2026 | A STEM Strategy for Modern Languages? Mapping Ireland’s Multilingual Futures

Recorded May 21, 2026. A lecture by Professor Michael Cronin, Chair of French 1776, Trinity College Dublin The Trinity Long Room Hub Annual Humanities Horizons Lecture for 2026 was delivered by Prof Michael Cronin, on A STEM Strategy for Modern Languages? Mapping Ireland’s Multilingual Futures. 250 years ago the first Chairs in Modern Languages in these islands were established in Trinity College Dublin. The TCD Chairs in French and German are the oldest, continuous Chairs in these languages in the world. But what of the future? How does Ireland build on its pioneering role in modern language education to make modern languages central to social cohesion, psychological wellbeing and economic prosperity on the island? The lecture argues for the benefits of a concerted strategy to make modern languages a strategic asset in the future development of our island community. About Michael Cronin Michael Cronin is 1776 Professor of French and Senior Researcher in the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation. Michael Cronin received his BA from Trinity College Dublin, his MA from University College Dublin and his PhD from Trinity College Dublin. He has taught in universities in France and Ireland and has held Visiting Research Fellowships to universities in Canada, Belgium, Peru, France and Egypt. He is a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin, an elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy and the Academia Europaea, an Officer in the Ordre des Palmes Académiques. Michael Cronin is the author of 13 monographs, the co-editor of seven edited collections and the author of over 150 refereed articles and book chapters. His work has been translated into 16 languages including Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Korean and Modern Greek. Among his published works are Across the Lines: travel, language, translation (Cork University Press, 2000), Translation and Globalization (Routledge, 2006), Translation and Identity (Routledge, 2006), The Expanding World: towards a politics of microspection (Zero Books, 2012), Translation in the Digital Age (Routledge, 2013), Eco-Translation: translation and ecology in the Age of the Anthropocene (Routledge, 2017), Irish and Ecology/An Ghaeilge agus an Éiceolaíocht (FÁS, 2019) and Eco-Travel: journeying in the Anthropocene (Cambridge University Press, 2022). His research interests are in the areas of eco-criticism and bio-cultural diversity. Learn more at www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub