Modern Languages and Literatures

Chair: Associate Professor M. Ferry
Faculty: Professors C. Batson, W. Garcia, C. Henseler, V. Martinez; Associate Professors K. Bidoshi, M. Chilcoat, D. Mosquera, C. Ndiaye, E. Nelson-Mukherjee, D. Mosquera, M. Ricci Bell, J. Ueno, Z. Zhang; Senior Lecturers M. Osuna, A. Pease; Assistant Professor S. Mueller; Visiting Assistant Professor D. Collinge                
Administration: A. Sartiaux (Director of Language Center)
Staff: J. Tominosky (Administrative Assistant)

All students who begin the study of a new foreign language at Union College are encouraged to pursue it for at least three terms. Students who take 100-level courses in more than one foreign language will receive credit for the second 100-level course only upon completion of the 101-level course in at least one of the two languages. Students continuing a foreign language previously studied will be assigned to the proper course level by the department. Placement will be made in consultation with the Chair and faculty members of the department on the basis of the secondary school record and testing scores. Students may construct full majors or interdepartmental majors in Chinese, French and Francophone, German and Spanish and Hispanic Studies. Students in Japanese, and Russian have the option of an interdepartmental major with any other field. Minors are possible in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. Students of Chinese and Japanese have the option of the major or interdepartmental major in Asian Studies. Introductory courses are also offered in Arabic, Hebrew, Italian and Portuguese.

Requirements in All Languages

Requirements for Honors:

• A candidate for honors shall have an index in Departmental courses of not less than 3.5 and an overall cumulative index of not less than 3.3.
• The candidate shall have achieved a grade of “A” in three courses in the department, with at least one at the 300-level or higher.
• Additional stipulations for full and interdepartmental majors in French, German, and Spanish. Majors shall have achieved a grade of at least “A-” in two 400-level courses (not including FRN 489   , GER 489   , SPN 489   ). Interdepartmental majors shall have achieved a grade of at least “A-” in no fewer than three courses at the 300-level or higher, with at least one at the 400-level (not including FRN 489   , GER 489   , SPN 489   ).
• Additional stipulations for interdepartmental majors in Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. Interdepartmental majors shall have achieved a grade of at least “A-” in no fewer than three courses at the 300-level or higher, and one in an MLT course.
• For the major, the honors candidate shall complete a project of a literary and/or cultural nature. For the interdisciplinary major, the candidate may elect to complete a thesis/project relating the candidate’s chosen disciplines. In all cases, the topic shall have received prior approval from the faculty advisor.
• For the major, the honors project is expected to be written in the foreign language studied. For the interdisciplinary major, the honors project should be written in the language deemed appropriate by the faculty advisor. For the interdisciplinary major in Chinese and Japanese, the project shall normally be written in English.
• The honors project shall have been awarded a grade no lower than “A-.”
• When declaring candidacy for honors, a student shall write a statement outlining the nature and scope of the project and present it to the faculty member chosen to supervise the honors project, as well as to the Chair of the Department. The candidate’s proposal must meet with the approval of both faculty members. This stipulation is waived when the honors project is written under the direct supervision of a Departmental faculty member in a class setting.

Requirement for taking a course without its prerequisites

In order to be placed at the proper level for their first language course at Union or to be assigned to any other course without having completed its prerequisite, students should contact the Departmental office for an appointment with the appropriate professor to get a signed permission slip or petition on the necessary waiver.

German Studies

Open to all students; no knowledge of the German language required, unless the course is taken for German credit. Students seeking language credit for the German Studies Major should register for the corresponding German course number (see GER 330-GER 334   ) and must complete a considerable part of their course-work in German. Prerequisite for German credit in the MLT courses is the completion of at least GER 201   .

Japanese and Russian Requirements

Course Selection Guidelines
Students should be aware that all of the courses in Modern Languages and Literatures carry HUM and LCC credit for Common Curriculum (CC) Requirements, and many of our MLT courses and upper-level literature and culture courses count towards the Humanities Literature requirement.

Students should also be aware that many of our language programs offer the 100 class (Basic 1) only in the Fall term. French is the only exception, offering FRN 100   in both Fall and Winter terms.

Students with previous experience in a language should come to the Department office to make an appointment to see a professor in the appropriate language for proper placement. Our MLT courses do not require such placement, as they are taught in English.

Courses in Modern Literature, Culture, and Cinema in Translation (Taught in English)
Faculty in the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures offer a variety of courses on works of literature, culture, cinema, and media that have been translated into English. “MLT” courses allow English-speaking students to engage with texts and other cultural artifacts from around the world to help them to develop the awareness of cultural diversity that is needed to be a global citizen in the twenty-first century.

Spanish Language and Culture

Literatures and Cultures (300-level courses)
Majors, ID majors, and minors must take two 300-level courses from different clusters; there are four clusters (listed below). Prerequisite for 300-level courses listed in this section is SPN 203   or permission of the instructor.

Literatures and Cultures (400-level courses)
Prerequisites for 400-level courses listed in this section are two 300-level courses.

Programs

• Chinese, B.A.
• French and Francophone Studies, B.A.
• German Studies, B.A.
• Spanish and Hispanic Studies, B.A.

• Chinese (ID), B.A.
• French and Francophone Studies (ID), B.A.
• German Studies (ID), B.A.
• Japanese (ID), B.A.
• Russian (ID), B.A.
• Spanish and Hispanic Studies (ID), B.A.

• Chinese Minor
• French and Francophone Studies Minor
• German Studies Minor
• Japanese Minor
• Russian Minor
• Spanish Minor

Courses

• SPN 308 - The Spanish Movida: Explosive Youth Culture of the 1970s and 80s
• SPN 311 - Otherness and Citizenship in Contemporary Spanish Theater and Cinema
• SPN 312T - Immigration in Spanish Cinema
• SPN 314 - Spain is Different: Current Debates Shaping Spain’s Future
• SPN 325 - Staging Conflict: Studies in One-Act Mexican Theater
• SPN 326 - Women Weaving Histories: Short Narratives by Latin American Female Writers
• SPN 327 - The Nation at Home: Family and Nationhood in Spanish American Theater
• SPN 328 - Inquiring Latin American Identities: Reading Context, Space & Cultural Artifacts
• SPN 329 - Interruptions: The Paradox of Tradition in Spanish American Poetry
• SPN 330 - Mexican Women’s Contemporary Short Fiction
• SPN 332 - An Introduction to Afro-Hispanic Literatures and Cultures
• SPN 350 - Visions and Voices: Chicana Icons from Myth to Matter
• SPN 351 - Border Identities
• SPN 352 - Imagining Latino & Latina Identities
• SPN 360 - Spanish Communication: Speaking and Writing in Contemporary Settings
• SPN 375 - Dreams, Mirages and Delusions in Peninsular and Latin American Fiction
• SPN 376 - Down to Earth: Cross-Cultural Explorations of the Hispanic World
• SPN 380 - What’s Love Got to Do with It: Gender and Nation in Hispanic and US Latino Literatures
• SPN 381 - Hauntings in Hispanic Fiction
• SPN 400 - Don Quixote
• SPN 401 - Bodies and Power in Latin American Narrative
• SPN 402 - Dressing Up the Canon: Cross-Dressing in Hispanic Literature and Film
• SPN 405 - Lost and Found in Translation
• SPN 406 - Film of the Mexican American Border
• SPN 407 - Cultures in Contact (and Conflict) in Contemporary Spain
• SPN 408 - Hispanic Literature in the Digital Age
• SPN 409 - Rebels with a Cause: Contemporary Spanish Youth Culture 1975-2010
• SPN 415 - What Remains: Waste in Latin American Cinema, Literature, Media, and Art
• SPN 417 - Death and Revenge in the Southern Cone
• SPN 418 - Of Cock Fights and Crowded Elevators: Readings in Contemporary Mexican Theater
• SPN 431 - Colonial Latin America 1492-1800
• SPN 432 - Islands Adrift: Race, Politics, and Diasporas in the Hispanic Caribbean
• SPN 433 - Latin American Colonial Crossroads at the Movies
• SPN 473 - Re-Viewing Spanish Cinema
• SPN 489 - Honors Senior Seminar
• SPN 490 - Spanish Independent Study 1
• SPN 491 - Spanish Independent Study 2
• SPN 492 - Spanish Independent Study 3