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World Languages and Cultures

This is an archived copy of the 2022-2023 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.iastate.edu.

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Overview

World language study should be an integral part of an academic program for most students. The theoretical understanding of and practical experience in language underlie many intellectual disciplines that try to meet the complex problems of contemporary society. Courses offered by the Department of World Languages and Cultures are designed to develop students' understanding of a second culture through the language spoken by that culture.

The Department of World Languages and Cultures offers a major in World Languages and Cultures (Bachelor of Arts) with concentrations in French, German and Spanish and a major in Anthropology (Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science).  Minors are offered in Anthropology, Chinese Studies, French, German, Russian Studies, Spanish, as well as Middle Eastern Studies and World Film Studies. Additionally, instruction is offered in American Sign Language, Arabic, Italian, and Classical Latin. The Department also houses the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' Cross Disciplinary Studies Programs in American Indian Studies, Classical Studies, International Studies, and U.S. Latino/a Studies.

The Department also offers faculty-led summer study abroad programs in Costa Rica, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, and Spain; and semester study abroad programs in Spain. Programs and exchanges in other areas of the world are offered through study abroad providers. Information concerning these programs can be obtained directly from the Department.

See the Placement Policies subpage for information on language placement.

Students at all levels of world language study will have access to the Language Studies Resource Center, located in 3142 Pearson. The Resource Center contains an extensive collection of world language materials, including audio-visual materials, electronic resources, music, books, language specific software and hardware, and other course-related materials.

Materials fees: Each student enrolled in a 100- through 200- level world language course is assessed a materials and professional support fee of $25.00 per course. If a student drops a course subject to the fee by the 15th day of the semester the fee for that course will not be assessed.

Options

The Department offers a major in World Languages and Cultures with two options, leading to the Bachelor of Arts degree:

Option 1: Languages and Cultures with a Concentration in French Studies, German Studies, or Spanish Studies;

Option 2: Languages and Cultures for Professions (as a second major only) with a Concentration in French, German, or Spanish.

A full statement of requirements for majors and minors may be obtained from the Department. For a complete statement of all the college degree requirements, see Liberal Arts and Sciences Degree Requirements. Current and detailed information about the Department is available on-line at www.language.iastate.edu.

Language and literature courses numbered 300 and above are principally taught in the target language; courses numbered in the 270s, 370s, and 470s are taught in English. For courses taught in English about Ancient Greek and Rome, see Classical Studies. Students may not take intermediate (200 level) courses for credit after successfully completing any advanced (300/400 level) course, except those in the 370 series or courses taught in English translation. Students who have successfully completed any course in the intermediate (200 level) sequence may not take a lower-numbered course in that sequence for a grade.

Languages and Cultures for Professions (LCP)

Students with primary majors in the College of Business, the College of Engineering, or the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are encouraged to complete an LCP second major option in World Languages and Cultures with a concentration in French, German, Spanish, or an LCP minor option in those languages plus Chinese Studies or Russian. The primary objective of the LCP option is to provide learning environments within which students can achieve global literacy, linguistic proficiency, and inter-cultural competence. In the LCP curriculum, students will learn how professions are shaped by social and cultural forces and, alternatively, how professions shape society. In courses on contemporary culture and society, students will identify and analyze issues dealing with the complex interrelationships of languages and cultures and consider how they may affect their chosen profession. Students will experience living and working in diverse cultural settings through study abroad and internship opportunities offered through the LCP program and/or in collaboration with the Colleges of Business, Engineering, and Agriculture and Life Sciences. Students enrolled in the LCP second major option may receive non-graded academic credit for the successful completion of internships (WLC courses numbered 499 in each language area).

For the LCP second major option, students will complete 30 credits within their language concentration beyond the fourth-semester level, selected from the list of approved LCP core courses and electives designated for their respective college curricula in either Business, Engineering, or Agriculture and Life Sciences. Students may only enroll in the LCP option as a second major and may not graduate with the LCP option in the WLC major alone.

Students in the College of Business may combine course work in the International Business (IB) Secondary Major with course work in LCP by selecting from a list of approved options. Students should consult their academic advisor in the College of Business and the WLC advisor for coursework and international experience that fulfill requirements in both the IB and LCP major options.

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon the completion of their program of studies in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, majors with a concentration in French, German, or Spanish will demonstrate proficiency in five goal areas: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities. Using their concentration language, students will be able to:

1. COMMUNICATION: understand, interpret, and present information, to negotiate meaning, and to communicate in spoken or written conversations to share information, reactions, feeling, and opinions to various audiences of listeners, readers, or viewers.

2. CULTURES: investigate, explain, and reflect on the relationship between the practices and the perspectives of the cultures studied.

3. CONNECTIONS: demonstrate their ability to build, reinforce, and expand their knowledge of other disciplines and to access and evaluate information from diverse perspectives, while also developing critical thinking to solve problems creatively.

4. COMPARISONS: investigate, explain, and reflect on the nature of language as well as the concept of culture through comparisons of their own culture with other cultures and the language studied.

5. COMMUNITIES: demonstrate an ability to use the language both within and beyond the classroom and to interact and collaborate in their community and the globalized world while also setting goals and reflecting on their progress in using languages for enjoyment, enrichment, and advancement.

Graduates will achieve both linguistic proficiency and cultural literacy through the study of the language and culture of their program. Linguistic proficiency entails the ability to function effectively in the target language and the ability to communicate competently with native speakers of the target language. Students of Latin and Ancient Greek demonstrate proficiency by becoming able to read the languages and to translate from these languages into clear and idiomatic English. Cultural literacy includes a general knowledge of the culture's history, familiarity with its literature, and basic knowledge of its social and political institutions.