Romance Languages and Literatures

The French Major

The major in French is designed to assist students in achieving a superior level of linguistic fluency in French and cultural competency through the study of French and Francophone literature and culture. Students majoring in French are required to complete major requirements and senior exercises as described below. They are also encouraged to participate in the Study Abroad Program for a semester and to live in Oldenborg Center for one year.

Upon graduation, French majors should be able to achieve the following objectives:

1. demonstrate advanced competence in written and spoken French.
2. demonstrate the ability to read critically, interpret analytically, and write coherently in dialogue with scholarship about texts produced in the French-speaking world.
3. identify and evaluate the specific nature of a wide array of literary genres.
4. demonstrate familiarity with basic critical methodological approaches in the study of these genres, such as close reading, discourse analysis, socio-historical contextualization, and literary, political, psychoanalytic and cultural theory.
5. produce an analytic/reflective or a creative work through multiple revisions and peer advising.
6. demonstrate knowledge of literary and cultural traditions, such as major movements, writers, and works of France and the French-speaking world.
7. produce a senior thesis/paper with a clear thesis statement, a logical structure, appropriate evidence and persuasive analysis.
8. articulate an argument in an effective and convincing manner in formal spoken French.

The Spanish Major

The major in Spanish is designed to assist students in achieving a superior level of linguistic fluency in Spanish as well as cultural competency through the study of the very finest literary production and the complex histories and cultures of the Spanish-speaking world. Students majoring in Spanish are required to complete major requirements and senior exercises as described below. They are also encouraged to participate in the Study Abroad Program and to live in Oldenborg Center for one year.

Upon graduation, Spanish majors should be able to:

1. demonstrate advanced competence in written and spoken Spanish.
2. demonstrate the ability to read critically, interpret analytically, and write coherently in dialogue with scholarship about both verbal and visual works produced in the Spanish-speaking world.
3. identify and evaluate the specific nature of a wide array of literary genres.
4. demonstrate familiarity with basic critical methodological approaches in the study of these genres, such as close reading, discourse analysis, socio-historical contextualization, and literary, political, psychoanalytic and cultural theory.
5. produce an analytic/reflective or a creative work through multiple revisions and peer advising.
6. demonstrate knowledge of literary and cultural traditions, such as major movements, writers, and works of the Spanish-speaking world, focusing on at least one and ideally multiple traditions: Spanish American, Spanish and
   US/Latino literary cultures.
7. produce a senior thesis/paper with a clear thesis statement, a logical structure, appropriate evidence and persuasive analysis.
8. articulate an argument in an effective and convincing manner in formal spoken Spanish.

The Romance Languages Major

The major in Romance Languages is designed to assist students in achieving an advanced level of linguistic fluency in both French and Spanish through the study of the very finest literary production and the complex histories and cultures of the French- and Spanish-speaking worlds. Students majoring in Romance Languages are required to complete major requirements and senior exercises as described in the college catalog, selecting either French or Spanish for the primary language of the senior exercises. They are also encouraged to participate in the Study Abroad Program and to live in Oldenborg Center for one year.

Upon graduation, Romance Languages majors should be able to:

1. demonstrate advanced competence in written and spoken French and Spanish.
2. demonstrate the ability to read critically, interpret analytically, and write coherently in dialogue with scholarship about texts produced in the Spanish- and French-speaking worlds:
3. identify and evaluate the specific nature of a wide array of literary genres.
4. demonstrate familiarity with basic critical methodological approaches in the study of these genres, such as close reading, discourse analysis, socio-historical contextualization, and literary, political, psychoanalytic and cultural theory.
5. produce an analytic/reflective or a creative work through multiple revisions and peer advising.
6. demonstrate knowledge of literary and cultural traditions, such as major movements, writers, and works of both French and Spanish-speaking worlds.
7. produce a senior thesis/paper with a clear thesis statement, a logical structure, appropriate evidence and persuasive analysis.
8. articulate an argument in an effective and convincing manner in formal spoken French and Spanish.