogelgesang, a German American and a Literature major. Another American SVD held the headship of the Language section. Virtually all those who chaired the department were majors in English, either Literature or Language or Linguistics major except for two whose specializations were not in line with the department’s thrusts. Still, the commitment to deliver good instruction goes on.