Program Description

Knowledge of foreign languages and an awareness of other cultures are of critical importance in today’s world, in which international communication is instantaneous and events taking place at great geographical distances have immediate global repercussions.

The Language and Culture Program offers students the opportunity to acquire fluency in at least one language and to gain familiarity with the society (or societies) in which that language is used. Keeping in step with the increasingly complex interactions among countries, the program also allows students to explore a diversity of cultures through the wide choice of courses that fulfill requirements for the major. The major in language and culture offers a full program in French and Spanish, with opportunities to study Arabic, Chinese, German, Hebrew, and Italian.

Students are encouraged to take advantage of any of the dozens of programs abroad available through the State University of New York system. Purchase College offers interdisciplinary programs in China, France, Italy, Spain, and Turkey, all of which include courses that fulfill requirements for the major in language and culture.

Program Faculty

Requirements for the Major

• Demonstration of proficiency in one foreign language (French or Spanish): one advanced language course and/or one course in advanced composition and conversation, with a grade of B or higher
• Translation Workshop in the selected language, with a grade of B or higher
• At least eight courses related to the study of a foreign culture (two must be related to the cultural area of the selected language; four may be replaced with at least two semesters of advanced study in a second language)
• Senior Project

Representative Courses

Francophone Literature
Short Fiction in French
Classics of French Literature on Film
Approaching French Literature I & II
French Art From LaTour to David
Cervantes
Spanish and Latin American Cinema
Spanish Literature: Middle Ages to the Baroque
Modern Spanish Literature
The Modern Latin American Novel
Modern Latin American Poetry
Spain and the New World
Surrealism and Its Legacy
Jewish Texts, Global Contexts: Multiple Voices in Diaspora
Italian High Renaissance and Mannerism
Venetian Art and Architecture
Contemporary Europe Islam: Culture and Politics

Representative Alumni

• Jennifer Eddy ’86, Ed.D., Columbia University; assistant professor of foreign language education, Dept. of Secondary Education and Youth Services, Queens College, City University of New York
• Linda Harris ’95, college recruitment coordinator, Merrill Lynch
• Luisa Piemontese-Ramos ’82, Ph.D., Yale University; associate professor of Spanish, Southern Connecticut State University
• Stephanie Santiago ’00, advertising sales assistant, AMI Latino Magazine Group
• Amy Smiley ’80, Ph.D., Université de Paris–Sorbonne; social worker, St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City

Updated May 27, 2008

For more information, visit the Language and Culture site in Academic Programs.