Santa Clara University

DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

Professors: Rose Marie Beebe, Francisco Jiménez (Fay Boyle Professor), Catherine R. Montfort (Department Chair), Victor B. Vari (Harold and Edythe Toso Professor)
Associate Professors: Josef Hellebrandt, Jill Pellettieri, Tonia Caterina Riviello, Gudrun Tabbert-Jones, Juan Velasco
Assistant Professor: Jimia Boutouba
Senior Lecturers: Elsa Li, Lucia Varona

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures offers courses in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, as well as degree programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts in French and Francophone Studies, German Studies, Italian Studies, or Spanish Studies. Honors programs are available for French and German majors. In addition, the department offers minors in French and Francophone studies, German studies, Italian studies, Japanese studies, and Spanish studies. The courses are designed to help students achieve proficiency in both the oral and written language and to provide them with an understanding of the experiences, values, and traditions of those peoples whose languages are studied. Courses range from beginning language to linguistics, from an introduction to literary texts to advanced courses in literature and culture. All courses are open to any student with the requisite preparation.

A few courses in literature and culture offered by the department are taught in English and are open to all students. Some of these courses may be used as credit toward a major or minor in French and Francophone studies, a major or minor in German studies, or a minor in Japanese studies. However, these courses in English will not fulfill the University Core Curriculum foreign language requirement. Students may fulfill their second language Core Curriculum requirement by successfully completing a proficiency examination in a modern foreign language at the level for their program of study.

Students who have never studied the language in which they wish to enroll, or who have studied that language for one year in high school, should register for Elementary Language 1. Those who wish to continue in a language that they have studied for two years in high school should enter Elementary Language 2. Students with three or more years of study in a single language, those who wish to continue language study beyond the second language requirement, or those who feel following the formula would place them in a higher- or lower-level course than their background warrants should consult a member of the appropriate language faculty for placement advice. Students having the necessary proficiency, as demonstrated by an interview with a member of the language faculty, may enroll in higher-numbered courses than those of the placement formula. Once proficiency has been established, lower-division students may enroll in upper-division courses with the permission of the instructor. Such courses will be counted as fulfilling major or minor requirements.

Courses numbered 1 through 102 are not open to challenge; for courses numbered above 102, consult the individual listing. For more information about placement and/or proficiency, please visit the department’s website. Study abroad is a valuable enhancement of the undergraduate experience and is particularly recommended for students pursuing a major or minor in a foreign language. Both the Office of International Programs and the student’s foreign language advisor should be consulted to ensure appropriate integration of the work done abroad into the student’s program of study.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJORS

In addition to fulfilling University Core Curriculum requirements for the Bachelor of Arts degree, students majoring in modern languages and literatures must complete the following departmental requirements for their specific major:

Major in French and Francophone Studies

• FREN 100 and 101 or department-approved substitutes
• At least one course in French or Francophone literature
• Remaining electives in French or Francophone studies to total 40 quarter upper-division units chosen with the approval of the student’s major advisor. At least 20 of these units must be taken at SCU or taught by SCU faculty.

Major in German Studies

• GERM 100 and 101 or department-approved substitutes
• Remaining electives in German language, literature, and culture to total 40 quarter upper-division units. At least 20 of these units must be taken at SCU or taught by SCU faculty.

Major in Italian Studies

• ITAL 100 and 101 or department-approved substitutes
• Remaining electives in Italian language and literature to total 40 quarter upper-division units, chosen with the student’s faculty advisor. At least 20 of these units must be taken at SCU or taught by SCU faculty.

Major in Spanish Studies

• SPAN 100 and 101 or department-approved substitutes
• SPAN 175
• At least one survey course (but not more than three) from SPAN 120, 121, 130, 131
• One course in Latin American literature or culture
• One course in Spanish Peninsular literature or culture
• Remaining electives in Spanish language, literature and culture to total 40 quarter units of upper-division work, chosen with the approval of the Spanish advisor. At least 20 of these units must be taken at SCU or taught by SCU faculty.

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MINORS

Students must fulfill the following requirements for the specific minor in modern languages and literatures:

Minor in French and Francophone Studies

• FREN 100 and 101 or department-approved substitutes
• At least one course in French or Francophone literature
• Remaining electives to total at least 19 quarter units of upper-division work in French. At least 10 of these units must be taken at SCU or taught by SCU faculty.

Minor in German Studies

• GERM 100 and 101 or department-approved substitutes
• Remaining electives to total at least 19 quarter units of upper-division work in German. At least 10 of these units must be taken at SCU or taught by SCU faculty.

Minor in Italian Studies

• ITAL 100 and 101 or department-approved substitutes
• Remaining electives to total at least 19 quarter units of upper-division work in Italian. At least 10 of these units must be taken at SCU or taught by SCU faculty.

Minor in Japanese Studies

• JAPN 100, 101, and 102 or department-approved substitutes
• Remaining electives to total at least 19 quarter units of upper-division work in Japanese. At least 10 of these units must be taken at SCU or taught by SCU faculty.

Minor in Spanish Studies

• SPAN 100 and 101 or department-approved substitutes
• At least one course in Hispanic literature or culture
• Remaining electives to total at least 19 quarter units of upper-division work in Spanish. At least 10 of these units must be taken at SCU or taught by SCU faculty.

LOWER and UPPER DIVISION COURSE LISTINGS are AVAILABLE in the Undergraduate Bulletin (PDF)