The Department of    
Romance Languages

 
 

|   Romance Languages   |   French    |   Spanish    |   Italian   |  Portuguese   |   LACS   |

 


Dept. Head
Dr. Cecile West-Settle
Tucker Hall 316
Washington and Lee
Lexington VA 24450
540-458-8447
 

Admin. Asst.
Shirley Richardson
Tucker Hall 316
Washington and Lee
Lexington VA 24450

FAX: 540-458-8479
 

Page created by
Jeffrey C. Barnett
Last Updated on 01/10/08
 

 

 

 
   Welcome
 

The Department of Romance Languages offers W&L students a number of rich opportunities to explore the languages, literatures, and cultures of the Spanish and French-speaking worlds.  (See “Mission Statement”)

Students may choose to major in Romance Languages, French, or Spanish, pursue the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Interdisciplinary Program, or take language coursework in Italian and Portuguese.  Additionally, many students choose to complement their coursework with a double major or other interdisciplinary programs.

Students in the Romance Languages have access to a number of meaningful resources, both on- and off-campus.  On-campus, the Department supports various initiatives oriented towards language learning.  Among others, the Tucker Multimedia Center provides students and faculty with a highly modern facility dedicated to the teaching of languages through technology.  The Casa Hispánica serves as a theme house where students can live and speak solely in the target language.  The ESOL Program (English for Speakers of Other Languages) offers ESOL classes and one-on-one tutoring arrangements, Spanish classes for adults, free translation of documents (Spanish-English/English-Spanish), and a hotline to provide immediate interpreting  services, all with the intended purpose of facilitating communication within the increasingly diverse population in Rockbridge County.  The Department also presents annual dramatic performances in French and Spanish, and hosts the National Symposium on Theater in Academe.

Off campus, the Department administers and supervises its own programs abroad during the Spring Term, including programs of study in Spain, Costa Rica, and France. Additionally, students may choose to study abroad during the twelve-week term  or for the full academic year through a number of approved programs independent of W&L.  (For twelve-week programs consult Center for International Education or for departmental programs see the Romance Languages Study Abroad page.)  In recent years, the Department has also overseen an Internship Program in Mar de Plata, Argentina.

The Department is comprised of a diverse faculty with international backgrounds and experiences, a strong research agenda, and a commitment to teaching excellence.  Its members participate in all levels of its curriculum, from elementary language instruction to advanced seminars.  The RL faculty is also highly involved with other aspects of university life, including serving as Program Heads, Core Faculty, and Affiliates for the Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Women's Studies, Medieval and Renaissance Studies and African-American Studies Interdisciplinary Programs among others.


Romance Languages Mission (1999)
 

 We have revised, and will continue to modify as necessary, the French and Spanish curricula in order:

  • that our majors may have a solid foundation in either French or Hispanic literature, thus understanding the overall development of said literatures and of at least one, if not several, of their genres.  They should also be familiar with the principal authors of either French or Hispanic literatures and should acquire related cultural awareness, as well as analytic skills, through literary analysis.

  • that our majors may acquire, in either or both of our target languages, a level of proficiency, both conversational and compositional, that will enable them to excel in either studies abroad or in graduate studies or in a competitive workplace requiring use of their major foreign language(s).

  • that we may constantly address the changing interests of the student population.  While we still feel that teaching literature is one of our main purposes, we will offer new courses in advanced civilization and culture and in advanced language so that our students may feel comfortable in any increasingly international environment.

  • that we may fulfill our students’ growing need for information literacy which will enable them to be successful in a society that depends increasingly on technology,

  • that we may fulfill our commitment to general education requirements in foreign languages articulated on page 82 of the university’s 1999-2000 catalogue.

Faculty

Dr. Laurent Boetsch – [on leave 2007-08] Professor (Spanish / Italian) –  19th and 20th century Spanish poetry and prose, 20th century Spanish culture and civilization

Dr. Jeffrey C. Barnett – Professor (Spanish) -- Civilization and Cultural Studies, Contemporary Spanish-American Narrative; Historical Novel; Caribbean literature; LACS, Program Head.

Dr. Mónica Botta -- Assistant Professor (Spanish) -- Latin American Theatre, Postdictatorial Literature, Memory Studies; LACS core faculty

Dr. Gwyn E. Campbell -- Professor (Spanish / French) -- 16th and 17th-century Spanish Literature & Golden Age women writers, Women's Studies, Film; Medieval and Renaissance Studies core faculty

Dr. A.G. Fralin -- Professor (French / Spanish / Italian) -- First- and second-generation French and American existentialist novelists, French novels of adolescence and French Caribbean novels.

Dr. Françoise Frégnac-Clave -- Associate Professor (French / Spanish) -- 19th and 20th Century French Literature, the short story, French Cinema, Civilization and Cultural Studies; Medieval and Renaissance Studies affiliate faculty.

Dr. Mohamed Kamara -- Assistant Professor (French / Literature in Translation) -- 18th Century French literature, Post-Colonial Studies, Francophone (Caribbean, Quebec, and Africa); Women's Studies, African-American Studies, LACS affiliate faculty.

Dr. John Lambeth -- Associate Professor (French) -- 20th Century French and Francophone Literature; Muslim Immigrant Communities in France; French Critical Theory .

Dr. Ellen Mayock -- Associate Professor (Spanish / French) -- 20th-Century Spain, Latin America, and U.S./Latina; Women's Studies; the novel; LACS and Women’s Studies core faculty; ESOL co-adviser

Dr. Domnica Radulescu, Professor ( French / Italian), Theater and Performance Studies, Medieval Renaissance Studies, Women's Studies - Program Head

Dr. Cecile West-Settle – Professor and Department Head, Romance Languages, 2007-08 (Spanish) -- Spanish lyric poetry, The Ballad, Novel & poetry of 19th & 20th century Spain.


Adjunct Faculty (2007-08)

Dr. Dick Kuettner - Spanish / French

Dr. Susan Dixon - French
 


Dr. Florinda Ruiz - Spanish
 

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    Positions Available

    Romance Languages

    Faculty
    French
    Spanish
    Italian
    Portuguese
    LACS
    Study Abroad
    TMC