Departmental Brochure

The study of a foreign language and culture has long been recognized as an essential component of a liberal arts education because it broadens understanding and frees students from the limits of a single culture. In our time, the value of this education has been greatly enhanced by varied exchanges among nations in trade, communications, education, social services, and other fields.

You can prepare for careers in any of these areas by majoring in French, German, Italian, or Spanish, or by studying Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, or Russian in the department of modern languages and literatures. You will find experienced teachers, active as scholars and writers; upper-level classes averaging 10 to 15 students in size; a computer-based language resource center to help you accelerate your learning; encouragement for study abroad; and internship, teaching, and employment opportunities in a region where many international firms are headquartered. The program is flexible enough to allow you to complete a double major, such as a language and international studies, which can greatly enhance your qualifications for a postgraduate career. Numerous students in these majors have won prestigious Fulbright and other grants to study or teach abroad following graduation.

Real World Education

The University is located within easy range of major cultural, educational, and business centers in New York, New Haven, and Boston. As a major or minor you will be encouraged to take full advantage of these resources.

Students often visit these urban centers in small groups or as members of one of the language clubs to attend films, plays, concerts, lectures, conferences, and art exhibits. Regularly scheduled conversation tables in French, German, Russian, and Spanish give students the opportunity to practice their language skills. Qualified students are invited to join Alpha Mu Gamma, the international modern languages honor society for all languages.

Study abroad programs in many countries, some of which include internship opportunities, can provide you with direct experience among people of the cultures you are studying. You will find faculty willing and able to help you gain such experience.

Course of Study

All Fairfield students, as part of their core curriculum requirements, must achieve proficiency in a foreign language at the intermediate level. This means being able to read a text of moderate difficulty and to participate in a conversation on an everyday topic.

To major in a single modern language, you must complete eight to ten upper-division courses including three or four in literature, one in composition, one in conversation, and one to two in culture, depending on the language. Further courses can be chosen from any of those areas. If you participate in a junior year abroad program or summer study abroad, the requirement for the culture course can be waived for some languages.

The minor program (in French, German, Italian, and Spanish) requires five courses beyond the early intermediate level.

Some of the distinctive course offerings are:

• French and Francophone Women Writers
• French Commercial Culture
• French Translation Workshop
• Rome in the Cultural Imagination
• Italian Cinema
• Popular Culture in Latin America
• Hispanic Film
• Short Prose Fiction of Spain
• Love and Deception in 19th-century Spanish Literature
• Modern German Literature
• German Culture and Civilization
• Basic and Intermediate Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, and Russian
  

The Language Resource Center

One of the outstanding features of the program is the Charles E. Culpeper Language Resource Center (LARC), featuring 25 computer-equipped carrels with DVD and CD burners. All computers are connected to the Internet via the campus fiber-optic network. The LARC also provides access to audio tapes, international television, and/or video.

The center, which opened in 1995, greatly enhances students' opportunities to work independently or in small groups, to acquire the full range of language skills in unique ways, and to manage study time efficiently.

In the center, you can prepare for class, complete assignments, or view satellite and Internet broadcasts from France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, and other countries — broadcasts made available through the University's own Media Center. The multimedia facility also enables faculty to prepare innovative instructional materials and is being upgraded continuously by an active student and faculty staff.

The Faculty

The full-time faculty members are actively engaged in scholarship, literary translations, and in creative writing. They are supplemented by a number of part-time teachers, including native speakers in all eight languages taught. Full-time faculty, emeritus teaching faculty, and section leaders for majors are:

Internships

Internship opportunities where language skills have a significant role include positions with social service organizations in Bridgeport, an international computer company in Wilton, programs in local schools, a French business firm located in the region, and conducting research at the Alliance FranÁaise and Instituto Cervantes, cultural institutions and libraries in New York City. In addition, several students have internships in the University's Charles E. Culpeper Language Resource Center or in the assistant teacher program.

Life After Fairfield

With the broad liberal education that all Fairfield students acquire, plus command of a foreign language, modern language majors have launched their careers in a wide range of enterprises. International corporations headquartered in New York City and Fairfield County have sought out recent graduates who are familiar with a European or Asian culture. Banks, airlines, and travel agencies are among the employers of recent graduates. Some alumni have gone into secondary teaching or have opted for work with social service agencies. Others have gone on to graduate or professional study, including Fulbright grants overseas or to law school, and are enrolled at such institutions as New York University, Rutgers, and Boston College.

For further information, please contact:

Marie-Agnès Sourieau, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Canisius 224
Fairfield University
Fairfield, CT 06824-5195
Tel: (203) 254-4000, ext. 3412
E-mail: msourieau@mail.fairfield.edu