Languages and Cultures
Department Chair: Jeff DuBois (Ana Conboy, Fall 2024)
Faculty: Ana Conboy, Kate Droske, Jeff DuBois, Sam Grayck, Masami Limpert, Penghui Liu, Krista Osmundson, Jason Schlude
Our department offers language instruction in Latin, French, German, Japanese, and English as a Second Language as well as English for Bilingual Students.
The study of another language is an adventure, an exploration into the workings of minds both like and unlike our own. As human minds mold language, so language also molds human minds. A language is therefore not only a means by which we represent our thoughts; it is also a medium that presents the world to us in a certain way. When we learn a new language, we learn to see differently; we acquire a new perspective from which to view both ourselves and the world. In the literature of another language—even when through translation—we encounter a culture revealed, extended, and tested by its most critical and inventive thinkers, who use the language to explore their society's limitations and possibilities. Because the study of language liberates us from bondage to a single cultural perspective and allows us to converse with members of another culture, it has from the times of the ancient Romans been considered central to a liberal education.
Students of Latin strive to gain an understanding of the ancient peoples whose hard thinking about the perplexities of the human condition, preserved in literature of astonishing richness and beauty, has provided the foundation of modern Western civilization. In Latin courses the emphasis falls primarily upon developing the students' reading ability.
Students of modern languages seek to understand an intricate contemporary culture and explore the literature and traditions that give it life. Programs in French and German, accordingly, consist of a balance of languages, literature, and civilization, and should ideally include one or two semesters of study abroad. Study of Japanese, which provides insight into both ancient and modern cultures in Asia, encourages participation in the study abroad programs in Japan.
For students whose first languages are ones other than English, courses are available in English as a Second Language (ESL). The focus in these courses is on improving language proficiency in listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing, with special emphasis on the skills necessary for academic success in a university setting.
For information on the Spanish major, please see the Department of Hispanic Studies: http://www.csbsju.edu/hispanicstudies/
Proficiency in a classical or modern language represents a verifiable skill within a broad liberal arts education, giving the student multiple options. In-depth language study is multidimensional in nature and can prepare students for teaching language, continued study in graduate school and for a wide variety of careers and professions, both in the United States and around the world. Moreover, the linguistic and cross-cultural competence associated with studying another language is increasingly of interest to employers in business, service, and government fields.
The Languages and Cultures department provides the courses that fulfill the Integrations Curriculum requirement in language proficiency for all CSB and SJU students. In order to fulfill this goal, all students should:
- Know the basic grammatical structures of the target language.
- In the modern languages, achieve balanced development of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.
- In the classical languages, develop reading and writing skills.
- Understand the relationship between language and culture.
- Acquire an inclusive perspective on the target culture(s), one which ranges from artistic accomplishments to details of everyday life.
- Demonstrate awareness of the intellectual discussion surrounding the learning of a world language above and beyond the language's practical usefulness.
Assessment
The Department of Languages and Cultures conducts regular assessment of student learning in linguistic skills as well as in the literary and cultural components of the program. Methods of assessment include: language placement test for incoming students, regular review of skills in speaking, listening, reading, writing and cultural understanding according to proficiency guidelines, and research projects written in the target language and presented in a public forum, in or out of the classroom setting.
English for Bilingual Students
Courses fulfill Global Language Proficiency requirement for eligible students: EBS 201 English for Bilingual Students
English as a Second Language
Courses fulfill Global Language Proficiency requirement for eligible students. ESL 201: English as a Second Language.
CHIN 211 Intermediate Chinese I (4 Credits)
Review and continued study of grammar together with additional training in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. 211 and 212 emphasize Chinese culture and civilization. Satisfactory completion of CHIN 211 fulfills the global language proficiency requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: CHIN 211Z, CHIN 215
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency
CHIN 279A Dream of Red Utopia (4 Credits)
The Chinese Cultural Revolution encompasses a number of shifts in perception and narratives around politics and society in China during the years 1966-1976. One story was told of a Cultural Revolution that would result in a perfect society where everyone had what they needed, class struggle was ended, and men and women were all free and equal. Every aspect of society had to be the best – industry, agriculture, science. In this revolution, leaders like Mao Zedong declared that art and literature were weapons to free the masses and they were to be used to share the message of the Communist Party and to document and promote Party successes. Other stories claimed that this red utopia was just a dream: that numbers and reports were inflated. that there was not enough for everyone, that not everyone was free and equal. After the Cultural Revolution, other stories revealed evidence of editing, omitting, and fabricating evidence.
This course will focus on examining a variety of texts that reflect the changing perception of truth, including but not limited to: memoirs, creative writing, reportage, photographs, posters, paintings. By taking this co-taught course, students will have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the Chinese Cultural Revolution as a social, political, and cultural movement from multiple perspectives. Students will analyze important texts of history, art, and literature.
Prerequisites: CHIN 279A is a Thematic Focus - Truth course. You must take INTG 100 or 205 prior to taking a Thematic Focus Course. You must take a Cultural and Social Difference: Identity (CI) course prior to or at the same time as Thematic Focus Courses.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Focus - Truth
CHIN 311 Advanced Chinese: Conversation, Composition, and Literature I (4 Credits)
Designed to help students solidify and further their communicative and writing ability in Chinese through contact with various written styles of modern Chinese language. Advanced Chinese also provides an introduction to contemporary Chinese literature. 311 and 312 may be taken in either order.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: CHIN 315
CHIN 320 Chinese Literature in Translation (4 Credits)
Reading and analysis of classic literary works in English translation from selected periods, such as legends and poetry of the Tang Dynasty, plays of the Yuan Dynasty, novels of the Ming and Qing Dynasty, and representative works of contemporary literature. Examination of the development and adaptation of different literary genres in the process of social transformations such as migration and immigration. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: MCLT 315
CHIN 321A Chinese Women in Literature (4 Credits)
This course aims to engage students with literature by and about Chinese women and the gender, class, and cultural issues that are intertwined with this intriguing topic. We will read ancient and contemporary Chinese women’s writings, including poems, short novels, and autobiographies. Notable female authors include Ban Zhao and Qingzhao Li from ancient China and Bingxin and Huiyin Lin from modern China. We will also discuss who the female writers were and the reasons they took up the pen, a practice often discouraged by the traditional patriarchal society. Furthermore, we will read portrayals of women’s lives that were confined to the inner quarters of the household and the expectations imposed upon them by the society and customs of their times. Readings include tomb inscriptions for honorable ladies, biographies of deceased concubines, essays on the proper conduct of women, chapters of novels focusing on the domestic life, and diaries of foreign missionaries. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: GEND 290B, GEND 360Q
Attributes: Benedictine Raven (BN)
CHIN 321B Chinese Folklore, Myths and Legends (4 Credits)
In this class, we read the English translations of popular Chinese folklore. These include the tale of Mulan, the story of the Cowherd and the Weaver Goddess, and the legend of Caiji. We analyze how the stories evolved throughout history and how they were told differently in mainstream and vernacular cultures. We also examine a number of adaptations of these stories in film, story-telling and writings by Chinese American authors, and compare the differences in terms of language, theme and function. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: MCLT 319E
Attributes: Benedictine Raven (BN)
CLAS 221 Golden Age of Athens (4 Credits)
All works read in English. Great works of Greek literature, history, and philosophy from the 5th and early 4th centuries B.C., one of the most remarkable periods of intellectual, artistic, and political activity. Authors read include Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Herodotus, Thucydides, Aristophanes, and Plato.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: HUMN 221
Attributes: Human Experience (HE)
CLAS 223 Classical Mythology (4 Credits)
From gods and heroes to witches, monsters, and legendary rulers, the imagination of the ancient Mediterranean was populated with a dynamic cast of characters and the myths that told their stories. In this class, we will explore Greek and Roman mythology through ancient art and literature as well as selected modern art, literature, and film that take classical myths as their inspiration. As we go, we'll become familiar with some of the most significant and influential mythology of the classical world, and we will learn how to apply strategies like close reading, comparative analysis, and critical theory to these myths to help us ask: What is a myth? What do myths mean, and why are they important? And what do ancient mythology and the modern day have to say to each other?
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: HUMN 327
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter1/2 - Truth, Writing Requirement (WR)
CLAS 279A Scientific Etymology (4 Credits)
Language is power. Nowhere is that truer than in the language of science, which is based on Greek and Latin. In this course, students dramatically increase their understanding and command of scientific terminology through learning its Greek and Latin roots. Students in biology, chemistry, nursing, nutrition, and other science programs will save themselves numerous hours of study by taking this class—and hundreds of hours if they plan on graduate entrance exams and study. And all students, regardless of major, will improve their scientific literacy, ability to navigate their health histories and healthcare, and fluency with English in general, which also owes a major debt to Greek and Latin. What is more, this class will help you experience the study of language as an enjoyable adventure in exploration, rather than a burdensome task. Languages do not materialize out of nothing. They are based on thousands of root words that have moved through time and now join in a variety of combinations that give meaning. Every day your words carry a legacy of human history that stretches back millennia. Greek and Latin are alive and well, and in this class, you will study words that enable you to understand the present and past and to advocate for yourself, your family, your friends, and your fellow citizens.
Prerequisites: CLAS 279A is a Thematic Focus course. You must take INTG 100 or 205 prior to taking a Thematic Focus Course. You must take a Cultural and Social Difference: Identity (CI) course prior to or at the same time as Thematic Focus Courses.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Focus - Truth
CLAS 379A Grand Strategy (4 Credits)
Vision and decision, across 5000 years of human history: this is the subject of Grand Strategy. In this course, we will consider a vast array of case studies, starting from the depths of ancient history and moving into the present moment. Along the way, we will witness the spectacular successes and failures of some of the most famous leaders of all time. We will ask a series of interrelated questions that will enable us to understand past human behavior and to best prepare ourselves for how to grapple with crises now, political and personal (and broadly defined). What resources did leaders have? How did they use them? To what effect? How should we explain success or failure? What can we learn from later creative reflections on these movers and shakers in society? How should we apply the past to the present? Is there a reliable recipe for success? As we grapple with such questions and seek truth, students will have opportunities to apply what we learn in a modern context. They will collaborate on responses to global crises and consider how this course can help them to lead lives of positive impact and deep meaning. If you want big history, big questions, and (possibly) big answers, join us.
Prerequisites: CLAS 379A is a Thematic Focus - Truth course. You must take INTG 100 or 205 prior to taking a Thematic Focus Course. You must take a Cultural and Social Difference: Identity (CI) course prior to or at the same time as Thematic Focus Courses.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Focus - Truth
CLAS 379B Truth, Lies, & Fiction in Classical Literature (4 Credits)
When we read a novel, attend a play, or even listen to a tall tale, we’re told stories about things that haven’t really happened by people who aren’t telling us the truth. How is it, then, that made-up stories can seem meaningful? Is there truth in fiction, or is fiction a type of lie? And—as many ancient readers and writers wondered—does that make fiction dangerous?
This course will trace the ways that ancient Greek and Roman poets, playwrights, philosophers, and other writers explored these questions in a range of time periods, literary genres, and artistic works. Beginning with an introduction to the Greek philosophical concept of mimesis (imitation/artistic representation) and working up to the first sci-fi novel, we’ll consider how classical authors and artists evaluate and represent different types of invention and their relationships to truth and storytelling. Periodically we will pause in our consideration of ancient works and hold roundtable discussions evaluating our overarching question: what is at stake when we distinguish between truth, lies, and fiction?
Throughout the term, we will practice the skills of academic research and writing, including close reading, evaluating sources, prewriting, drafting, and integrating feedback. Students will develop a research question in consultation with the instructor and answer it in a term paper composed in stages over the term.
Prerequisites: CLAS 379B is a Thematic Focus - Truth course. You must take INTG 100 or 205 prior to taking a Thematic Focus Course. You must take a Cultural and Social Difference: Identity (CI) course prior to or at the same time as Thematic Focus Courses.
Attributes: Artistic Expression (AE), Thematic Focus - Truth
CLAS 399 Senior Capstone (2 Credits)
All Classics: Ancient Mediterranean Studies majors and Classics: Classical Languages majors must present a senior project in a public forum. In consultation with a faculty advisor, students choose a project appropriate to their previous course of study and/or their individual goals. Students completing 398 on a topic relevant to their Classics major do not need to complete CLAS 399.
Prerequisites: None
EBS 201 English for Bilingual Students (2 Credits)
Designed for US bilingual/multilingual students, this course focuses on the two core skills of advanced academic reading and writing. The first part aims to strengthen academic reading and research skills and to improve academic vocabulary. The second part aims to strengthen academic writing with emphasis on essays and research papers. Students practice organizing, outlining, proofreading, editing, and revising. May count toward fulfillment of the global language requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: EBS 210, EBS 211
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter1/2-Movement
ESL 105 ESL Listening Comprehension II (0-1 Credits)
Listening and note-taking, discussion skills, and academic vocabulary skills. May count toward fulfillment of the global language requirement. Spring, A mod.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: ESL 203, MCL 105
ESL 106 ESL Speaking II (0-1 Credits)
Class discussions and presentations, with emphasis on leading discussions, posing and responding to questions, and presenting information effectively. May count toward fulfillment of the global language requirement. Spring, B mod.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: ESL 203, MCL 106
ESL 107 ESL Reading II (0-1 Credits)
Academic reading and research skills, strengthening of academic vocabulary. May count toward fulfillment of the global language requirement. Spring, C mod.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: ESL 203, MCL 107
ESL 108 ESL Writing II (0-1 Credits)
Academic writing with emphasis on essays and research papers. Practice in organizing, outlining, proofreading, editing, and revising. May count toward fulfillment of the global language requirement. Spring, D mod.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: ESL 203, MCL 108
ESL 201 English as a Second Language (ESL) (4 Credits)
ESL helps students improve their proficiency in English language for use in an academic context in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This course will focus on: Listening to, responding to, and taking notes on spoken English, especially in an academic context; Pronunciation, discussion and public speaking practice, with emphasis on skills expected in an academic setting; Emphasis on academic vocabulary, grammar, and reading skills needed in college coursework; Emphasis on academic vocabulary, grammar and writing skills needed in college coursework.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: ESL 101, ESL 102, ESL 103, ESL 104
Attributes: Global Engagement (GL)
ESL 203 English as a Second Language (ESL) (4 Credits)
In this course, students continue to improve their proficiency in English language for use in an academic context in the areas of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This course will focus on: Listening to, responding to, and taking notes on spoken English, especially in an academic context; Pronunciation, discussion and public speaking practice, with emphasis on skills expected in an academic setting; Emphasis on academic vocabulary, grammar, and reading skills needed in college coursework; Emphasis on academic vocabulary, grammar and writing skills needed in college coursework.
Prerequisites: None
ESL 271 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
This course gives students flexibility as to what aspect of Academic English they would like to work on. The focus can be on academic and professional English reading and writing skills, listening and speaking with public presentations, or enhancing academic English vocabulary. This course can be taken concurrently with an ESL course (4 credits) or on its own.
This course is recommended for, but not limited to, short-term non-degree seeking students and visiting scholars as well as students who wish to join a part of an ESL course (4-credit course).
Prerequisites: None
EURO 372 European Studies Senior Capstone (2 Credits)
All majors must complete a capstone project involving at least two disciplines, to be completed in the senior year and presented in a public forum. Honors 396 and 398 may be applied to the European Studies major, if the topic is appropriate. For further information see HONR 398.
Prerequisites: None
Restrictions: Enrollment limited to students with a class of Senior.
Enrollment is limited to students with a major in European Studies.
EURO 397 Internship (1-16 Credits)
Completed Application for Internship Form REQUIRED. See Internship Office Web Page.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Experiential Engagement (EX)
FREN 111 Introduction to the French Language (4 Credits)
An introduction to the basic elements of the French language. Work in all communicative skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing, with particular attention to grammar and pronunciation. Introduction to the geography and culture of the French-speaking world. Spring.
Prerequisites: None
FREN 111A Introduction to the French Language - Abroad (4-5 Credits)
An introduction to the basic elements of the French language. Work in all communicative skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing, with particular attention to grammar and pronunciation. Introduction to the geography and culture of the French-speaking world.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
FREN 112 French Language and Culture I (4 Credits)
Continued systematic development of all communicative skills. Further understanding of French culture, geography, and customs, enhanced by readings and video selections. Fall.
Prerequisites: None
FREN 170FA Beginning French (5 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
FREN 202 Reading Group in French (0-1 Credits)
Selected readings deal with world languages and cultures. Texts read may be classics in a national literature, works by writers who recently won a high literary prize, or texts dealing with current topics critical to the history or politics of a particular country. Texts may be tied to on-campus lectures on world literature by invited speakers. This course can be repeated once for credit with the permission of the chair.
Prerequisites: None
FREN 211 French Language and Culture II (4 Credits)
Continued systematic development of all communicative skills. Further understanding of French culture, geography, and customs, enhanced by readings and video selections. Satisfactory completion of FREN 211 meets global language proficiency. Spring.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Artistic Engagement (AR), Global Language Proficiency
FREN 211A French Language and Culture II - Abroad (4 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency
FREN 212 French-Speaking Cultures in Readings and Film (4 Credits)
Francophone cultures through short literary and cultural readings and short films, with a grammar review component and continued development of reading, writing and speaking skills in French. Fall
Prerequisites: FREN 211 or FREN 215
Equivalent courses: FREN 212FA, FREN 212Z
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency, Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter1/2-Movement
FREN 212FA Intermediate Grammar and Methodology (3 Credits)
This course will help students to improve their written and oral skills in French and train them to develop an approach to various writing assignments. This is designed to broaden the range of options available to them for expressing themselves in the language.
Prerequisites: FREN 112
Corequisites: XXXX 52
Equivalent courses: FREN 212, FREN 212Z
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency
FREN 270FB Intermediate French Writing - France (3 Credits)
This class is designed to introduce students to the techniques and tools required for both academic and personal writing. Over the course of the semester, students will learn how to write a variety of different types of texts including: the description, the compte rendu universitaire, the journalistic portrait, and other textual genres.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
FREN 270FC Intermediate French Coversation - France (3 Credits)
This class is built as a series of discussion sessions. Throughout group discussions about news and precise topics (gastronomy, French music, immigration…) students will acquire basic vocabulary and learn more about social and cultural facts and French contemporary civilization. We will study topics such as immigration in France, the French social system, cinema, leisure…and provide the students with basic information in everyday life. Learning will be based on listening and speaking with material such as songs, TV shows, movie extracts… A vocabulary sheet will provide basic vocabulary about the topic studied. Focus will be put on correct vocabulary and pronunciation.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
FREN 271 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the lower-division level. Permission of department chair required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
FREN 302 Reading Group in French (0-1 Credits)
Selected readings deal with world languages and cultures. Texts read may be classics in a national literature, works by writers who recently won a high literary prize, or texts dealing with current topics critical to the history or politics of a particular country. Texts may be tied to on-campus lectures on world literature by invited speakers. This course can be repeated once for credit with the permission of the chair.
Prerequisites: None
FREN 311 Studies in Language and Culture (4 Credits)
A study of contemporary cultural topics in French-speaking countries, including geography, people, and customs. Readings cover social systems such as education, health care, technology, family, religion, art, business, and political thought. Students will integrate these topics with intensive study of the French language, grammar, and phonetics. Emphasis placed on conversational skills and oral expression. Taught in French. Spring.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: FREN 311Z
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency, Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Justice, Writing Requirement (WR)
FREN 312 Literature of the French-Speaking World (4 Credits)
An introduction to French-language texts and media from a variety of genres: cinema, fiction, poetry, bandes dessinées, advertising, and theater. The course offers the opportunity to discuss the works studied and to practice textual analysis with continued emphasis on grammar, speaking and writing. Taught in French. Fall.
Attributes: Benedictine Raven (BN), Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Truth, Writing Requirement (WR)
FREN 330 French Literature Before the Revolution (4 Credits)
In this course students become familiar with some of the great books which gave rise to French literary culture. Readings are drawn from verse, drama, fiction, and essays. Emphasis on fostering an appreciation of French literature, understanding the works in their social and historical context, and learning the techniques of literary analysis.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Truth, Writing Requirement (WR)
FREN 331 French Literature from Monarchy to Republic (4 Credits)
This course focuses on the poetry, theatre, and prose written during the Modern era. Emphasis on fostering an appreciation of French-language literature, understanding the works in their social and historical context, and learning the techniques of literary analysis.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Truth
FREN 332 20th-21st Century French Literature (4 Credits)
The poems, plays, graphic novels and prose works in this course provide insight into the beginnings of the French democracy and the expansion of its colonial empire, with emphasis on the post-colonial period in the contemporary francophone world. Emphasis on fostering an appreciation of French literature, understanding the works in their social and historical context, and learning the techniques of literary analysis. Taught in French.
FREN 341 The French-Speaking World Today (4 Credits)
A study of diverse Francophone cultures as they have evolved from colonization to independence. Films, cultural readings and literary texts are used in this study of Quebec, and francophone countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
FREN 350 Studies in Language and Expression (4 Credits)
These courses provide opportunities for students to strengthen their oral and written French at the advanced level. Additional prerequisites at least one 4-credit advanced course.
FREN 350A French Phonetics (4 Credits)
This course will help students deepen their mastery of the structures of spoken French and enrich their active vocabulary. Using Saussure’s “Cours de linguistique générale” as a starting point, students will learn the International Phonetic Alphabet, develop an understanding of basic linguistic terminology of articulatory phonetics and of the principles that govern French pronunciation. Using multimedia, short transcriptions and audio recordings, students will analyze dialectal variation and historical changes in the language, syllabic and metrical structure, liaison, intonation, and prosody, as well as the relationship between orthography and spoken language in order to improve and perfect their pronunciation and aural comprehension of Modern Standard French.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: FREN 354A
Attributes: Abstract Structures (AS)
FREN 351B La France du XVII siècle: entre baroque et classicisme (4 Credits)
This course’s main focus is theater of the 17th century, though it is meant as an introduction to French literature of the Grand siècle. Through its study, students will analyze the aesthetic and ideological notions of “baroque” and “classicism” and will explore how they co-existed during the 17th century. Cultural and historical topics that accompany literary production will be discussed in class, including religious tensions, literary quarrels and philosophical ideas. Discussions will also include secondary sources and film. At the end of the semester, students will be able to describe the main characteristics and elements of French literature and culture of the Grand siècle, as well as write a paper in the style of the French “commentaire composé”. Taught in French.
FREN 351I Letters Since the Enlightenment (4 Credits)
In this course, students will become acquainted with a diverse corpus of "real" and fictional letters including some of the great classics of the French epistolary tradition, film and texts that these foundational works have inspired, and various published and unpublished letters produced in French since the Enlightenment. Through a study of letters in various forms, students will be able to identify major themes of epistolary theory and production, debate the relationship of letters to literature, and engage in formal correspondence that respects the conventions of letter- writing in French while recognizing the evolving practices of epistolary exchange.
FREN 352A Bon App ! : La Culture Gourmande du Monde Francophone (4 Credits)
In this upper division Topics in Culture class, students will be introduced (or review) content related to the world of francophone gastronomy and to les arts de la table. It will include historical aspects of the gourmet culture of the francophone world, as well as literary texts and film that address the importance of that food culture. This discussion-based course will also include experiential learning opportunities, in collaboration with local resources available to our students. Students will develop writing skills in French and there will be select grammar review, dependent on students’ needs. Taught in French.
Attributes: Global Engagement (GL), Human Experience (HE)
FREN 352C Paris Revolutions (4 Credits)
An exploration of the changing image of Paris, France, from its ancient and medieval origins to the present. We focus on three tumultuous periods: the 1789 Revolution, the multiple revolts of the nineteenth century, and the Occupation of Paris during World War II. Individual student projects bring in other revolutionary issues and periods, from medieval sieges to the student revolution of 1968, from the gilets jaunes to the challenges of the European Union.
Prerequisites: (FREN 311)
FREN 352D Gender & Power in Francophone Culture (4 Credits)
In this course, we explore the ways in which women (in history and in literature) have engendered power, for male leaders, for themselves as agents, for their community, for their gender. We will begin with the warrior nation-builders like Geneviève and Jeanne d’Arc and continue with the women of revolution and salon of the 17th and 18th centuries. We will also examine figures representing the divas of opera, screen, and Parisian life, such as the soprano in Balzac’s Sarrasine, Carmen, and Salome. We will then turn to the women of the French Resistance, student riots, and post-colonial conflicts and wars of the 20th C. Finally, we will consider contemporary figures constructing different images, realities, and possibilities for women and men in the 21st century. Individual student projects will allow us to expand our study to include literary prototypes and cultural leaders, thinkers, artists, fashion designers, cinematographers, and writers from around the francophone world. One question we will follow throughout is to what extent these images and figures related to power are constructed by women or projected by the culture onto women, to what extent individuals and groups are bound or freed by such constructs.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Justice
FREN 354A French Phonetics (2 Credits)
In this course we will work on French phonetics and pronunciation using poems from the 16th-20th centuries as material for practicing French pronunciation. We will also review poetic form and work on writing a French explication de texte on one or more poems.
Equivalent courses: FREN 350A
FREN 354C Cinéma et Conversation (2 Credits)
This course makes use of cinema, (the French “seventh art”), to help students increase their knowledge of Francophone film and the Francophone world, while building their vocabulary and honing discussion and presentation skills in French. This course may take place in tandem with Tournées Film Festival: French Language Film on Campus.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE)
FREN 354F French and Health(care) (2 Credits)
In this Topics in Culture course, students will explore the culture, language, and interpersonal skills at the intersection of French and health. Class themes may include studying or practicing medicine abroad, cultural concepts of health and well-being, health care systems and social protections, global humanitarian organizations, and the vocabulary and grammar of greeting and reassuring patients, describing symptoms, and promoting healthy behaviors. This course will be conducted in French and may incorporate current events, authentic materials, in-class discussions, online interviews, and collaborative, hands-on learning to enhance student learning.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE)
FREN 354G French and Business (2 Credits)
In this Topics in Culture course, students will explore the culture, language, and interpersonal skills at the intersection of French and business. Class themes may include studying or working abroad, technology and commerce, cultural concepts of work-life balance and time-management, and the vocabulary and grammar of applying for work, communicating with collaborators, and promoting yourself, your products, and your services. This course will be conducted in French and may incorporate current events, authentic materials, in-class discussions, online interviews, and collaborative, hands-on learning to enhance student learning.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE)
FREN 355A French-Language Plays (2 Credits)
We read, analyze, discuss and act out scenes from four one-act French-language plays with emphasis on literary innovation.
FREN 355D Performing in French (2 Credits)
In this course, we study French-language works from a variety of genres: songs, spoken word, short plays (from medieval farce to experimental theater of the 20th-21st centuries); we will choose particular pieces to learn and perform for a public audience. Performance venue may vary depending on projects chosen: in class, open mic at O’Conn’s, Brother Willie’s Pub, other campus stage venues, or even Celebrating Scholarship & Creativity Day or the French Lyric Festival. May require one substantial rehearsal TBA prior to performance.
FREN 355I A LIFE OF MEANING (2 Credits)
A Life of Meaning: An exploration of French-language thinkers who grapple with the fundamental question of how to live a good life. Readings include: Christine de Pisan, Montaigne, de Beauvoir, Chedid, Badiou, French commentaries on the Rule of Benedict.
FREN 370FA Advanced French Expression (Abroad) (3 Credits)
Advanced study of grammar in context: emphasis on writing for varied communicative purposes, reading for style and content, translation. Students who have completed the equivalent of FREN 312 (6th semester) French will select this course.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
FREN 370FB Phonetics & Pronunciation (Abroad) (3 Credits)
This course provides an in-depth study of French phonetics. In class, students will practice oral production as well as improve their listening comprehension skills by working in the language lab. In addition, during these language-lab sessions, the professor will work one-on-one with students to improve their pronunciation. Over the course of the semester, students will also discover regional pronunciation differences, and grasp what it means to speak with a Parisian or Marseillais accent. By the end of the course, students will have a much better grasp of pronouncing French properly, and will have acquired all the tools necessary to progressively improve as they continue with their study of the language. The following topics are covered: the phonetic alphabet, prosody, closed vowels, the unstable “e,” rules for liaison, linking, semi-vowels, consonant chains, semi-open/semi-closed vowels, nasals, rhythm, intonation, and accents.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
FREN 370FC Env Science/Global Change (France) (3 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
FREN 370FD Advanced Grammar & Method I (Abroad) (3 Credits)
This course will allow students to acquire the written and oral skills necessary for pursuing a university curriculum in France. These acquired proficiencies will therefore be interdisciplinary in nature and will provide the students with the ability to adapt to different types of academic writing that are unique to the French system. Acquiring methods of structuring and organizing assignments, and a thorough reinforcement of grammatical knowledge will also be course objectives.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
FREN 370FE Health/Population Geography - France (4 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 52
FREN 371 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the upper-division level. Permission of department chair and completion and/or concurrent registration of 12 credits within the department required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
FREN 377A (In)Justice in Quebec (4 Credits)
Through an examination of 20th and 21st century Québécois texts and a study of major cultural events of this same time period, students will learn of the diversity of the Québécois people and of the linguistic and cultural specificity of Québec in North America. With a particular attention to instances of injustice in Québécois society and the unique struggles related to language, students will learn to read texts in socio-cultural context, to conduct research using primary sources across different languages and media, and to practice the art of curation to bring contemporary fights for justice to life.
Prerequisites: You must take FREN 311, 312, 315 or 316 prior to taking FREN 377A. You must take INTG 100 or 205 prior to taking a Thematic Focus Course. You must take a Cultural and Social Difference: Identity (CI) course prior to or at the same time as Thematic Focus Courses.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Focus - Justice, Writing Requirement (WR)
FREN 394 Practicum (1,2 Credits)
The Practicum includes both an on-site component and a classroom component. The on-site component requires that a student work as French Cultural Events Assistant for the department or that a student engage in a significant leadership experience in the French Club. In order to register for this course, a student must submit a proposal outlining what s/he will do as an Events Assistant or Club leader. The proposal must be approved by the course instructor and, if applicable, the club/organization’s adviser. The classroom component will involve the equivalent of 4 or 8 hours of meetings/class sessions on-campus over the course of the semester (for 1 or 2 credits, respectively). Students will participate in discussions and complete a series of readings and reflective assignments.
Attributes: Experiential Engagement (EX)
FREN 397 Internship (1-4 Credits)
Completed Application for Internship Form REQUIRED. See Internship Office Web Page.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Experiential Engagement (EX)
FREN 399 Senior Capstone (2 Credits)
All majors must present a senior capstone in a public forum. In consultation with a faculty advisor students choose a project appropriate to their previous course of study and/or their individual goals.
Prerequisites: None
GERM 111 Elementary German I (4 Credits)
Basic elements of German. Practice in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing, including work with pronunciation, grammar, and culture. Designed for students with no prior study of German.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: GERM 111A, GERM 115
GERM 111A Elementary German I - Abroad (4 Credits)
Basic elements of German. Practice in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing, including work with pronunciation, grammar, and culture. Designed for students with no prior study of German.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 61
Equivalent courses: GERM 111, GERM 115
GERM 112 Elementary German II (4 Credits)
Continuation of basic German with emphasis on acquiring communicative skills, both narrative and descriptive, in a variety of practical situations.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: GERM 112A, GERM 116
GERM 112A Elementary German I I - Abroad (4 Credits)
Continuation of basic German with emphasis on acquiring communicative skills, both narrative and descriptive, in a variety of practical situations.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 61
Equivalent courses: GERM 112, GERM 116
GERM 211 Intermediate German (4 Credits)
Review and continued study of German structures, with an emphasis on the development of reading skills and the discussion of ideas. Satisfactory completion fulfills the global language proficiency requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: GERM 215
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency
GERM 211A Intermediate German - Abroad (4 Credits)
Review and continued study of German structures, with an emphasis on the development of reading skills and the discussion of ideas. Satisfactory completion fulfills the global language proficiency requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 61
Equivalent courses: GERM 211, GERM 215
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency
GERM 212 Introduction to German Culture (4 Credits)
Study and analysis of cultural texts in German emphasizing contemporary issues. Required for students who wish to earn a major or minor in German. Fulfills the global language proficiency requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: GERM 212SA, GERM 216
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency, Human Experience (HE)
GERM 212SA INTERMEDIATE GERM II (ABROAD) (4 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 61A
Equivalent courses: GERM 212, GERM 216
GERM 270SA German Language Course - Abroad (3 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 61
GERM 271 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the lower-division level. Permission of department chair required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
GERM 324 German Culture Before 1850 (4 Credits)
A survey of some of the key figures and periods of German art, literature, music, and public life in German-speaking countries that have made significant cultural contributions to world civilization up to the early 19th century, focusing on literary and cultural trends and movements of the Middle Ages, the Reformation, the Baroque, and the Age of Goethe. Selected readings will include courtly epic, lyric poetry, drama, prose texts and narratives from some principal authors. Alternate years.
Prerequisites: GERM 212 or GERM 212Z or GERM 216
GERM 325 German Culture 1850 to Present (4 Credits)
A survey of various periods of German art, literature, music, public life and people that have made significant cultural contributions to world civilization from the early 19th century to the present. The major purpose is to analyze the interrelationship between the major social/political developments of German-speaking Europe, and their cultural manifestations. Selected readings will include lyric poetry, essays, novellas, drama, and prose texts and narratives from some principal authors. Alternate years.
Prerequisites: GERM 212 or GERM 212Z or GERM 216
GERM 330 Germanic Myths and Legends (2,4 Credits)
Thor, Herman the German, Beowulf, Siegfried and Kriemhild, dragons and monsters. Taught in English, this course covers the feuds, founding myths, and legends of the gods and heroes in the Germanic traditions. Add Hildegard von Bingen, Saint Nicholas, Saint Benedict, and Martin Luther and we sketch an arc from the pagan Germanic-language-speaking peoples through the medieval period to the early modern, studying each of these towering figures on the way. Main texts: Beowulf, The Nibelungenlied, Sturluson's Edda, Gregory’s The Life of Saint Benedict, Hildegard’s Illuminations (Taught in English, can be taken for German credit.)
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: GERM 355H
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Justice
GERM 333 The Language of Love: German (2,4 Credits)
Who today would not praise love? Yet, what do we mean when we say the word, “Liebe”? The philosophical and literary historical trajectory of the term finds bold articulation with the ancient Greeks (Empedocles, Plato, Sappho, etc.) and again around 1800 in the German-speaking territories with the revival of classical Greek culture with the practitioners of Weimarer Klassik (Goethe and Schiller) and what has come to be called classical music (Mozart), as well as with those they influenced. What’s more important that interpreting what we call “love?” Maybe nothing. Taught in German.
Prerequisites: GERM 212 or GERM 212Z or GERM 216
Equivalent courses: GERM 341
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Truth
GERM 345 Novels, Novellen, Stories and Tales. (2,4 Credits)
An exploration of the world of storytelling in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. This course investigates the phenomenon of narrative, its elements, techniques, and forms; its relation to other modes of discourse; its power and influence in cultures past and present. A variety of interpretive strategies include such activities as classroom storytelling, Nacherzählungen, interpretive presentations, skits and group discussions. Can be repeated with permission of instructor if content differs.
Prerequisites: GERM 212 or GERM 212Z or GERM 216
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Justice, Writing Requirement (WR)
GERM 349 Genius!: The Romantic Invention of Creativity (2,4 Credits)
Romanticism began as a protest of German writers and scholars against the limits of the Enlightenment with its over-emphasis on reason. The Romantic strove to stretch beyond reason to embrace the irrational, the feared and the misunderstood. Seeking the unknown is still considered romantic today and thus is a force that ranges beyond any specific period of time. Nature, emotions and the infinite take on a central position. The mysterious, the miraculous and searching find expression in the works of these writers, musicians, artists, philosophers and scientists. Can be repeated with permission of instructor if content differs.
Prerequisites: GERM 212 or GERM 212Z or GERM 216
GERM 350 Current Debates and Issues (2,4 Credits)
A course based on today's explosive debates and issues in German-speaking countries using up-to-date materials from the internet, German radio, television, film, and newspapers. This is a course for researching and debating controversies and listening to provocative news. Can be repeated with permission of instructor if content differs.
Prerequisites: GERM 212 or GERM 212Z or GERM 216
GERM 356E The Fairy Tale Tradition: the Brothers Grimm, Disney, and Beyond (2,4 Credits)
Taught in English, this course confronts the ethics of the wildly popular household and nursery tales. From their oral roots, through their textual anthologizing, to their use as Nazi propaganda, and their Hollywood adaptations, the tales have always depicted “good” and “evil.” This course draws on ethical writings from the Grimm Brothers’ age (Kant) and current work on literature and ethics (Peter and Renata Singer) to examine the ethics in the tales as well as in their uses. (Taught in English, can be taken for German credit.)
Prerequisites: You must take INTG 100 or 205 prior to taking a Thematic Focus Course. You must take a Cultural and Social Difference: Identity (CI) course prior to or at the same time as Thematic Focus Courses.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Focus - Justice
GERM 356F Imagining the Nation in German Film (4 Credits)
A more intensive exploration of a specific genre. The course may focus on a genre such as: The Novelle From Its Beginnings into Modernity; The Drama as Multivalent Text; The Essay as Medium for Social Change; New German Cinema and Political Revolt.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Truth
GERM 357B Seminar: The Holocaust, Its Origins & Effects (2,4 Credits)
The reaction to the catastrophe of the Second World War and the systematic murder of innocent Jewish, Roma and Sinti, homosexual, so-called antisocial, and politically opposed people by the Nazi party, SA, SS, Gestapo, Wehrmacht, and their collaborators defines our contemporary situation. “After Auschwitz” (Theodor Adorno) is our epoch. The European Union, United Nations, Fulbright Commission, Marshall Fund, United States Holocaust Museum, International Criminal Court, and generations of scholarship and art aim to dampen the possible return of such an event. This course examines the filmic, poetic, and scholarly attempts to deal with the Holocaust and Nazi Germany. The focus is on the justice rubric from the Integrations Curriculum, which puts a focus on the legal side of extrajudicial Nazi crimes as well as their prosecution. Taught in English, ability to take in German.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Justice, Writing Requirement (WR)
GERM 357H Migration and Culture: Contemporary Germany (2,4 Credits)
In contemporary Germany, many of the most exciting voices in film, theater, criticism, and literature come from migrant and postmigrant artists and writers. Through the award-winning films of Fatih Akin, the groundbreaking postmigrant theater of the Ballhaus Naunynstrasse and the Maxim Gorki Theater, and the bilingual writings of Yoko Tawada (Japanese and German), to name a few, this course analyzes the current political and social conditions in Germany. The stakes raised by these artists and the scholars of their work—Muttersprache (Özdamar), postmonolingualism (Yildiz), “The Turkish Turn” (Adelson)—are the stakes of our time. Drawing on the tradition of and reflection on cosmopolitan moral theory (Kant), world literature (Goethe), and minor literature (Kafka, Deleuze and Guattari), we will address the pressing issues at play when languages and borders are crossed. Prepare yourself for staggering beauty, rigorous critique, and to gain the tools for reading your contemporary world. Taught in Emglish.
Prerequisites: GERM 357H is a Thematic Focus Course - Movement. You must take INTG 100 or 205 prior to taking a Thematic Focus Course. You must take a Cultural and Social Difference: Identity (CI) course prior to or at the same time as Thematic Focus Courses. GERM 212 is also required prior to taking GERM 357H.
Equivalent courses: GERM 378A
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Focus - Movement
GERM 357J Seminar in a Specific Theme: Green Germany (4 Credits)
This course explores the long ‘green’ tradition in German culture which has led to Germany being recognized today as a worldwide leader in environmental movements thanks to the nuclear power phase-out, the renewable energy transition, and the rise of the green movement and the Green Party. Students will investigate the discourse of ecology and development of contemporary Germany’s environmental practices through its literary and cultural legacy by reading and analyzing texts from prominent writers and thinkers. We will uncover the interconnections between cultural history, policy, and technology and connect these literary and historic roots to contemporary environmental issues, consider successful protest movements, and explore Germany as a model for environmental initiatives and engaged citizenship around the globe.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Movement
GERM 357K Berlin: Genius/Creativity (4 Credits)
The glittering skyline of New York, your university’s mission that promotes teaching and new research, the early innovations of Hollywood animation, and the theory of relativity all stem from innovative architects (Walter Grophius), education reformers (Wilhelm von Humboldt), filmmakers (Lotte Reininger), and scientists (Albert Einstein) who innovated in one city: Berlin, Germany. The metropolis of northern Germany’s university alone hosted Einstein, Hannah Arendt, Georg Hegel, Arthur Schopenhauer, and Max Weber. Add in the surrounding Wittenberg of Luther, Faust, and Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Immanuel Kant’s Königsberg and the forces of idealist philosophy, modern sociology, the Protestant work ethic at the heart of the spirit of capitalism as well as its critique too stem from this remarkable place. In short, much of one’s educational, economic, and political world today has been influenced by thinkers who have called northern Germany home. Today, Berlin is the largest city in the largest economy in Europe, is home to more artists per capita than any other European city and serves as Germany’s technology start-up hub. This course studies the essence of genius, innovation, and creativity practiced and theorized by the proper names listed above and its effect on our lives today. We will also study how the innovative freedom that Arendt associates with the human condition’s capacity for action found its absolute reduction by the National Socialists’ terror. Counts as: Human Experience, Experiential Engagement, Global Engagement, and Benedictine Raven in the Integrations Curriculum. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Global Engagement (GL), Human Experience (HE)
GERM 370SA HITLER/DRITTE REICH (HE) (3 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 61
GERM 370SB GERM LANG ABROAD (3 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 61
GERM 371 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the upper-division level. Permission of department chair and completion and/or concurrent registration of 12 credits within the department required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
GERM 378A Migration and Culture: Contemporary Germany (4 Credits)
In contemporary Germany, many of the most exciting voices in film, theater, criticism, and literature come from migrant and postmigrant artists and writers. Through the award-winning films of Fatih Akin, the groundbreaking postmigrant theater of the Ballhaus Naunynstrasse and the Maxim Gorki Theater, and the bilingual writings of Yoko Tawada (Japanese and German), to name a few, this course analyzes the current political and social conditions in Germany. The stakes raised by these artists and the scholars of their work—Muttersprache (Özdamar), postmonolingualism (Yildiz), “The Turkish Turn” (Adelson)—are the stakes of our time. Drawing on the tradition of and reflection on cosmopolitan moral theory (Kant), world literature (Goethe), and minor literature (Kafka, Deleuze and Guattari), we will address the pressing issues at play when languages and borders are crossed. Prepare yourself for staggering beauty, rigorous critique, and to gain the tools for reading your contemporary world. Taught in German.
Prerequisites: GERM 378A is a Thematic Focus Course. You must take INTG 100 or 205 prior to taking a Thematic Focus Course. You also must take a Cultural and Social Difference: Identity (CI) course prior to or at the same time as Thematic Focus Courses.
Equivalent courses: GERM 357H
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Focus - Movement
GERM 379A Enlightenment, Tolerance, and Human Rights (4 Credits)
The epoch of the Enlightenment created new approaches to truth through philosophy, the sciences, and the arts. In this course, we examine the groundbreaking works of this period that promote tolerance, peace, and human rights. Prerequisite: GERM 212. For Integrations Curriculum Truth Thematic Focus credit, prerequisites include: Learning Foundations, CSD:I, and Theological Explorations. Offered as needed. Can be repeated with permission of instructor if content differs. Taught in German.
Prerequisites: You must take INTG 100 or 205 prior to taking a Thematic Focus Course. You must take a Cultural and Social Difference: Identity (CI) course prior to or at the same time as Thematic Focus Courses.
Attributes: Benedictine Raven (BN), Human Experience (HE), Thematic Focus - Truth
GERM 397 Internship (1-16 Credits)
Completed Application for Internship Form REQUIRED. See Internship Office Web Page.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Experiential Engagement (EX)
GERM 399 Senior Capstone (2 Credits)
All majors must present a senior project in a public forum. In consultation with a faculty advisor, students choose a project appropriate to their previous course of study and/or their individual goals.
Prerequisites: None
GREK 170GB ACC BEG MODERN GREEK (3 Credits)
An accelerated section of the elementary Modern Greek course for beginners with a background in Ancient Greek.
By the end of the course, students will be able to handle daily life situations (shopping, ordering food, making reservations, buying tickets, requesting and understanding directions, etc.); will acquire daily vocabulary and basic grammatical structures; and will be able to write simple letters and brief texts.
CYA strongly encourages students to study Modern Greek while they are in Athens. CYA believes that the study of this lesson provides valuable access to the life and culture of contemporary Greece and aids in the acculturation of students.
Prerequisites: None
GREK 170GC BEG MOD GREEK LANG/CULT (3 Credits)
“Beginning Modern Greek Language and Culture” aims to combine the classic beginning Modern Greek language instruction with Modern Greek culture. While keeping with the conventional language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), this course integrates the “fifth skill” of language, culture, in a way that allows a full understanding of Modern Greece.
Through language focused cultural lessons, students will learn the importance of language in everyday situations, and become active participants in Modern Greek culture. This course aims to enable students to:
a) communicate in the language and handle basic life situations;
b) read in the language;
c) learn everyday vocabulary from relevant social topics; and
d) write simple letters and brief notes.
Students will develop oral language proficiency and cultural awareness through different activities, both inside and outside the classroom (neighborhood walks, graffiti, Greek idioms, street signs, visit to the Greek parliament, magazine covers, current pop culture videos, etc.).
These varied aspects of language practice and cultural exploration will include etymological and historical information, allowing the students to engage comfortably and become integrated with Modern Greek language and society.
Prerequisites: None
GREK 332A Greek Historians: Herodotus (4 Credits)
Herodotus of Halicarnassus, the “Father of History,” was the first historian in human civilization, invented this new discipline as he went along, and didn’t know that history is supposed to be boring! In fact, the Greek word historia is the origin not only of English “history” but also of “story.” We will read all of Herodotus’s history of the war between the Greeks and the Persians in translation, and as much of it in Greek as we can get through in a semester.
Prerequisites: None
GREK 341 Homer and Epic Poetry (4 Credits)
A detailed analysis of the Odyssey or the Iliad; the entire work in translation, selected readings in the original. The oral epic and Homer's influence on Greek morality, culture, and literature.
Prerequisites: None
GREK 370GA GREEK IN GREECE (3-4 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 53
GREK 370GB Advanced Ancient Greek I: Thucydides (3 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 53
GREK 371 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the upper-division level. Permission of department chair and completion and/or concurrent registration of 12 credits within the department required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 111 Elementary Japanese I (4 Credits)
Introduction to the basic structure of the Japanese language. Practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing, with a focus on an accurate command of grammar and culturally appropriate communication skills.
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 111A Elementary Japanese I - Abroad (4 Credits)
Introduction to the basic structure of the Japanese language. Practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing, with a focus on an accurate command of grammar and culturally appropriate communication skills.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 41
JAPN 112 Elementary Japanese II (4 Credits)
Continued study of the basic structure of the Japanese language. Practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing, with a focus on an accurate command of grammar and culturally appropriate communication skills.
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 112A Elementary Japanese II - Abroad (4 Credits)
Continued study of the basic structure of the Japanese language. Practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing, with a focus on an accurate command of grammar and culturally appropriate communication skills.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 41
JAPN 121 TOPICS IN JAPANESE LIT (0 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 121A Contemporary Japanese Women Writers (4 Credits)
This course introduces novels, short stories, manga, and films written by Japanese and Japanese-American woman writers and filmmakers since the 1970s. We read texts that explore questions of identity related to gender, race, and ethnicity in a comparative context, from the incarceration of Japanese-Americans during World War II to the rethinking of female icons of Japanese mythology and folklore, as well as what it means to be alienated in what is supposed to one’s “homeland” and being insufficiently fluent in one’s “mother tongue.” With texts set in the United States, Japan, and Europe, this course aims to demonstrate the relevance of great literature and film by Japanese women to questions at the heart of an intersectional analysis of gender, race, and ethnicity.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: CSD: Identity (CI)
JAPN 202 Reading Group in Japanese (0-1 Credits)
Selected readings deal with world languages and cultures. Texts read may be classics in a national literature, works by writers who recently won a high literary prize, or texts dealing with current topics critical to the history or politics of a particular country. Texts may be tied to on-campus lectures on world literature by invited speakers. This course can be repeated once for credit with the permission of the chair. Offered for S/U grading only
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 211 Intermediate Japanese I (4 Credits)
Review and continued study of grammar together with additional training in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Satisfactory completion of JAPN 211 fulfills the global language proficiency requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency
JAPN 211A Intermediate Japanese I - Abroad
(4 Credits)
Review and continued study of grammar together with additional training in speaking, listening, reading and writing. Satisfactory completion of JAPN 211 fulfills the global language proficiency requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 41
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency
JAPN 212 Intermediate Japanese II (4 Credits)
Review and continued study of grammar together with additional training in speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: JAPN 212A, JAPN 212Z
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency
JAPN 212A Intermediate Japan in Japan (4 Credits)
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 41
Equivalent courses: JAPN 212, JAPN 212Z
JAPN 271 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the lower-division level. Permission of department chair required. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 302 Reading Group in Japanese (0-1 Credits)
Selected readings deal with world languages and cultures. Texts read may be classics in a national literature, works by writers who recently won a high literary prize, or texts dealing with current topics critical to the history or politics of a particular country. Texts may be tied to on-campus lectures on world literature by invited speakers. This course can be repeated once for credit with the permission of the chair. Offered for S/U grading only
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 311 Advanced Japanese Language I (4 Credits)
Review and continued development of grammar together with development of skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing.
Prerequisites: (JAPN 212 or JAPN 216)
Equivalent courses: JAPN 315
JAPN 315 Advanced Japanese I Abroad (4 Credits)
Continued study in language and culture in an immersion setting. This course may be used as a substitute for JAPN 311 on campus.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 41
Equivalent courses: JAPN 311
JAPN 316 Advanced Japanese II Abroad (4 Credits)
Continued study in language and culture in an immersion setting. This course may be used as a substitute for JAPN 312 on campus.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 41
Equivalent courses: JAPN 312
JAPN 320 Japanese Literature in Translation (4 Credits)
Reading and analysis of classic literary works in English translation from selected periods. Examination of the development and adaptation of different literary genres in the process of social transformations such as migration and immigration. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 321 Topics in Japanese Literature (4 Credits)
A study of Japanese literature, film, manga comics, or other literary genre within a cultural context. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: MCLT 316
JAPN 321B Love in Japanese Literature & Film (4 Credits)
Through Japanese texts and visual media (film, print), this course explores a diversity of representations of love in modern Japanese culture, with a brief introduction to classical representations of love in order to set the framework for their modern legacy. We ask how love in Japan can be understood in relation to sexuality, gender, and family with reference to theories from gender and queer studies. We will move through themes such as double-suicide, modern love, feminism, homosexuality, prostitution, sex and war, castration, and more, pairing great literary works with their equally influential filmic adaptations. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: GEND 290A
JAPN 321C Introduction to Japanese Film (4 Credits)
This course gives a broad overview of Japanese film and visual culture from the 1940s to the present. Cinema in Japan has a rich history, from samurai sword-fight films to tokusatsu monster movies, horror, New Wave, films on the family unit, long-running drama series, documentary, anime, and beyond. We will explore the genres of Japanese film and their historical, political, and cultural contexts while gaining a critical language for discussing and writing about film. We will screen (subtitled) films by directors such as Mizoguchi Kenji, Kurosawa Akira, Masumura Yasuzo, Koreeda Hirokazu, Kawase Naomi, and many more.
Prerequisites: Before taking a Cultural and Social Difference: Systems Courses (CS) you first must complete the following Integrations requirements; Learning Foundations (LF), Theological Encounter (TE), and Cultural and Social Difference: identity (CI).
Attributes: CSD: Systems (CS), Global Engagement (GL)
JAPN 321D Anime: Studies in Movement and Transformation (4 Credits)
This course explores Japanese anime as movement, considering the etymology of the word that refers to the animation or bringing to life of still images. There is a transnational element to this movement: anime is a product with consumers around the globe and serves as Japan’s lucrative export of “soft power.” As a medium made up of individual “texts,” anime has been influenced by—and in turn influences—both live action and animated films around the world (i.e. Walt Disney’s impact on the works of Tezuka Osamu). Thematically, anime covers topics both the domestic and international, where characters may be of ambiguous origin and identity (Night on the Galactic Railroad, 1985; the Lupin the Third series). Going further, anime films frequently play with boundaries and thresholds, where characters cross into liminal spaces inhabited by the supernatural (Spirited Away, 2001); they are often as interstellar as they are international (Legend of the Galactic Heroes, 1988; Space Battleship Yamato, 1974); and characters can often shape-shift and transform (Pom Poko, 1994; Ranma ½, ), metamorphose (Akira, 1988; Mushishi, 2005), evolve (Pokemon, ¬1997-), or exist in hybrid human-machine form (Pat Labor, 1989; Mobile Suit Gundam, 1979). This course provides a history of Japanese anime as it explores the theme of movement in the industry and the medium. No background in Japanese culture, language, or anime is necessary.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Movement
JAPN 330 Topics in Japanese Culture (4 Credits)
A study of specific elements or issues in Japanese culture. Topics include: Transnational Japan, Japanese Folklore, Nuclear Japan, and others. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 330A Transnational Japan (4 Credits)
This course surveys a broad range of themes related to Japan's cultural history through analysis of literary and visual media from ancient to modern times. However, rather than seeking to discover an essence or key to understanding Japan, this course aims to complicate the picture of a unitary, internally consistent, and monolithic Japan. We take as premise that Japan is and has always been hybrid, fractured, and transnational. Hence, we interrogate how understanding of what is "Japan" often has much to do with transnational exchange, migration, negotiation, and acknowledge that this "Japan" is in constant flux. For example, we explore not only how Japanese thinkers represented Japan to people within Japan, but how thinkers attempted to project a certain image of Japan onto an international stage. We will work with both primary sources in translation and secondary sources, considering perspectives of the people of Japan--including ethnic minorities--and outsiders looking in. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: MCLT 319C
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Justice
JAPN 330B Japanese Folklore (4 Credits)
This course looks at the development of Japanese folklore, exploring the narrative origins of Japanese folk beliefs and myths as well as their transmission and adaptation to the present. With an introduction to theories of folklore, we delve into supernatural tales involving ghosts and shape-shifting creatures as well as moralistic teachings that inform Japanese religious traditions. Class material ranges from The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (10th century) to collections of folklore by 20th century scholar Yanagita Kunio to the contemporary anime of Ghibli Studios. Participants will experience the orality of folktales through in-class narrations. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
JAPN 330C Nuclear Japan: Atomic Bombs, Atomic Energy, Atomic Art (4 Credits)
This course explores literary, film, and artistic representations of Japan’s nuclear past from Hiroshima to Fukushima and today. While we consider the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on one hand, and the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima following the triple disaster of March 11, 2011 on the other in their respective specificities, the class also looks for points of convergence and divergence between the understanding of atomic weapons and atomic energy in the imagination of Japan and the world. We look at witness narratives in short story and novel form; dramatic films depicting nuclear issues from Godzilla to recent dramatic and documentary films; we traverse through manga, anime, photography, painting, children’s books, poetry, digital art and more to gain insight into the possibilities for expression and representation in the atomic age. We will discuss and debate the ethical arguments behind the decision to drop the atomic bombs, the ethical dilemmas posed by nuclear energy, and the ethics of representing the victimhood of others in art. Taught in English.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: JAPN 330D
JAPN 330D Nuclear Japan: Atomic Bombs, Atomic Energy, Atomic Art (4 Credits)
This course combines classroom learning at CSB/SJU during CD mod and ends with an experiential component abroad. With portions both at home on campus and abroad in Japan, this “embedded” course explores the legacy of nuclear weapons and energy in Japan through ethical perspectives. While we consider the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on one hand, and the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima following the triple disaster of March 11, 2011 on the other, we also look for points of convergence and divergence between the understanding of atomic weapons and atomic energy in the imagination of Japan and the world. We look at witness narratives in short story and novel form, and traverse media such as film, manga, anime, photography, painting, children’s books, poetry, and digital art to gain insight into the possibilities for expression and representation in the atomic age. After establishing a foundation for understanding Japan’s nuclear legacy in the domestic portion of the course, we deepen our knowledge by visiting Japan’s nuclear ground zeros. The Japan portion of the course will be based out of Tokyo, where there are many exhibits and spaces that commemorate Japan’s nuclear tragedies. From there, we will make trips to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto, as well as safe areas outside of Fukushima. Through discussions as a class and with Japanese students, reflections (journals) that compare our pre-Japan learning to that on site, and portfolio creations, students will demonstrate integration of the home and abroad portions of the course.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: JAPN 330C
Attributes: CSD: Systems (CS)
JAPN 341 Business/Professional Japanese (4 Credits)
Business Japanese reviews polite language (keigo) from the advanced Japanese language classes (311, 312) and expands its application for practical use in business settings. This includes proper workplace interactions, email correspondences, and culturally appropriate gestures and practices (such as the exchange of business cards). This course may be offered as a standalone, or crosslisted with other advanced Japanese courses, in which case learning material beyond the regular course textbooks will serve as supplement.
Attributes: Human Experience (HE)
JAPN 371 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the upper-division level. Permission of department chair and completion and/or concurrent registration of 12 credits within the department required. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 111 Introduction to Latin I (4 Credits)
The elements of classical Latin, its grammatical structure and forms, with a basic vocabulary. Development of reading skill through a varied selection of ancient texts in prose and verse.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: LNGS 401
LATN 112 Introduction to Latin II (4 Credits)
The elements of classical Latin, its grammatical structure and forms, with a basic vocabulary. Development of reading skill through a varied selection of ancient texts in prose and verse.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: LNGS 402
LATN 202 Reading Group in Latin (0-1 Credits)
Selected readings deal with world languages and cultures. Texts read may be classics in a national literature, works by writers who recently won a high literary prize, or texts dealing with current topics critical to the history or politics of a particular country. Texts may be tied to on-campus lectures on world literature by invited speakers. This course can be repeated once for credit with the permission of the chair. Offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 211 Intermediate Latin (4 Credits)
Review and completion of the fundamentals of Latin, including the reading of passages from classical texts. Satisfactory completion of LATN 211 fulfills the global language proficiency requirement.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: LATN 211Z
Attributes: Global Language Proficiency
LATN 271 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the lower-division level. Permission of department chair required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 302 Reading Group in Latin (0-1 Credits)
Selected readings deal with world languages and cultures. Texts read may be classics in a national literature, works by writers who recently won a high literary prize, or texts dealing with current topics critical to the history or politics of a particular country. Texts may be tied to on-campus lectures on world literature by invited speakers. This course can be repeated once for credit with the permission of the chair. Offered for S/U grading only.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 327 Topics in Latin Literature (4 Credits)
A selected topic in Latin literature, such as classical rhetoric, Lucretius, the novel, philosophy, satire, Medieval Latin, or Christian literature. This course may be repeated for credit if the topics are different.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Human Experience (HE)
LATN 327A Topic: Cicero and Pliny (4 Credits)
A reading of Latin of selected works of prose by Cicero and Pliny.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 327C The Catilinarian Conspiracy (4 Credits)
An investigation of an attempted revolution led by Catiline against the Roman state in 63 B.C.E. We will read Latin selections from (and English translations of) the following contemporary accounts of the events: Cicero’s political speeches and Sallust’s history of the conspiracy. In the process, we will learn a great deal about two of the most important Latin prose authors and the life and thought of the late Roman republic.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 327D The Life and Death of Augustus
(4 Credits)
Augustus was a monumental figure in Roman history—and western history in general. While he belonged to the last generation of the Roman Republic, he was also the first Roman emperor, and as such he ushered in the long and transformative period of the Roman Empire. As a result, the “Augustan period,” that is, the period defined by his unparalleled and unquestioned power in the Roman world (31/0 BCE-14 CE), merits serious study. In it we see the Roman political tradition and the Mediterranean world in transition. In this course, we will learn about the life and death of Augustus, the age that he defined, and the legacy that he left behind, through the study of relevant Latin epigraphic and literary documents. Indeed Latin inscriptions and literature are abundant for this subject—and we will take full advantage of the abundance by reading selections from The Accomplishments of the Divine Augustus (Augustus’s epigraphic autobiography), Suetonius’s Life of Augustus (an engaging work of biography), and Tacitus’s Annals (the greatest work of Roman history by its greatest historian). In the process, not only will students see their familiarity with and ability to read a range of Latin authors grow, but they also will come to better understand and appreciate a vital period of history, the mark of which can still be seen today.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Truth
LATN 327E Jews and Christians in the Roman World (4 Credits)
Jews and Christians produced some of the most creative and controversial ideas in the Roman world. Such ideas and their social, cultural, and political consequences have come down to us in a variety of languages, including Latin. In this course, we use Latin literature to investigate the diversity of these ideas, consider how they fit into Jewish, Christian, and Roman cultural contexts, and seek to explain why these groups experienced exclusion and inclusion. How is it that Christianity, a Near Eastern religion growing out of Judaism, started as a practice reviled by many and leading to martyrdom only to enjoy the patronage and power of Roman emperors and become the dominant religion in the Mediterranean? It was not an inevitable development. We will explore this unlikely and shocking story through reading and discussing selected Latin passages. Possible sources include the Vulgate, Tacitus, Pliny, the Passion of Perpetua, Lactantius, Ammianus Marcellinus, Augustine, and/or the Rule of Saint Benedict.
Prerequisites: LATN 211
Attributes: Human Experience (HE), Thematic Encounter3 - Justice
LATN 331 Virgil and Epic Poetry (4 Credits)
Virgil's Aeneid: Latin readings in the first six books; the entire work in translation. The influence of Homer and of Alexandrian poetry and the unique quality of Virgil's poetic art.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 333 Elegiac and Lyric Poetry (4 Credits)
Readings in Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, Ovid, and Horace, with emphasis on a close explication of the Latin text and on the characteristics of classical poetry. Development of Roman elegiac and lyric forms.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 338 Roman Comedy (4 Credits)
The ancient Romans liked to laugh as much as we do today! In this class, we'll read at least one of Plautus' or Terence's comedies in full with attention to the distinctive features of their genre, their poetic style, and their archaic Latin language. We'll also learn about ancient theater production, imagine how these plays might have looked and sounded in performance, and discuss some of the current questions in scholarship on Roman comedy: How do these plays represent the world? Who were they for, and who were they about? And what can we learn about the playgoers of Republican Rome from the jokes that Plautus and Terence wrote to make them laugh?
Prerequisites: None
LATN 342 Cicero (4 Credits)
Readings in the work of Cicero, a major orator, statesman, and philosopher of the Roman Republic.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 343 Ovid's Metamorphoses (4 Credits)
A reading of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, selected stories in Latin and the entire work in English.
Prerequisites: None
Equivalent courses: LATN 327B
Attributes: Thematic Encounter3 - Movement
LATN 349 Roman Historians (4 Credits)
Reading of one or more Roman historians, such as Sallust, Livy, Caesar, Tacitus, or Suetonius. Emphasis on methodology, style, function of speeches, views of causality, origins of war, and the weighing and presentation of evidence.
Prerequisites: None
LATN 371 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the upper-division level. Permission of department chair and completion and/or concurrent registration of 12 credits within the department required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
LNGS 271 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the lower-division level. Permission of department chair required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
LNGS 370GA Classical Greek Literature in Translation Abroad (4 Credits)
This course offers an introduction to some of the most important early literature of the western canon and focuses on the epics of Homer, a selection of plays from the high point of Athenian tragedy, and some prose writers of the fifth century BC. In exploring these works and their genres, we will also discover aspects of Greek social, religious, and political culture, as these texts were meant to be performed in front of an audience who shared common beliefs and social structures.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 53
Equivalent courses: LNGS 331
Attributes: Human Experience (HE)
LNGS 370IA Italian Literature in Translation (4 Credits)
This course offers an introduction to some of the most important early literature of the western canon and focuses on the epics of Homer, a selection of plays from the high point of Athenian tragedy, and some prose writers of the fifth century BC. In exploring these works and their genres, we will also discover aspects of Greek social, religious, and political culture, as these texts were meant to be performed in front of an audience who shared common beliefs and social structures.
Prerequisites: None
Corequisites: XXXX 54
Equivalent courses: LNGS 331, MCLT 331
Attributes: Human Experience (HE)
LNGS 371 Individual Learning Project (1-4 Credits)
Supervised reading or research at the upper-division level. Permission of department chair and completion and/or concurrent registration of 12 credits within the department required. Consult department for applicability towards major requirements. Not available to first-year students.
Prerequisites: None
LNGS 380 Teaching Languages Practicum (1 Credit)
In this course, students become language educators. Designed for students who serve as Teaching Assistants and Tutors for foreign language classes at CSBSJU (or who aspire to be future language educators at CSBSJU or beyond), Languages 380 introduces students to various pedagogies of language instruction and helps them to envision and successfully carry out associated learning activities, lesson plans, and assessment. Teaching for the first time can be intimidating. This course helps students to be effective at teaching language and enjoy it. While instruction in the practicum will be in English, the lesson plans students create will be for the target language they intend to teach.
Prerequisites: None
Attributes: Experiential Engagement (EX)