Modern and Classical Languages
Departmental Website: Modern and Classical Languages
The M.A. and Ph.D. degrees are offered in the following Fields of Study: Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
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07-08
Department Head: Associate Professor Norma Bouchard
Professors: Berthelot, DalMolin, Gomes, Gordon, Guénoun, Masciandaro, and Miller
Associate Professors: Celestin, Chinchilla, Johnson, Liu, Loss, McNeece, Pardo, Travis, von Hammerstein, and Weidauer
Assistant Professors: Finger, Seda, Urios-Aparisi, Wagner, and Wogenstein
The Department offers courses in literature and philology leading to the degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Programs are available in Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies in cooperation with the Department of English and in Medieval Studies in cooperation with the Departments of Art, English, History, and Philosophy (see Comparative Literary and Cultural Studies and Medieval Studies). There also is supporting work in Greek and Latin. Seminars numbered in the 400’s are designed chiefly for doctoral students, but master’s students occasionally are admitted.
Admission. All applicants are urged, and some may be required, to submit results of the Graduate Record Examinations for both the General Test and the Subject Test in their field. In the modern languages, applicants are expected to be able to participate in seminars at the graduate level conducted in the foreign languages.
The M.A. Program. Applicants normally are expected to have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in the language. Students with insufficient undergraduate preparation may be accepted provisionally, but they are required to make up deficiencies before being admitted to regular graduate status. A research methodology course and a minimum of one semester of teaching experience are required of all M.A. candidates in German. M.A. students in German who emphasize philology are required to take at least two literature courses; students emphasizing literature or German studies are required to take at least one philology course. Candidates in Spanish are required to take the course in concepts of literary criticism. All master’s candidates must pass a written and/or oral final examination.
Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Doctoral candidates are expected to demonstrate competence in reading scholarly material in two additional languages other than English, as designated by their advisory committees. For candidates in French, these normally are Latin and German.
Students in Spanish are required to present or to take a course in concepts of literary criticism.
In German, a research methodology course and a minimum of one semester of teaching experience at the college level are required of all doctoral candidates.
Library Facilities. The Homer Babbidge Library contains outstanding collections of texts and commentaries in the literature of the French Renaissance and a fine collection of texts in the literature of the Spanish Golden Age. The Latin American Collection is particularly strong in the Mexican, Chilean, and Argentine areas. There is a fine collection of German literature of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, and the collection of modern drama is outstanding. In addition, the Library houses an extensive collection of videotapes of German literary and cultural materials, and facilities for viewing them. Holdings in Italian literature and in intellectual history are extensive, especially in the modern period. The Risorgimento pamphlet collection stands out as one of the best available outside of Italy. Other holdings in modern and classical languages are sufficient for the pursuit of scholarly research in all languages and literatures offered.
COURSES OF STUDY
Courses designated by the dagger symbol (†) are approved
for Satisfactory (S) / Unsatisfactory (U) grading.
Classics: Latin
CAMS 301. Special Topics in Latin Literature
1-6 credits. Lecture
CAMS 305. Vergil
3 credits. Lecture.
CAMS 306. Roman State
3 credits. Lecture.
CAMS 307. Ovid and Elegiac Poets
3 credits. Lecture.
CAMS 308. Lucretius
3 credits. Lecture.
CAMS 309. Tacitus
3 credits. Lecture.
CAMS 310. Cicero’s Philosophical Works
3 credits. Lecture.
CAMS 311. Later Latin
3 credits. Lecture.
Authors from c. 180 A.D. to and including Isidore of Seville (560-636).
CAMS 312. Latin Epigraphy
3 credits. Lecture.
Selected remains of Latin, from all periods, inscribed on durable materials.
CAMS 313. Roman Comedy
3 credits. Seminar.
CAMS 328. Advanced Latin Composition
3 credits. Lecture.
French
FREN 301. Seventeenth-Century Poetry
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 302. The Seventeenth-Century Theatre
3 credits. Seminar.
FREN 303. The Novel in the Secenteenth Century
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 304. Seventeenth-Century French Thought
3 credits. Lecture.
Religious and Libertin thinkers: Gassendi, Descartes; the Moralistes: Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, La Bruyère.
FREN 305. The First Two Generations of the French Enlightenment
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 306. The Later French Enlightenment
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 307. Problems in French Literature or Philology
1-3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 308. Old French Paleography and Textual Edition
3 credits. Lecture. Prerequisite: FREN 352
FREN 309. Provençal Language and Literature
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 310. Introduction to French Philology
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 311. Aesthetic Trends in Twentieth-Century French Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
FREN 351. French Historical Grammar
3 credits. Letcure.
FREN 352. Old French Language
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 353. Old French Literature
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 357. The French Novel in the Eighteenth Century
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 359. Romantic Poetry and Drama
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 361. French Poetry in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century
3 credits. Seminar.
FREN 362. French Contemporary Poetry
3 credits. Seminar.
FREN 366. French Contemporary Drama
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 369. The French Novel in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century
3 credits. Seminar.
Stendhal, Balzac, and the romantic novelists.
FREN 370. The French Novel in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century
3 credits. Lecture.
Flaubert, Zola, and their contemporaries.
FREN 373. The French Contemporary Novel
3 credits. Seminar.
FREN 376. The Prose of the French Renaissance
3 credits. Seminar.
FREN 377. The Poetry of the French Renaissance
3 credits. Lecture.
FREN 380. Seminar in Francophone Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
The study of the literature from the French-speaking world outside of France (Quebec, the Antilles, West Africa, the Maghreb) against the background of colonial and post-colonial history. May be repeated for credit with change of topic.
FREN 381. Study of French Style
3 credits. Lecture.
Problems of French style and writing of critical papers.
FREN 400. Seminar on Chretien de Troyes
3 credits. Lecture. Prerequisite: FREN 353.
FREN 401. Seminar on Villon
3 credits. Lecture. Prerequisite: FREN 353.
German
GERM 305. Studies in Germanic Philology and Linguistics
3 credits. Seminar.
Study of a coherent body of material related to older Germanic languages; to diachronic or synchronic phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicology of Germanic languages; or to other areas of theoretical or applied linguistics.
GERM 306. Topics in Germanic Philology and Linguistics
1 credit. Seminar.
Focus on a specific topic, problem, controversy, research methodology, etc. in Germanic philology and linguistics.
GERM 314. German Studies
3 credits. Seminar.
Exploration of the field of German Studies as an “interdiscipline”; analysis of a coherent body of material drawn from the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences, or other fields that helps to illuminate the German-speaking world.
GERM 315. Topics in German Studies
1 credit. Seminar.
Focus on a particular theme (e.g. “revolution,” or “family and society”), approach (e.g. critical theory, or feminist interpretations), genre (e.g. lyric, or autobiographical essay), skill (e.g. research methodology) or other aspect of German studies.
GERM 322. Studies in German Literature I
3 credits. Seminar.
Study of a coherent body of texts drawn from the period from the beginnings of German literature to approximately 1700.
GERM 332. Studies in German Literature II
3 credits. Seminar.
Study of a coherent body of texts drawn from the period from approximately 1700 to 1890.
GERM 345. Studies in German Literature III
3 credits. Seminar.
Study of a coherent body of texts drawn from the period from approximately 1890 to the present.
GERM 360. Research Methodology
3 credits. Seminar.
Introduction to the methods of literary research and bibliography.
GERM 365. German Film Studies
3 credits. Seminar.
Study of a coherent body of films and related materials (e.g. fiction, theory, reviews) organized to illuminate particular themes (e.g. representations of postwar Germany), relationships (e.g. between films and literature or film and social context), cinematic styles (e.g. Expressionism), etc.
GERM 367. Topics in German Film Studies
1 credit. Seminar.
Focus on a particular film, filmmaker, film genre, controversy, etc.
GERM 368. The German-Speaking World
3 credits. Lecture.
Landeskunde of the German-speaking world. The physical geography as well as cultural heritage, traditions, and contemporary customs of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and other German-speaking regions of the world.
GERM 369. Topics in Landeskunde of the German-Speaking World
1 credit. Seminar.
Focus on a specific topic or problem related to diachronic or contemporary Landeskunde of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, or another German-speaking region of the world.
GERM 375. Advanced Conversation and Composition
3 credits. Lecture.
Practice in oral and written expression, with an emphasis on current idiomatic usage, grammatical structure, and stylistics
GERM 376. Rhetoric and Writing
3 credits. Seminar.
In-depth introduction to the rhetorical resources of the German language; extensive analysis of spoken and written language; application of knowledge in students’ own writing and speaking.
GERM 377. Topics in Rhetoric and Writing
1 credit. Seminar.
GERM 378. Preparation for Certification of Proficiency in German
0 credits. Lecture.
Development of students’ proficiency in speaking, listening, reading and writing German in preparation for either the Mittelstufenprufung or Oberstufenprufung.
GERM 380. German Language Methodology
3 credits. Lecture.
Exploration and analysis of a range of theories, issues, and problems in German instruction. Focus on the nature of language acquisition, methods, and implications for practice.
GERM 381. Topics in German Language Methodology
1 credits. Seminar.
Focus on such special areas as content-based instruction, language for specific purposes (LSP), instructional technologies, development of teaching materials, proficiency, testing techniques, etc.
GERM 385. German Literary Criticism and Theory
3 credits. Seminar.
Systematic study of literary criticism, including such topics as the contributions of particular critical approaches to the understanding of significant German-language literary works; the philosophies, implicit or explicit, underlying various critical approaches; and the German contribution to international critical discourse.
GERM 388. Topics in German Literature
1 credit. Seminar.
Focus on a specific topic, problem, controversy, methodology, etc. in German literature studies or criticism.
GERM 390. Independent Study
1-6 credits. Independent Study.
GERM 395 Capstone in German Studies and Language Methodology
1 credit. Seminar.
Review and synthesis of material studied and skills acquired; design and implementation, in close consultation with graduate faculty, of a capstone project.
GERM 410. Seminar in Germanic Philology and Linguistics
3 credits. Lecture.
GERM 420. Seminar in Medieval Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
GERM 430. Seminar in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
GERM 440. Seminar in Eighteenth-Century Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
GERM 450. Seminar in Nineteenth-Century Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
GERM 460. Seminar in Twentieth-Century Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
GERM 465. New Forms of the German Novel in the Twentieth Century from Rilke to Handke
3 credits. Lecture.
Innovations in representative novels of the twentieth century, such as Malte Laurids Brigge, Schlafwandler, Mann ohne Eigenschaften, Stiller, Blechtrommel, Der Prozess, and Der lange Brief zum kurzen Abschied.
GERM 480. Investigation of Special Topics
1-6 credits. Lecture.
Hebrew
HEB 301. Hebrew Wisdom Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
Systematic examination of classical wisdom texts in the Hebrew Bible and Rabinic Literature focusing on their contribution to world ethical literature. Taught in English.
HEB 303. Religion of Ancient Israel
3 credits. Lecture.
Significant aspects of the religion of ancient Israel: The God-human relationship, the origins of good and evil, law and covenant, kingship, prophecy, ritual and morality, repentance and redemption. Taught in English.
HEB 311. History and Literature of Talmudic Palestine
3 credits. Seminar.
A discussion of select topics and texts pertaining to religious, social, and political currents in Talmudic Palestine. Taught in English.
HEB 390. Independent Study
3 credits. Independent Study.
HEB 397. Special Topics
3 credits. Seminar.
Investigation of special topics in Hebrew literature and civilization.
Italian
ILCS 315. Introduction to Contemporary Literary Studies
3 credits. Lecture.
Contemporary methods and fields of literary analysis. Paradigms of literary studies and overview of Marxist, Freudian, Feminist, Historicist, and Culturalist criticism.
ILCS 330. The Literature of the Origins
3 credits. Lecture.
Poets and poetical schools of the Duecento from the Franciscans to the Sicilians and the “Dolce stil nuovo.”
ILCS 331. Seminar on Early Religious Literature
3 credits. Lecture.
From St. Francis to the Fioretti. The Franciscan and mystical tradition, hagiographic folklore (Passavanti, Cavalca), St. Catherine and early religious humanism.
ILCS 332. Seminar on Petrarch
3 credits. Seminar.
The works of Francesco Petrarca; their relevance to humanism and to subsequent European lyrical poetry.
ILCS 333. Seminar on Boccaccio
3 credits. Seminar.
The Italian lyrics and narrative poems, the Decameron and its seminal importance for prose fiction, the scholarly Italian and Latin works.
ILCS 334. Seminar on Machiavelli
3 credits. Seminar.
The principal objective of this course is twofold: 1) to analyze and assess the political thought and the theater of Machiavelli as represented, respectively, in the Prince and the Discourses, and in the comedies Mandragola and Clizia and in the Favola (Belfagor arcidiavolo); and 2) to discuss Machiavellis influence beyond Italy (e.g., on authors such as Christopher Marlowe, Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Francis Bacon). Special attention will be given to Machiavellis unique relation to Renaissance Humanism, to his unconventional concept of virtue and his redefinition of the ethics of politics, and to his of view of the statesman as artist.
ILCS 335. Baroque Literature
3 credits. Lecture.
The beginnings of baroque literary style and its ramifications in the seventeenth century.
ILCS 337. Theories and Methods of Modern Criticism I
3 credits. Lecture.
Aesthetic problems from Vico to the present day.
ILCS 338. Theories and Methods of Modern Criticism II
3 credits. Lecture.
Modern semiotics, textual and historical criticism, stylistics.
ILCS 339. Seminar on Modern Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
One leading writer from the last two centuries.
ILCS 340. Divina Commedia
3 credits. Seminar.
ILCS 341. Dante: Minor Works
3 credits. Seminar.
The Vita Nuova and the Rime. The doctrinal treatises (De Vulgari Eloquentia, Convivio, De Monarchia.)
ILCS 342. Seminar on Italian Theatre from Renaissance to Romanticism
3 credits. Lecture.
Major figures and developments from Poliziano and Machiavelli to Goldoni, Alfieri and Manzoni.
ILCS 345. Studies in Italian Literature or Philology
1-6 credits. Lecture.
ILCS 346. Italian Literature of the Quattrocento
3 credits. Lecture.
The literary and philosophical currents of Renaissance humanism.
ILCS 347. Italian Chivalric Poetry
3 credits. Lecture.
ILCS 348. Literature of the Cinquecento I
3 credits. Lecture.
Acme and wane of the Renaissance in the sixteenth century. Prose of Machiavelli, Guicciardini, Castiglione, Cellini, Vasari, and Bandello.
ILCS 349. Literature of the Cinquecento II
3 credits. Lecture.
Acme and wane of the Renaissance in the sixteenth century. Poetry of Bembo and the Petrarchists, Michelangelo’s lyrics, Della Casa, Ariosto’s minor works, Tasso’s verse and drama, and the rise of Aristotelian criticism.
ILCS 350. Literature of the Settecento
3 credits. Lecture.
Major figures of the eighteenth century enlightenment. Vico, Alfieri, Goldoni, Parini.
ILCS 351. Literature of Romanticism
3 credits. Lecture.
Neoclassicists versus innovators: Monti, Foscolo, Leopardi, Berchet, Manzoni, De Sanctis.
ILCS 352. Modern Italian Poetry I
3 credits. Lecture.
Post-romantic masters through the twentieth century experiments: e.g., the Crepuscolari, Futurists, Hermeticists.
ILCS 353. Modern Italian Poetry II
3 credits. Lecture.
Post-romantic masters through the twentieth century experiments: e.g., the Crepuscolari, Futurists, Hermeticists.
ILCS 354. Masters of Twentieth-Century Fiction
3 credits. Lecture.
Pirandello, Svevo, Moravia, Pavese, Vittorini.
ILCS 355. Introduction to Italian Philology
3 credits. Lecture.
Italian linguistic geography, neo-linguistics of Bartoli, areal linguistics, Dante’s De Vulgari Eloquentia, the “Questione della lingua.” Croce’s theory of language.
ILCS 359. Modern Drama
3 credits. Lecture.
Major figures from D’Annunzio to Pirandello, Betti, and present-day playwrights.
Portuguese
PORT 301. Studies in Portuguese and Brazilian Literature
3 credits. Seminar.
The major poets, novelists, dramatists, and essayists from Portugal and Brazil.
Romance Languages
ROML 395. Applied Linguistics for Teachers of Romance Languages
3 credits. Seminar.
Spanish
SPAN 320. Independent Study
1-6 credits. Independent Study.
SPAN 321. Theatre of the Golden Age
3 credits. Lecture.
A study of the origin, formation and development of the Spanish comedia. Representative works of Lope de Vega, Calderón, Tirso de Molina, and Alarcón will be analyzed with special emphasis on individual characteristics.
SPAN 322. History of the Spanish Language
3 credits. Seminar.
The development of Castilian and its relation to its congeners in the Iberian Peninsula and Hispanic America.
SPAN 323. Concepts of Literary Criticism
3 credits. Seminar.
A practical approach to the theories and methods of literary criticism with particular reference to Hispanic literature.
SPAN 325. Cervantes
3 credits. Lecture.
A study of the life and works of Cervantes with special emphasis on Don Quixote.
SPAN 328. Medieval Spanish Literature (1100-1350)
3 credits. Lecture.
Major works in prose and poetry from 1100-1350 in medieval Iberia.
SPAN 329. Medieval Spanish Literature (1350-1500)
3 credits. Lecture.
Major works in prose and poetry written in Spain from 1350-1500.
SPAN 332. Spanish Poetry of the Renaissance
3 credits. Seminar.
Analysis of the currents of Spanish poetry from Bosc n to Fray Luis de León.
SPAN 333. Spanish Poetry of the Golden Age
3 credits. Lecture.
Analysis of the currents of Spanish poetry from Cervantes to Calderón.
SPAN 334. Modern Spanish-American Poetry
3 credits. Seminar.
Selected poets and movements in Spanish America from the late nineteenth century to the present.
SPAN 335. The Theatre in Spanish America
3 credits. Lecture.
The works of selected dramatists, with emphasis on the modern period.
SPAN 336. Colonial Latin American Literature
3 credits. Lecture.
Study of particular aspects of colonial literary production: religious and secular historiography; humanist thought in the colonies, poetry, and society; literature and the Baroque city; political and scientific thought.
SPAN 350. The Essay in Spanish America
3 credits. Seminar.
The Spanish-American essay as a literary genre and a vehicle of ideas. Reading in the works of the chief essayists of the Spanish-American nations.
SPAN 351. The Novel in Spanish America
3 credits. Seminar.
The development of the genre in Spanish America and selected readings in the works of its chief exponents.
SPAN 354. Nineteenth-Century Poetry and Drama
3 credits. Lecture.
Study of the poetry and drama of the nineteenth century with special emphasis on romantic poetry and post-romantic drama.
SPAN 355. The Nineteenth-Century Spanish Novel and Essay
3 credits. Seminar.
A study of the essays of Larra and Ganivet, as well as the nineteenth-century novel. Special emphasis will be placed on the post-romantic novel.
SPAN 356. Twentieth-Century Novel and Essay
3 credits. Seminar.
Selected works either of authors from 1895 to 1936, or of authors from 1936 to the present.
SPAN 357. Twentieth-Century Drama and Poetry
3 credits. Seminar.
Selected works and authors from 1900 to the present.
SPAN 358. Prose of the Renaissance
3 credits. Lecture.
Principal aesthetic and ideological currents. The novel and works of the mystic and ascetic writers.
SPAN 359. Prose of the Golden Age
3 credits. Lecture.
The picaresque novel and the chief works of Quevedo, Graci n and Saavedra Fajardo.
SPAN 400. Seminar on Lope de Vega
3 credits. Seminar.
A study of the life and works of Lope de Vega with special emphasis on his comedia.
SPAN 402. Studies in Spanish-American Literature
3 credits. Lecture.
SPAN 403. Studies in Spanish Literature
3 credits. Lecture. May be repeated for up to nine credits with a change of topic.
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All Master’s and Doctoral Fields
†GRAD 395. Master’s Thesis Research
1 - 9 credits.
†GRAD 396. Full-Time Master’s Research
3 credits.
†GRAD 397. Full-Time Directed Studies (Master’s Level)
3 credits.
GRAD 398. Special Readings (Master’s)
Non-credit.
GRAD 399. Thesis Preparation
Non-credit.
†GRAD 495. Doctoral Dissertation Research
1 - 9 credits.
†GRAD 496. Full-Time Doctoral Research
3 credits.
†GRAD 497. Full-Time Directed Studies (Doctoral Level)
3 credits.
†GRAD 497. Full-Time Directed Studies (Doctoral Level)
3 credits.
†GRAD 497. Full-Time Directed Studies (Doctoral Level)
3 credits.
GRAD 498. Special Readings (Doctoral)
Non-credit.
GRAD 499. Dissertation Preparation
Non-credit.