University language programmes are often held to be a vital element in national preparedness to cope with an increasingly connected world. Yet we know very little about the social and intellectual organization of contemporary language departments or the networks through which staff manage their teaching, research and service to the community. I suggest that one starting-point for the necessary analysis is to recognize the anomalous status of languages among the Humanities and examine the ways in which challenges to that status are resisted. I illustrate the argument by considering the evolution of Italian Studies in Australian universities. (Contains 31 notes.)