Literature Department

The DLSU Department of Literature is one of the leading centers of creative writing and literary, cultural, and performance studies in the Philippines.  It is the home of writers and scholars who are respected locally and internationally.

The department offers undergraduate and graduate programs in literary, cultural, and performance studies; creative writing; and literature across the professions.  It commits itself to the development, promotion, and teaching of courses that will not only shape students’ humanistic spirit but also instill a consciousness of their cultural heritage.   

Over the years, the Literature programs from the AB to the PhD levels have produced graduates who have made and continue to make significant contributions to Philippine arts and letters.

Vision-Mission

The Department of Literature aims to be a leading learner-centered department in literary, cultural, and performance pedagogy, production, and research in the Philippines and Asia.

Literary, Cultural, and Performance Production – in poetry, drama and performance, fiction, and creative nonfiction; in the translation of creative texts into Philippine and foreign languages; in multi-genre, hybrid, hyper-, and other texts; and in other forms of cultural production.

Pedagogy in Literature, Cultural, and  Performance Studies – on graduate and undergraduate levels; in seminar-lecture and craft-workshop courses on histories, genres, and theories of literature, culture, performance, and creative writing.

Literary, Cultural, and Performance Research – in local, national, and transnational intersections of literary history, critical theory and poetics, literary, cultural, and performance criticism.

Through these three main thrusts, the Department nurtures scholars and artists who bridge faith and scholarship in their advocacy of cultural heritage and in their contributions to Philippine and Asian literature, culture, and performance.

Historical Background

1965-66: The Literature program is added as a major in the Liberal Arts under the Department of Letters, which is later renamed the Department of Languages and Literature.

1973: The first batch of co-ed students enters the De La Salle College.

1977:  Likha, the official journal of the Languages and Literature Department, is released in March 1977.

1981: The English Language and Literature Department offers four new courses for the second trimester, SY 1981-1982: Politics and Literature, Literature and Film, History of the Theater, and Introduction to Poetry.

1983: The Master of Arts in Language and Literature program is offered.

1985: The English Language and Literature, Philippine Studies, and Foreign Languages Departments are restructured to become the Literature and Languages Department.

1995: Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Ph.D. in Literature are offered by the Literature Department.
The Literature Department offers Gay and Lesbian Literature in the second trimester of SY 1995-1996. 

1998:  In line with CHED’s vision to focus on regional literature, the Literature Department offers courses on Philippine Literature in various languages–Cebuano, Tagalog, Bikol, Chinese, and Spanish.
The AB major in Literature, Minor in Creative Writing is offered.

1999: The Literature Department is designated as a Center of Excellence by CHED.
The Internet-Enhanced Master of Arts in Teaching Literature (CHED Program) or Inter-MATL is offered to distance learners from the University of St. La Salle Bacolod, De La Salle Lipa, DLSU-Dasmariñas, and Ateneo de Naga.

2000: The Literature Department and the Philippine Languages Department are merged and renamed the Department of Philippine Languages and Literature (Departamento ng Literatura at Wikang Filipino – DLWF).
The Doctor of Fine Arts program is offered.

2002: Effective 3rd term, SY 2002-2003, the CLA Council approves the separation of the Departamento ng Literatura at Wikang Filipino into two departments.

2010: The AB Literature program is accredited by the ASEAN University Network (AUN).

2021: In accordance with the naming convention of units, the Literature Department is officially renamed the Department of Literature.

2021: Akda: The Asian Journal of Literature, Culture, Performance, the official journal of the Department of Literature, releases its first issue under the auspices of the DLSU Publishing House.

2022: The Master of Arts in Literary, Cultural, and Performance Studies program is offered.

2026: The Department of Literature celebrated its 60th Anniversary.