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, Hausa, 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

Beginning Arabic and German
Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Chinese, French, Hebrew, Italian, and Spanish
Nigerian/Hausa Language and Culture I & II
Translation Workshops: French, Hebrew, Spanish
Advanced Spanish Reading and Conversation
Approaching French Literature I & II
Cervantes
Chinese Culture and Everyday Life
Classics of French Literature on Film
Contemporary French Cinema
Francophone Literature
French Caribbean Literature
Jewish Texts, Global Contexts: Multiple Voices in Diaspora
Modern Latin American Poetry
Modern Spanish Literature
Short Fiction in French
Spanish and Latin American Cinema
Spanish Literature: Middle Ages to the Baroque
The Modern Latin American Novel
Writing Workshop in French

Representative Alumni

• Jennifer Eddy ’86, PhD, Columbia University; assistant professor of world language education, Queens College, City University of New York
• Lisa E. Hoyes ’94, JD (Sinsheimer Public Service Scholar), New York University School of Law; criminal defense attorney, Bronx, NY
• Stephanie Leon-Santiago ’00, MS, Pace University; marketing manager, GLM, a dmg world media business
• Luisa Piemontese ’82, PhD, Yale University; professor of Spanish, Foreign Languages Dept., Southern Connecticut State University; co-author, España: Temas de cultura y civilización
• Abigail Sarokin ’80, MBA, Baruch College, City University of New York; pediatric cardiology administrator, Columbia University Medical Center
• Amy Smiley ’80, LCSW; PhD, Université de Paris–Sorbonne; private practice in New York, NY, and manager, Project on Young Adults in Transition at the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies, Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery
• Juliana Thomas ’90, photographer and owner, Juliana Thomas Photography, www.jtphoto.com

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

Updated June 6, 2011

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