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 six languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Russian. The Russian section operates as a cooperative program with the Johns Hopkins University. Students interested in studying Hebrew should consult the Judaic Studies listing. Students interested in studying Spanish should look under the Department of Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures. The MLLC 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, and 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 or demonstrate comparable proficiency. Within the MLLC Department, one may demonstrate proficiency through successful completion of ARB 130 ,

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 to promote the daily practice of foreign languages outside the classroom. Annual plays, language tables, teas, colloquia, film series, guest speakers, and the on-campus residencies of foreign artists enrich students’ awareness of the world beyond Goucher. 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, Strasbourg (France) or Brussels (Belgium) in a Goucher study-abroad program. Students of German can attend the University of Tübingen, the Leuphana University Luneberg, the Free University Berlin and other Goucher-approved university programs in Germany and Austria. Students pursuing a major or minor in a foreign language with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00, who are interested in carrying their institutional financial aid for a second semester on a Goucher language immersion program need to submit a petition to the chairs of the Hispanic Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department and the Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures Department.

Department Faculty

Professors

Mark Ingram, (French, civilization and culture, French theatre, anthropology of Europe); Florence Martin, chair (French and Francophone African and Caribbean literature and cinema)

Associate Professors

Uta Larkey (German, German cultural history, German and Israeli Cinema, Holocaust Studies); 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 (German, German literature of the 20th and 21st centuries).

Assistant Visiting Professor

          Christine Van Berten (French)

Instructors

Zahi Khamis (Arabic); Jeanne-Rachel Leroux (French); Elisabetta Girardi (Italian)

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 at least 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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