Undergraduate Programs in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
The study of languages and cultures is an integral part of a modern, global university education. You cannot be global if you only live in one language. At the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures our majors (French, German, Spanish), minors (Arabic Studies, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish), and language programs (Chinese, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Japanese) are articulated through the notion of Global Literacy. Global literacy is the ability to participate in sociocultural practices by both interacting with others in different languages and by creating, presenting, and interpreting ideas through oral and written texts in more than one language. Global Literacy includes written and oral communication, critical thinking and social responsibility, and appreciation of cultural artifacts, artistic products, and new technologies in more than one language.
Global Literacy and multilingualism foster success in business, economics, education, law, medicine, natural sciences, politics, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Language study most effectively enriches academic as well as personal experiences when students choose a language based on its relevance to possible careers, to research in particular fields, to personal heritage, or to the understanding of unfamiliar cultures. Students combine advanced modern language study with majors in other fields, such as International Studies, Communications, History, Political Science (and other pre-law fields), Biology (and other pre-med fields), Nursing, English, Finance, Latin American Studies, Anthropology, Psychology, Computer Science, Sociology, and Philosophy.
