Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Chair

Ernesto J. Virgulti

Professors Emeriti

Leonard Rosmarin, Herbert Schutz

Professors

Alexandre L. A. Amprimoz (French), Sandra L. Beckett (French), Leslie A. Boldt-Irons (French), Dennis F. Essar (French), Corrado J. A. Federici (Italian), Jane M. Koustas (French)

Associate Professors

Irene M. F. Blayer (Spanish), Barry W. K. Joe (German)

Assistant Professors

Cristina Santos (Spanish), Ernesto J. Virgulti (Italian)

General Information

Administrative Assistant

Alison J. Rothwell

905-688-5550, extension 3312

Mackenzie Chown A240

http://www.brocku.ca/modernlanguages

The Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures offers courses and degree programs in French, Italian and Spanish as well as interdisciplinary courses in Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures. The Department also offers courses in German, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese and Russian.

The Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures offers four-year programs of study leading to a BA Honours in French and Spanish, a three-year BA Pass in French, Italian and Spanish degree programs, and a concurrent five-year BA(Honours)/BEd (Intermediate/Senior) degree in French. In addition the Department offers Minor programs in French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Please consult the relevant for a listing of courses and program requirements.

The Department aims to provide students with a thorough and comprehensive coverage of language (spoken and written), literature and culture. In addition to the courses taught in the language of each program, the Department provides a number of interdisciplinary courses combining subject matter selected from each of the language programs taught in English that are acceptable for credit toward a degree in any of the languages.

Students are encouraged to participate in one or more of the study programs in Québec, France, Italy, Spain and Latin America.

GERMAN

Canadian Year in Freiburg

In co-operation with Acadia University, the University of British Columbia and Trent University, the German section of the Department offers students who have completed GERM 1F90 or its equivalent the opportunity to spend a year abroad at the University of Freiburg. The Canadian resident director will offer an immersion program in the German language and courses in German literature, but students may select courses in any area of study offered by the University of Freiburg. While in Freiburg, students normally assume a full, five-credit load in their disciplines of choice. Among these courses a maximum of three credits may be in German. Two additional credits must be in courses offered by the University of Freiburg, such as: English, another language, history, science.

Program Notes

Pass Program

German

Year 1

Year 1 is now closed

Year 2

	GERM 2F90, 2F92, 2P30 and 2P31
	two elective credits

For students in Freiburg:

	a maximum of three GERM credits
	two elective credits

Year 3

	Three credits from GERM MLLC 3P91, 3P92, 3P93, 3P94, 3P95
	two elective credits (see program note 4)

Combined Major Program

German

Year 1

Year 1 is now closed

Year 2

	GERM 2F90, 2P30 and 2P31
	two credits from the co-major discipline
	one elective credit

Year 3

	Two GERM or MLLC credits numbered 2(alpha)90 or above
	two credits from the co-major discipline
	one elective credit

Minor in German

Students in other disciplines may obtain a Minor in German within their degree program by completing the following courses with a minimum 60 percent overall average:

	GERM 1F90 and 2F90
	two GERM credits
	one GERM literature and/or culture credit numbered 2(alpha)00 or above

Course Descriptions

Note that not all courses are offered in every session. Refer to the applicable term timetable for details.

# Indicates a cross listed course

* Indicates primary offering of a cross listed course

Prerequisites and Restrictions

Students must check to ensure that prerequisites are met. Students may be deregistered, at the request of the instructor, from any course for which prerequisites and/or restrictions have not been met.

GERMAN

GERM 1F00

Language (Introductory)

Basic skills: conversational patterns, reading ability emphasizing the spoken language using films, tapes and recordings.

Lectures, language/computer lab, 4 hours per week.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GERM 1P01 and GERM 1P02.

GERM 1F90

Language (Intermediate I)

Intermediate level. Conversational and written language skills. Introduction to 20th-century German literature using language / computer laboratory, films, tapes and recordings.

Lectures, language/computer lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisites: GERM 1F00 (1P01 and 1P02) or OAC German or permission of the instructor.

*GERM 1P93

Period

(also offered as CLAS 1P93)

Cultural development of central Europe from the earliest stone and pottery cultures, through the Bronze and Iron Ages, the Celts and Romans and the first Germanic kingdoms. Beliefs and practices, artistic style and architecture. Slides are used to illustrate the cultural evidence.

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Note: given in English.

GERM 1P94

Culture and Civilization of Central Europe: The Holy Roman Empire

Forms of cultural expression in central Europe from the foundation of the Ottonian Empire to the Counter-Reformation. An illustrated survey of the arts, architecture and literature.

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Note: given in English.

GERM 2F90

Language (Intermediate II)

Intensive study of present-day German language and culture designed to improve communication skills.

Lectures, language lab, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: GERM 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GERM 2F00 or 2F20.

GERM 2F92

Language and Literature of the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Intensive study of short literary and socio-cultural texts designed to expand both active and passive vocabularies, comprehension, oral and written skills.

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: GERM 1F90 or permission of the instructor.

GERM 2P30

Culture and Civilization of Central Europe: Reformation to Revolution

Stages in early modern central European cultural development including art and architecture from the 15th to 18th century in their social and political contexts.

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Note: given in English.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GERM 1P95.

GERM 2P31

Culture and Civilization of Central Europe: Romanticism to Postmodernism

Evolution of modern central Europe. Art and architecture in the context of growing nationalism during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Note: given in English.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in GERM 1P96.

GERM 3F99

Advanced Language Study I

Fluency at an advanced level in speaking, writing and comprehension through tapes, films, written and oral projects, discussions and advanced interpreting and translating.

Lectures, language lab, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: GERM 2F90 (2F00, 2F20 or 2P91 and 2P92) or permission of the instructor.

JAPANESE

JAPA 1F00

Introductory Japanese

Acquisition of language skills, such as writing (Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji), reading, listening, and speaking as well as some knowledge of Japanese culture.

Lectures, 3 hours per week; language lab, 1 hour per week.

Note: for students with no background in the Japanese language.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in JAPA 1P00 and 1P01.

JAPA 1F80

Intermediate Japanese

Further development of Japanese grammar, writing, reading and communication skills emphasizing socio-cultural situations.

Lectures, 3 hours per week; language lab, 1 hour per week.

Prerequisite: JAPA 1F00 (1P00 and 1P01) or permission of the instructor.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in JAPA 1P80 and 1P81.

MANDARIN CHINESE

MAND 1P00

Mandarin Chinese I

Elementary Mandarin focussing on conversational, listening, basic grammatical structures and understanding of relevant customs. Introduction to Pinyin.

Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.

Note: open to students with limited or no background in the language.

MAND 1P01

Mandarin Chinese II

Conversational Mandarin emphasizing vocabulary building, grammatical structures, customs and cultural knowledge. Introduction of Chinese characters.

Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: MAND 1P00 or permission of the instructor.

MAND 1P80

Mandarin Chinese III

Basic written and oral skills for everyday needs emphasizing practical communication and reading of Chinese characters.

Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: MAND 1P01 or permission of the instructor.

MAND 1P81

Mandarin Chinese IV

Written and oral skills, further development of vocabulary and grammatical structures focusing on writing Chinese characters for practical text development.

Lectures, lab, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: MAND 1P80 or permission of the instructor.

MODERN LANGUAGES, LITERATURES AND CULTURES

*MLLC 2P94

Comparative Romance Linguistics

(also offered as LING 2P94)

Romance languages; their structures, related concepts, differences and mutual influences.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Note: given in English. May be counted as part of a major program in French, Italian or Spanish.

MLLC 3P94

Translation Studies

Historical and contemporary perspectives on translation theory and practice. Topics may include the role of the translator, comparative/contrastive analysis, intercultural equivalence and interference, problems in literary and technical translations.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of FREN 2F00, GERM 2F90 (2F20), ITAL 2F00, SPAN 2P20 and 2P21 (2F00 or 2F10) or permission of the instructor.

Note: given in English. May be counted as part of a major program in French, German, Italian or Spanish.

MLLC 3P95

The Contemporary Picture Book

Selection of contemporary children's picture books from around the world. Dialogue between text and image. Theory of the picture book.

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of FREN 2F03, GERM 2F90 (2F20), ITAL 2F00, SPAN 2P20 and 2P21 (2F00 or 2F10) or permission of the instructor.

Note: given in English. May be counted as part of a major program in French, German, Italian or Spanish.

*MLLC 3P97

Medieval Literature and Culture

(also offered as GBLS 3P97)

Literature and culture of the Middle Ages in Europe. Works selected from among poetry, the epic and the romance.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of FREN 2F03, GERM 2F90 (2F20), ITAL 2F00, SPAN 2P20 and 2P21 (2F00 or 2F10) or permission of the instructor.

Note: given in English. May be counted as part of a major program in French, German, Italian or Spanish.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in MLLC 3P91.

*MLLC 3P98

Renaissance Literature and Culture

(also offered as GBLS 3P98)

The Renaissance as transcultural phenomenon; historical and geographical parameters; social and political factors in its emergence and development; intellectual and aesthetic foundations as expressed in essential literary texts and essays.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of FREN 2F03, GERM 2F90 (2F20), ITAL 2F00, SPAN 2P20 and 2P21 (2F00 or 2F10) or permission of the instructor.

Note: given in English. May be counted as part of a major program in French, German, Italian or Spanish.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in MLLC 3P92.

*MLLC 3P99

Modern Narratives

(also offered as GBLS 3P99)

French, German, Italian and Hispanic 20th-century narrative writing. May include avant-garde, surrealist, existentialist, modernist and postmodernist issues.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: one of FREN 2F03, GERM 2F90 (2F20), ITAL 2F00, SPAN 2P20 and 2P21 (2F00 or 2F10) or permission of the instructor.

Note: given in English. May be counted as part of a major program in French, German, Italian or Spanish.

Completion of this course will replace previous assigned grade in MLLC 3P93.

MLLC 3Q90

The Role of Information Technology in Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages

Methodologies and styles used in the classroom; examining and evaluating digital technologies; on-line, specialized software and internet resources in second language acquisition (French, German, Italian and Spanish).

Lectures 3 hours per week.

Restriction: consult the instructor regarding permission to register.

Prerequisites: two FREN, GERM, ITAL, MLLC or SPAN credits numbered 2(alpha)00 or above or permission of the instructor.

Note: given in English. May be counted as part of a major program in French, German, Italian or Spanish.

MLLC 4P01

History of Romance Languages

Formation and evolution of the Romance languages from their origins to the present day. Factors affecting language change: internal history (sounds and inflection) and external forces (politics, society, thought).

Lectures, 3 hours per week.

Note: given in English. May be counted as part of a major program in French, Italian and Spanish.

PORTUGUESE

PORT 1F00

Introductory Portuguese

Listening, reading, writing and speaking emphasizing a communicative approach to learning a language.

Lectures, tutorial, 4 hours per week.

Note: for students with little or no background in Portuguese.

PORT 1F90

Intermediate Portuguese

Review of Portuguese grammar emphasizing written and oral practice. Introduction to Portuguese and Brazilian literary and cultural readings, as well as to topics of current interest.

Lectures, tutorial, 4 hours per week.

Prerequisite: PORT 1F00 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

#PORT 1P95

Conquest and Colonization

(also offered as SPAN 1P95)

Creation of a new culture founded on Amerindian, Iberian and African traditions; visual arts, architecture, literature and music; disparity between cultural identity and economic and political identity, utopian ideals, alienation through imitation, rediscovery of autochthonous cultural models.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Note: given in English.

#PORT 2P10

Latin American Culture

(also offered as SPAN 2P10)

Survey of social history through texts and images; pre-Columbian cultures; cultural hybridization and colonization to the present day.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Note: given in English. Spanish majors complete written assignments and exams in Spanish.

#PORT 2P11

Iberian Culture

(also offered as SPAN 2P11)

Social, political and cultural history of Portugal and Spain through historical and literary texts, film and other visual arts.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Note: given in English. Spanish majors complete written assignments and exams in Spanish.

#PORT 2P82

Latin American and Iberian Film

(also offered as FILM 2P82 and SPAN 2P82)

Spanish and Latin American representations of identity crises involving issues of nationality, ethnicity, gender and politics. Pastiche, parody and camp aesthetics, and the envisioning of new possibilities of solidarity leading to social transformations.

Lectures, seminars 3 hours per week, plus weekly film lab.

Note: Spanish and Portuguese language films with English subtitles. Given in English. Spanish majors complete written assignments and exams in Spanish.

#PORT 3P94

Iberian Narrative

(also offered as SPAN 3P94)

Development of Spanish and Portuguese narrative from postwar social realism to the present. Authors may include Cela, Matute, Montero, Nemésio, Saramago and others.

Lectures, seminar, 3 hours per week.

Prerequisite: SPAN 2P20 and 2P21 (2F00 or 2F10) or permission of the instructor.

RUSSIAN

RUSS 1F00

Introductory Russian

Development of the four basic skills in language proficiency (reading, writing, speaking and comprehension).

Lectures, language lab, 4 hours per week.