Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Department

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The Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Goucher College offers a course of study in five languages: Arabic, French, German, Italian, and Russian. The Russian section operates as a cooperative program with the Johns Hopkins University. Students interested in studying Hebrew should look under Judaic Studies listing. Students interested in studying Spanish should look under the Department of Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. The department’s mission is twofold: to strengthen the liberal arts undergraduate curriculum at Goucher College by providing language programs of broad scope and high quality; and, most importantly, to engage students in the study of compelling transnational issues through the study of the cultural texts produced by other countries. Our faculty is international and interdisciplinary in its research and teaching, offering courses in areas as diverse as film, literature, culture, anthropology, theater, holocaust studies, folklore, socio-linguistics, ecology.

General Education Requirement

The study of a foreign language is an essential part of a general education requirement at a liberal arts college. At Goucher, all students are required to complete the last course of the 12-credit 100-level series (ARB 130 , FR 130 , GER 130 , GER 130G , IT 130 , IT 130G , JS 130 , RUS 130 ,) or demonstrate comparable proficiency. A student may not fulfill the foreign language requirement by auditing a course. Students must complete a placement test before enrolling in a language class. On the basis of a placement test, students may exempt (but not receive credit for) certain courses and enter the language sequence at a higher level. Transfer credits are awarded based on the placement test results.

Placement test results have an expiration date of one year—i.e., students need to retake their placement test after two or more semesters if they have not taken the language course in which they were placed, unless they have opted to satisfy their language requirement with the study of another language altogether.

Finally, students interested in fulfilling their language requirement with a language not taught at Goucher must consult in advance with the chair of the department and sign a written agreement.

Thormann International Center and Language House

Outside the classroom, opportunities to practice the target language and attend international cultural events are provided through the Language House Program. The Language House, located in Welsh Hall, is staffed by native speakers, and aims at promoting the daily practice of foreign languages outside the classroom. Annual plays, language tables, teas, colloquia, film series, and guest speakers enrich students’ awareness of the world beyond Goucher. These events often take place in the Thormann International Center, a space dedicated to the furthering of international cultural awareness.

Study-Abroad Programs

A variety of intensive course abroad venues are available to students of French, German, Italian, and Russian (please see descriptions under the various language programs). French majors are required to spend a semester in Paris in a Goucher study-abroad program. Students of German can attend the University of Tubingen.

Department Faculty

Professor

Florence Martin, (French and Francophone African and Caribbean literature and cinema)

Associate Professors

Mark Ingram, chair (French, civilization and culture, French theatre, anthropology of Europe), Uta Larkey (German, German cultural history and film, Holocauststudies), Olya Samilenko (Russian, 19th- and 20th-century prose, Russian culture and civilization and cinema), Kathryn St. Ours (French 19th- and 20th-century literature, French and Italian cinema, the literature of ecology).

Assistant Professors

Annalisa Czeczulin (Russian), Antje Krueger (Evelyn Myers Visiting Instructor in German).

Instructors

Nadia Brukhanoff (French), Zahi Khamis (Arabic), Carmela Lambiase (Italian), Jeannette Miller (French)

The French and Russian Majors

A student majoring in one of the modern languages is expected to read, write, and speak the language accurately and-fluently. Students specializing in literature are expected to know the main facts of its development, including historical and social background, and to demonstrate ability for critical appreciation. Students specializing in culture and civilization are expected to be familiar with the general political, economic, and intellectual trends of the society studied and to be able to contextualize these historically. Majors are required to complete 30 credits chosen from courses at the 200 and 300 levels, including nine at the 300 level.

The Language-Linkage Option

Students should also be aware of the opportunities for perfecting their language skills while pursuing courses taught in English originating in other departments. In such cases, students enroll in both the three-credit English taught course and in a one-credit language course attached to it. The latter provides meetings with students with an added opportunity to further explore the topic studied in the three-credit course in the target language.

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