Elon to host Undergraduate Conference on Languages and Cultures in fall 2025

Elon University will host the Undergraduate Conference on Languages and Cultures (UCLC@Elon) in fall 2025, which provides an opportunity to present undergraduate scholarship on world languages and cultures in either a student’s target language or in English.

The conference is open to undergraduate students who are studying one of the languages offered through the World Languages & Cultures department.

The conference will take place Sept. 19 and is themed “The Future is/of World Languages and Cultures.” Associate Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures Kristin Lange said the theme shows the diversity of research opportunities in languages and cultures.

“It allows students to look into the future while not forgetting the past and how it shapes languages and cultures here and now,” Lange said.

The theme invites participation across disciplines with research that focuses on related aspects of world languages study, including literature, film, linguistics and cultural studies.

This will be the fourth UCLC conference Elon has hosted, but the first since 2020. World languages programs and departments from across North Carolina and beyond have been invited to attend, as well as present, at UCLC in the fall. In addition to undergraduate students, local high school language programs have been invited to attend.

“We brought it back and made it stronger as a way to showcase world languages and cultures,” Lange said. “Students at any level can participate.”

For the first year since the conference started in 2017, students in 1000-level language courses are also encouraged to present their research.

UCLC is accepting poster and presentation submissions from undergraduate students through June 2. Research can be presented in either the student’s target language or in English.

Students can submit their abstracts online through the UCLC website.

“We are looking forward to welcoming the world languages community from North Carolina and beyond,” Lange said.

The conference will include poster sessions, panels, workshops, a keynote speaker and networking opportunities. Conference registration will open during the summer and those who submitted proposals will be notified of acceptance by June 15.

UCLC 2025 Target Languages

• Arabic
• Chinese
• Classical languages (Latin and Ancient Greek)
• French
• German
• Hebrew
• Regional indigenous languages
• Italian
• Spanish

UCLC Planning Committee

• April Post, senior lecturer in Spanish
• Corey Roberts, assistant professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies
• Kristin Lange, WLC associate chair and associate professor of German
• Olivia Choplin, associate professor of French
• Pablo Celis-Castillo, associate professor of Spanish
• Patti Burns, senior lecturer in French
• Sarah T. Moore, WLC student leader
• Sophie Adamson, associate professor of French