World Languages and Cultures

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Contact Information

Phone: 401.865.2111
Fax: 401.865.1112
Location: Sullivan Hall 211

The Faculty

Professors

Rev. Leonard P. Hindsley, Ph.D., Emeritus (German/Humanities)
Patricia M. Lawlor, Ph.D., Emerita (French)
John B. Margenot III, Ph.D., Emeritus (Spanish)
Giacomo A. Striuli, Ph.D. (Italian)

Associate Professors

Alison Caplan, Ph.D. (Spanish), Chairperson
Ana Cecilia Iraheta, Ph.D. (Spanish)
Edgar Mejía, Ph.D. (Spanish)
Monica Simal, Ph.D. (Spanish)
Eva M. Wheeler, J.D., Ph.D. (Spanish/Black Studies)

Assistant Professors

Priscilla Charrat Nelson, Ph.D. (French)
Alioune Badara Fall, Ph.D. (French)
Anthony Pasero-O’Malley, Ph.D. (Spanish)

The Program

The Department of World Languages and Cultures offers students the opportunity to study world languages and cultures as an integral part of their liberal arts education.

A student may elect a major in French, Italian, or Spanish as well as a major in conjunction with the Secondary Education Program in preparation for a career as a world language teacher at the secondary level. Students may choose to declare a double major, linking their language major with a major in another field, such as art history, business, global studies, health sciences, and political science among others.

Students may elect to minor in German, French, Italian, or Spanish to complement their major field of study and thereby strengthen their employment potential. Other language offerings include Arabic and Chinese. In addition, specially designed programs of language study can be created to suit the needs of individual students.

The Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Rhode Island (AICU Rhode Island) offers a Language Consortium program to students currently enrolled full-time in an undergraduate degree program at one of Rhode Island’s private institutions of higher education (Brown University, Bryant University, Johnson and Wales University, Providence College, Roger Williams University, and Salve Regina University). This program gives our students the opportunity to enroll at any of the consortium schools (on a “space available” basis) in language courses that are not offered at the home institution.

As part of its programs, the Department of World Languages and Cultures strongly encourages students to study abroad and offers advice on summer, semester, or academic-year language programs worldwide.

An online placement test is required for incoming freshmen interested in pursuing the study of French, Italian, or Spanish and should be completed prior to Summer Orientation.

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