World Languages and Literatures

• General Information
• Departmental Distinction
• Majors, Minors and Courses in World Languages

www.smu.edu/worldlanguages

Associate Professor Elizabeth Russ, Department Chair

American Sign Language
Lecturer: Tiffany McCray (Area Chair)

Arabic
Senior Lecturers: Liljana Elverskog (Area Chair), Omar Al-Rashdan

Chinese
Senior Lecturers: Xiao Hu, Wei Qu, Yan Xia (Area Chair)

French
Professors: Thomas DiPiero, Dayna Oscherwitz, Hervé Tchumkam
Associate Professors: Maxime Foerster (Area Chair)
Senior Lecturers: Gwendoline Aaron, Paola Buckley (Adviser), Janet Dodd, Caroline Grubbs, Yuliya Kruchkova, Rachel Ney, Thierry Tirado, Omar Al-Rashdan
Lecturers: Antoinette Williams-Tutt (Adviser of International Film Studies Minor)

German
Senior Lecturer: Stephen Grollman (Area Chair)

Greek
Senior Lecturer: Justin Michael Germain (Area Chair)

Italian
Senior Lecturers: Brandy Alvarez, Damiano Bonuomo, Teresa Brentegani, Daniele Forlino (Area Chair)
Lecturer: Vittoria Mollo

Japanese
Senior Lecturer: Keiko Flores (Area Chair)

Latin
Senior Lecturer: Justin Michael Germain
Instructor: Patti Rawlins (Area Chair)

Spanish
Professor: Denise DuPont
Associate Professors: Olga Colbert, Luis Maldonado-Peña, Alberto Pastor, Elizabeth Russ, Rubén Sánchez-Godoy (Area Chair), Gabriela Vokic, Alicia Zuese 
Senior Lecturers: Donna Binkowski, Marlen Y. Collazo, Miroslava Detcheva, Maria Eguez, Susana Fernandez-Solera, Constantin Icleanu, Allison Larkin, Maria Villar Martin, Leticia McDoniel, Lourdes Molina, Maria del Pilar Melgarejo, Joy Saunders
Lecturers: Sarah Bogard, Ana Echevarria-Morales, Gema Lopez Hevia, Talia Weltman-Cisneros (Adviser)
Visiting Lecturer: Rodrigo Lopez

Russian
Lecturers: Tatiana Zimakova (Area Chair), Yuliya Kruchkova

Second Language Requirement Adviser: Jay Orenduff

General Information

The Department of World Languages and Literatures offers nine modern languages and two classical languages. Students may pursue a B.A. degree in French, French Studies, Spanish, and World Languages and minors in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, International Film Studies, Italian, Italian Area Studies, Japanese, Latin, Russian Area Studies, and Spanish. The B.A. in World Languages allows students to specialize in two different languages.

In pursuing language study, students gain communicative proficiency in a second or third language, as well as cultural proficiency and heightened global awareness. Courses taught toward a language major or minor emphasize all of these through the study of communication, culture, literature, linguistics, history, film, politics, business and other diverse aspects of language and culture. Students may also apply these skills through a language-based internship, either in Dallas or abroad, and through independent research.

Department Transfer Credit Policy

Once students have matriculated at SMU, the world languages and literatures department accepts a limited number of online courses for transfer credit; students should consult the Second Language Adviser for details. For general University transfer course policies, students should refer to the transfer policies found on the Enrollment and Academic Records  section of this catalog.

SMU Abroad Rules for Credit

Students participating in an SMU Abroad term program may automatically count nine credit hours of courses taught in an approved program toward a B.A. and six credit hours toward a minor. Students studying abroad for a full year may apply 15 credit hours with specific approval from the area chair of the language.

Departmental Distinction

1. Overall 3.500 GPA by the middle of the junior year.
2. Overall 3.700 GPA in the major by the middle of the junior year.
3. Invitation of area faculty after the area as a whole has discussed the student’s candidacy.
4. Two extra courses beyond the requirements for the major. One course must include a major research paper, to be undertaken and completed in the first term of the candidate’s senior year.

Majors, Minors and Courses in World Languages

Requirements for a B.A. degree in French, French Studies, Spanish and World Languages, as well as for minors in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, International Film Studies, Italian, Italian Area Studies, Japanese, Latin, Russian Area Studies and Spanish are given below.

Programs

• French Studies, B.A.
• French, B.A.
• Spanish, B.A.
• World Languages: Arabic, B.A.
• World Languages: Chinese, B.A.
• World Languages: French, B.A.
• World Languages: German, B.A.
• World Languages: Italian, B.A.
• World Languages: Russian, B.A.
• World Languages: Spanish, B.A.

• Arabic Minor
• Chinese Minor
• French Minor
• German Minor
• International Film Studies Minor
• Italian Area Studies Minor
• Italian Minor
• Japanese Minor
• Latin Minor
• Russian Area Studies Minor
• Spanish Minor

Courses

• SPAN 4285 - Internship in Spanish
• SPAN 4301 - Introduction to Spanish Linguistics
• SPAN 4302 - Introduction to Hispanic Literature
• SPAN 4303 - Leadership and Ethics in Literature
• SPAN 4304 - Spanish Lives
• SPAN 4310 - Texas-Mexico Borderlands: A Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic Story
• SPAN 4311 - Spanish American Film
• SPAN 4321 - Special Topics Abroad in Spanish
• SPAN 4322 - Special Topics Abroad in Spanish
• SPAN 4329 - Conversations and Community
• SPAN 4331 - Commercial Spanish for International Trade
• SPAN 4332 - Commercial Spanish II
• SPAN 4340 - The Structure of Spanish
• SPAN 4341 - Spanish Phonetics and Phonology
• SPAN 4342 - Linguistic Variation in the Spanish-Speaking World
• SPAN 4343 - Spanish as a Second Language: Principles of Second-Language Acquisition and Teaching
• SPAN 4356 - Spanish Literature Before 1700
• SPAN 4357 - Spanish Literature Since 1700
• SPAN 4359 - The Renaissance and Golden Age: Prose Fiction
• SPAN 4360 - 19th-Century Poetry and Drama
• SPAN 4361 - 19th-Century Prose Fiction
• SPAN 4363 - 20th-Century Peninsular Prose Fiction
• SPAN 4364 - The Novel, Post-Civil War
• SPAN 4365 - Genre Studies (Spain)
• SPAN 4367 - Don Quixote: The Idea, the Character, the Book
• SPAN 4368 - Human Rights Issues in Contemporary Spanish Literature
• SPAN 4369 - Contemporary Spanish Women Writers
• SPAN 4373 - Spanish-American Literature to 1888
• SPAN 4374 - Spanish-American Literature Since 1888
• SPAN 4377 - Spanish-American Novel
• SPAN 4378 - Spanish-American Essay
• SPAN 4379 - Spanish–American Short Story
• SPAN 4380 - Spanish-American Poetry
• SPAN 4382 - Rewriting Discovery and Exploration in the Spanish Borderlands
• SPAN 4383 - Contemporary Fiction by Latin American Women Writers
• SPAN 4385 - Internship in Spanish
• SPAN 4391 - Tutorial for Juniors and Seniors
• SPAN 5326 - Special Topics Abroad in Spanish
• SPAN 5327 - Special Topics Abroad in Spanish

All WL/WLAN courses are conducted in English.

• WLAN 1301 - Beginning Language (Languages Not Taught At SMU)
• WLAN 1302 - Beginning Language Term Two
• WLAN 1401 - Beginning Language Term One (Languages Not Taught At SMU)
• WLAN 1402 - Beginning Language Term Two
• WLAN 3311 - Special Topics Abroad in World Languages
• WLAN 3313 - Special Topics Abroad in World Languages

All WL/WLAN courses are conducted in English.

• WL 2330 - Formation of the Spanish Identity: Heroes, Villains, and Outcasts in History, Literature, and Art
• WL 2355 - Literature and Theology: Catholic Thought From Augustine to the Present
• WL 2395 - Italian Culture
• WL 3301 - Introduction to Literary Translation
• WL 3303 - Topics in Spanish Civilization
• WL 3304 - Special Topics: Spanish Literature Translation
• WL 3305 - Special Topics: Latin American Literature in Translation
• WL 3307 - Perspectives on French Identity: What does it mean to be French?
• WL 3308 - Introduction to General Linguistics
• WL 3309 - French Cinema: 1945 to the Present
• WL 3310 - Transnational Chinese Cinema
• WL 3311 - Food and Identity in the Southwest
• WL 3316 - Revolutions in Thought: Continental Philosophy from Marx to Derrida
• WL 3317 - French Gastronomy and Culture
• WL 3318 - Migration, Asylum, and Human Rights in German-Speaking Contexts
• WL 3319 - The Italian American Experience: An Introduction
• WL 3323 - Russian Culture
• WL 3324 - Life Stories from Spain: How Do We Tell the Story of a Life?
• WL 3325 - Perspective on Modern China
• WL 3326 - Introduction to French Cinema
• WL 3327 - Les Misérables
• WL 3328 - French Women Writers
• WL 3329 - French Muslim Citizens and the Algerian War: The Harkis
• WL 3330 - Migration, Occupation, and Independence in North African Cinema
• WL 3331 - Survey: Russian Literature in Translation
• WL 3332 - Special Topics: Russian Literature in Translation
• WL 3333 - Italian American Cinema
• WL 3334 - Twentieth Century German History through Film
• WL 3336 - Queer Sexualities in French Literature and Cinema
• WL 3340 - Semiotics and Interpretation
• WL 3341 - The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
• WL 3342 - Linguistic Diversity and Social Justice: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics
• WL 3349 - The African Diaspora: Literature and History of Black Liberation
• WL 3350 - Existentialism and Literature
• WL 3355 - Tradition, Community, and Identity in African Cinema
• WL 3359 - Masculinities: Images and Perspectives
• WL 3360 - Immigrant Representations in Contemporary Spanish Cinema
• WL 3361 - Special Topics: French Literature in Translation
• WL 3362 - Postcolonial France
• WL 3364 - Cuban Civilization and Culture
• WL 3369 - Perspectives on Modern Germany
• WL 3371 - Latin America Through Film
• WL 3372 - Relocating Latinos and Their Cultures
• WL 3373 - The Short Story in Latin America
• WL 3374 - Sex, Gender, and Identity in Germany from the Late 19th Century to the Present
• WL 3375 - Introduction to Psycholinguistics
• WL 3376 - Literature and Nation in Spanish America
• WL 3377 - Havana as Revolution: The Cuban Capital in the National and Global Imagination
• WL 3378 - Pompeii: Life Interrupted
• WL 3379 - Modern German Culture From the Enlightenment to the Present
• WL 3380 - Classical Latin Literature in Translation
• WL 3381 - Exploring the Greco-Roman World: Fact, Fiction, and Film
• WL 3382 - Texas-Mexico Borderlands: A Social, Political, Cultural, and Economic Story
• WL 3383 - Gender and Human Rights in Latin American Women Writers
• WL 3386 - Mary in the Christian Tradition
• WL 3387 - Japanese Culture Through Film