Vision:
The Department of Foreign Languages and Literature educates students to become better
global citizens through instruction in foreign language, literature and culture. Through this
study, students gain further knowledge of their own language and culture and are able to
make informed cultural comparisons.

General Description:
The department offers courses fulfilling both the core and specific language requirements
of a variety of departments. lt teaches students to read, write, speak, and understand foreign
languages and to comprehend and appreciate foreign cultures and literatures. The
communication skills may be applied to advanced literature, culture or linguistic studies or
may add an international component to degrees in business, history, political science, nursing
and other programs.

The Department offers programs in French, German and Spanish. We prepare undergraduate
certification candidates and provide the Master's-level content courses for education degrees.
The Department advises not only its majors, but also students certifying to teach languages and,
more generally, those completing the core curriculum. lt enriches campus cultural life with a variety
of extracurricular international activities. Significantly, the department maintains a community of
teacher/scholars, who actively pursue research in their fields, publish and read papers at major
conferences. Faculty advise the local and state community on a range of international issues.

Curriculum and Programs:
Language courses in French, German, and Spanish teach the traditional four skills from a
beginning through and advanced level: reading, writing, speaking, and listening as well as cultural
and literary competence. These courses satisfy core requirements in the Humanities and the
language requirement for BA and other degree programs.

The Department offers majors and minors in French and Spanish, and a minor in German. A minor
in a Foreign Language is a requirement for many interdisciplinary programs: International Economic
Affairs, Global Studies, and Latin American Certification. A major prepares students for graduate
studies in language, literature, culture and linguistics. In addition, the major prepares students for
teacher certification and graduate degrees in language pedagogy; the Department offers pedagogy
courses related to the specific language and supervises practice teaching.
 

Experiential Learning:
In keeping with the Regents' mandate to "internationalize" the curriculum, and the University's
Visionary Goals, the Department provides a variety of experiential learning activities. The
Department offers summer study abroad programs in France and Mexico where students live
in private homes, interacting with local residents, as they complete a formal course of study.
Shorter trips abroad are offered in conjunction with interdisciplinary courses, to the
Spanish/French-speaking Caribbean. Student intemships are available in Belgium, Switzerland,
Germany and France as well as temporary placement with agencies involved in international
interactions at home. The Department hires native-speakers to interact with language students
in class, in conversation clubs and as tutors.

The University Community:
The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures supports interdisciplinary initiatives
by teaching courses in the XIDS program on a regular basis. lt also participates in
multi-disciplinary programs such as the Latin American certificate, Global Studies major,
and languages across the curriculum. Departmental faculty are also actively involved in teaching
team-taught courses with colleagues from other departments, in offering courses to the Learning
Communities and Honors College.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures promotes an active and personal
environment on campus, sponsoring frequent cultural events. Faculty tutor students, offer
on-line forums, sponsor group help sessions, and run a large number of extracurricular activities,
including outside lectures, Hispanic Day, foreign language clubs and conversation groups. The
department has enriched the campus culture with its national and international film series. The
national honor society Phi Sigma Iota inducts new members once a year, honorees and all
majors and minors are hosted at an annual reception.

Faculty:
The faculty, including representatives of eight different countries, are active scholars with
general and specialized knowledge on foreign countries and their literatures and cultures.
The faculty carry out research projects on literature, culture, and pedagogy, and present the
results at conferences and in print. The Department sponsors an annual conference of
scholars, providing a forum for discussion of literature and the visual arts.