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Student & Faculty Highlights

LIR Awards 2025  (external link) 

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the LIR Awards Celebration on November 19th, 2025!

A special thank you to our award donors, Dr. Gerd Hauck and Mr. & Mrs. Ranjit Singh Dulai, along with our award presenters from the Dean's Office, Dr. Anne-Marie Lee-Loy and Dr. Kathleen Kellet.

Hear from Languages, Literatures and Cultures professor Dr. Hongbing Yu about why you should pursue your passion and find your purpose at the Faculty of Arts at TMU.

Dr. Elham Mirzania article on CNS.  (external link) 

Dr. Elham Mirzania, Chinese language instructor in the department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, shares her story in this video interview with 中国新闻社 (China News Service ). 

TIFF Talk at TMU 2025's special guest was filmmaker Álvaro Olmos Torrico. His film, The Condor Daughter (La Hija Cóndor (external link) ) was officially selected for TIFF 2025 (external link) . He joined us on TMU's campus to share his creative journey and experiences at this event hosted by Dr. Ketty Zafra.

Giada Amenta's story.

LIR student Giada Amenta reflects on her unforgettable experience representing Canada in the 24th Chinese Bridge Competition world finals. From language learning to cultural immersion, she shares what made the journey so impactful.

Ciboney Pennyman's TMU journey.

How a TikTok scroll sparked a student's leadership journey: Celebrating 2025 grads and their social impact.

Read about LIR 2025 grad Ciboney Pennyman's undergraduate experience.

LIR 204’s trip to Senegal

Behind the journey: Reflections one year after LIR 204’s trip to Senegal.

A look at how African Studies and Beyond’s transformative trip came to life with Dr. Ndeye Ba and the lasting impact it continues to have, a year later.

 2025 Faculty of Arts Awards

Congratulations to Professor Julián Zapata for receiving the New Faculty Teaching Award and to Professor John Barnes for receiving the Slobodan Drakulic Cross-Disciplinary Teaching Award at the 2025 Faculty of Arts Awards!

Professor Jamin Pelkey from Languages, Literatures and Cultures shares how intercultural understanding is key in today’s global workforce, from finance to law to human relations. Discover how the Language and Intercultural Relations (LIR) program can help you build meaningful connections and make a real-world impact. 

Article by Dr. Evguénia Timoshenkova.  (external link) 

Félicitations, Dr. Evguénia Timoshenkova!

Read her article in the French language journal Viatica: « [Q]uelle plaisanterie que les voyages ! » : Alphonse Karr jardinier-voyageur.

Student Projects Grants: French Language students compete in 2025 Translation Games

Bien joué Aziza, Celina, Christine, Gabrielle, Kaitlyn and Kayla for representing TMU at the 2025 Translation Games (external link)  (Jeux de la traduction)! The team attended the Games in Montreal with their coach Professor Julián Zapata.

Thank you to the Faculty of Arts for supporting the team with a Student Projects Grant.

The department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures embraced International Mother Language Day 2025 by encouraging multilingual education in the TMU community and beyond. Read about how students and faculty in the department foster linguistic diversity.