Modern Languages and Literatures

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

Course Selection Guidelines

Students should be aware that many of our language programs offer the 100 class (Basic 1) only in the Fall term. 

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.

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

• MLT 288 - Torture and Dictatorship in Latin American Literature
• MLT 289 - Literature of the Mexican-American Border
• MLT 293 - Made in New York: Puerto Rican and Dominican Transnational Identities in American Literature & Cinema
• SPN 100 - Spanish for Beginners 1
• SPN 101 - Spanish for Beginners 2
• SPN 102 - Spanish for Beginners 3
• SPN 200 - Spanish for Intermediate Learners 1
• SPN 201 - Spanish for Intermediate Learners 2
• SPN 204T - The Spanish Language Studied Abroad 1
• SPN 205T - The Spanish Language Studied Abroad 2
• SPN 206T - The Spanish Language Studied Abroad 3
• SPN 207T - The Spanish Language Studied Abroad 4
• SPN 208T - Spanish Cultures and Societies
• SPN 250 - Sustainable Travel in the Hispanic World
• SPN 250T - The Spanish Language Studied Independently Abroad 1
• SPN 251 - Stories of Power, Honor, and Love
• SPN 251T - The Spanish Language Studied Independently Abroad 2
• SPN 252 - Media and Society in the Spanish-Speaking World
• SPN 253 - Colliding Worlds: Cross-Cultural Encounters in Hispanic Literature and Film
• SPN 254 - Spanish for Heritage Speakers
• SPN 255 - Nonprofits & Storytelling: Spanish for Social Impact
• SPN 295H - Spanish Honors Independent Study 1
• SPN 296H - Spanish Honors Independent Study 2
• SPN 304 - Performing Identities in Spanish Theater
• SPN 306 - The Remake: Spanish Narrative and New Media
• SPN 307 - Melodrama in Latin American Culture
• 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 318 - Mis/Representations
• SPN 319 - Basque Cinema
• SPN 325 - Staging Conflict: Studies in One-Act Mexican Theater
• SPN 327 - The Nation at Home: Family and Nationhood in Spanish American Theater
• SPN 328 - Inquiring Latin American Identities: Reading Context, Space and Cultural Artifacts
• SPN 329 - Tradition and Interruption in Spanish American Poetry
• SPN 330 - Hispanic Women Writers Who Challenged the World
• SPN 332 - An Introduction to Afro-Hispanic Literatures and Cultures
• SPN 334 - Cartographies of Disasters
• SPN 336 - Troubling Gender in Contemporary Argentine Literature and Cinema
• SPN 340 - Food for Thought
• SPN 351 - Border Identities
• SPN 352 - Imagining Latinx Identities
• SPN 360 - Spanish Communication: Speaking and Writing in Contemporary Settings
• SPN 375 - Reality Interrupted in Hispanic Narratives
• 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 401 - XX and XXI Century Latin American Narrative
• 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 - Digital Storytelling Lab
• SPN 409 - Rebels with a Cause: Spanish Youth Culture and Protest
• SPN 412 - Social Innovations in Spain
• SPN 415 - What Remains: Waste in Latin American Cinema, Literature, Media, and Art
• SPN 417 - Death and Revenge in the Southern Cone
• SPN 418 - Readings on Contemporary Mexican Theater
• SPN 424 - Imaginarios urbanos: Interventions in the Latin American City
• SPN 425 - Call for Social Change
• SPN 431 - Latin America in Colonial Times
• SPN 432 - Islands Adrift: Race, Politics, and Diasporas in the Hispanic Caribbean
• SPN 433 - Latin American Colonial Crossroads at the Movies
• SPN 473 - Spain on Screen
• SPN 489 - Spanish Honors Senior Thesis
• SPN 490 - Spanish Independent Study 1
• SPN 491 - Spanish Independent Study 2
• SPN 492 - Spanish Independent Study 3