St. Mary's College of Maryland - Home Department of International Languages and Cultures - language, culture, literature
Chinese Deutsch Español Français Latin American Studies
About the Program
 
Contact
 
Faculty
 
Course catalog
 

 
St. Mary's projects
 
Cross-Disciplinary Study Areas
 
International Languages House
 
Study Abroad
 
Careers
 
More Opportunities
 

Montgomery Hall lab

 

Events

Requirements of the Major and the Minor
for students entering St. Mary's before 2006

Requirements of the Major

To earn a bachelor of arts degree with a major in International Languages and Cultures, a student must satisfy the following minimum requirements:

For a Concentration in French, German or Spanish

  1. General College Requirements
  2. 52 semester-hours (minimum), as follows

For a Concentration in Chinese

  1. General College Requirements
  2. 52 semester-hours (minimum), as follows

For a Concentration in Latin American Studies

  1. General College Requirements
  2. 52 semester-hours (minimum), as follows


1. General College Requirements (see "Curriculum" section of the college catalog), including the following requirements to satisfy the major:


2. a. Core Courses in French, German, or Spanish. Eight courses (32 semester-hours) chosen from a set of core courses in one of the following languages of concentration:

French Core Courses:
Six of the eight must be at the 300-level or above and must include at least one culture and civilization course (355 or 356) and at least one upper-division literature course (362, 363 or 364).

ILCF 202: Intermediate French II
ILCF 206: Introduction to Literature in French
ILCF 355: Culture and Civilization I: Metropolitan France
ILCF 356: Culture and Civilization II: The Francophone World
ILCF 360: Advanced Grammar and Translation
ILCF 362: Topics in Literature I: From the Middle Ages to the French Revolution (repeatable for core credit)
ILCF 363: Topics in Literature II: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (repeatable for core credit)
ILCF 364: Topics in Francophone Literature (repeatable for core credit)
ILCF 440: Special Topics in French or Francophone Studies in French (repeatable for core credit)
ILCT 301: Special Topics in French or Francophone Studies in Translation (repeatable for elective credit)
Click here for a listing of recent "Topics... in French" course titles.

back to top

German Core Courses:
Six of the eight must be at the 300-level or above and must include ILCG 355 or 356 and ILCG 362 or 363.

ILCG 205: Intermediate Conversation and Composition
ILCG 206: Introduction to Literature in German
ILCG 355: German Culture and Civilization: History and Everyday Life in the 20th Century
ILCG 356: German Culture and Civilization : Historical
ILCG 360: Advanced Grammar and Translation
ILCG 362: Topics in Literature in German I (repeatable for core credit)
ILCG 363: Topics in Literature in German II (repeatable for core credit)
ILCT 302: Special Topics in German Studies in Translation (repeatable for elective credit)
Click here for a listing of recent "Topics... in German" course titles.

back to top

Spanish Core Courses:
Six of the eight must be at the 300-level or above and must include at least one culture and civilization course (ILCS 354, 355 or 356) and at least one upper-division literature course (ILCS 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366 or 367) and no more than one course in translation (ILCT 303 or 370).

ILCS 202: Intermediate Spanish II
ILCS 206: Introduction to Literature in Spanish
ILCS 354: Hispanic Culture and Civilization I: The Multicultural Foundations of Early Modern Spain
ILCS 355: Hispanic Culture and Civilization II: The Rise and Demise of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Cultures
ILCS 356: Hispanic Culture and Civilization III: Nationalism and Textual Politics
ILCS 360: Advanced Grammar and Translation
ILCS 361: Indigenous Literature (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 362: Literature of the African Diaspora (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 363: Women's Literature (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 364: Literature and Empire (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 365: Literature of Social Change (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 366: Literature and the Problematic of Modernity (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 367: Literature and Post- Modern Culture (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 440: Special Topics in Hispanic Studies in Spanish (repeatable for core credit)
ILCT 303: Special Topics in Hispanic Studies in Translation (repeatable for elective credit)
ILCT 370: Guatemalan History
Click here for a listing of recent "Special Topics... in Hispanic Studies" course titles.

back to top

2. b. Elective Courses. Two courses (8 semester-hours) chosen in consultation with and approved by a foreign language adviser to constitute an integrated elective field of focus, including one of the following sets:

(1) Two courses in a second language beyond the 101-level.
(2) Two additional courses in the language of concentration beyond the 200-level.
(3) Any two disciplinary or cross-disciplinary courses beyond the 200-level that broaden, deepen, historicize, or contextualize the student's understanding of the language of concentration.

back to top


2. a. Core Courses in Chinese. Seven courses (28 semester-hours) from the following list. At least three must be at the 300-level or above, and must include at least one culture course (ILCC 355 or 356) and one literature course (ILCC 362 or 363):

ILCC 101: Elementary Chinese I
ILCC 102: Elementary Chinese II
ILCC 201: Intermediate Chinese I
ILCC 202: Intermediate Chinese II
ILCC 355: Chinese Culture I: Contemporary China (repeat able for core credit)
ILCC 356: Chinese Culture II: China's Self-criticism (repeat able for core credit)
ILCC 362: Chinese Literature I: Contemporary Literature (repeatable for core credit)
ILCC 363: Chinese Literature II: Pre-Communist 20th Century Literature (repeatable for core credit)
IDIS 495: Fudan Credits

2. b. Elective Courses for the Chinese concentration. Three courses (12 semester-hours), chosen in consultation with and approved by a Chinese-area adviser, that constitute an integral elective field of focus that broadens, deepens, gives historical relevance to, or conceptualizes the student's understanding of the area of concentration, including: (1) Discipline or cross-disciplinary courses (Asian Studies) (2) Upper-division courses taken in Fudan and at St. Mary's

back to top


2. a. Core Courses for the Latin American Studies concentration. A minimum of 40 semester-hours of Latin American Studies courses, distributed as follows:

(1) Core Spanish-language courses. No more than five courses (20 semester-hours) from the following list:

ILCS 101: Elementary Spanish I
ILCS 102: Elementary Spanish II
ILCS 110: Accelerated Elementary Spanish
ILCS 201: Intermediate Spanish I
ILCS 202: Intermediate Spanish II
ILCS 206: Introduction to Literature in Spanish

Students who, upon entering St. Mary's, are exempted from any of the beginning Spanish language courses (ILCS 101, 102, 110, 201, 202), may substitute these with French or Portuguese language courses.

(2) Elective Spanish-language courses. A minimum of two courses (8 semester-hours) from the following list:

ILCS 355: Hispanic Culture and Civilization II: The Rise and Demise of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican Cultures
ILCS 356: Hispanic Culture and Civilization III: Nationalism and Textual Politics
ILCS 361: Indigenous Literature (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 362: Literature of the African Diaspora (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 363: Women's Literature (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 364: Literature and Empire (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 365: Literature of Social Change (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 366: Literature and the Problematic of Modernity (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 367: Literature and Post- Modern Culture (repeatable for core credit)
ILCS 440: Special Topics in Hispanic Studies in Spanish (repeatable for core credit)

(3) General Electives. Any number of courses from the following list, which, together with (1) and (2) above, make up a minimum of 40 semester-hours:

AADS 214: Africa and the African Diaspora
ARTH 350: Advanced Topics in Art History (valid when the course focuses on Latin America)
BIOL 316
: Tropical Marine Biology
ECON 372: Economics of Developing Countries
HIST 362
: Topics in History (valid when the course focuses on Latin America)
HIST 400: Comparative Slave Systems in the Americas
HIST 455: Topics in Asian, African or Latin American History (valid when the course focuses on Latin America)

ILAS 106: Latin American Literature in Translation
ILAS 300: Democracy in Latin America
ILAS 310: The Latino/a Experience in the United States
ILAS 340: Social Change and Musical Expression in Latin America
ILAS 350: Latin American Cinema
ILAS 370: Guatemalan History

back to top


2. c. ILCT 293. Introduction to Cultural Studies (2S). This course introduces students to recent scholarship in the area of cultural studies theory. Students will be exposed to a variety of approaches to textual anaylsis, be it the text of books found within an established literary tradition, the text of expressions within popular culture, or the text of a given social experience in its broadest senese. Students will learn how to use the insights generated by the discipline of cultural studies to better understand and comment about the cultures that they study within the curriculum in the Chinese, French, German, Latin American Studies and Spanish concentrations. By comparison and contrast, students will also come to a better understanding of how U.S. society fits within a globalized cultural context. This course must be taken as a pre- or co-requisite to the first 300-level course in ILCC/ILCF/ILCG/ILCS by those students planning to major in International Langugaes and Cultures; students planning to fulfill the requireemnts for a minor in one of the languages, or to take upper-division courses in one of the langage concentrations, should consult with a faculty adviser in International Languages and Cultures to determine whether and when it would be appropriate to take theis course.

2. d. ILCT 393. St. Mary's Project Workshop (2S). The St. Mary's Project Workshop prepares students for their St. mary's Project in international languages and cultures by teaching them how to frame a project and by stimulating independent and creative activity. Students will learn to relate their scholarly and creative interests to major issues in their fields and to the lingusitic and cultural tradiitons represented in the department. Students will have an popportunity to explore the possibilities for St. mary's Projets within the major: literary analysis, cultural analysis, pedagogical application, linguistic study, translation, creative writing. They will also be guided to write a proposal for their St. mary's Projects. Visitors from inside and outside the College will discuss their critical and/or artistic work with the seminar participants and serve as models. Prerequisitie: Advanced knowledge of a foreign language and junior standing or consent of the instructor.

back to top


2. e. ILCF, ILCG, ILCS 493. St. Mary's Project in International Languages and Cultures (8E). A student-initiated and student-executed project of eight semester-hours in the language of concentration. The project may be a research project in literary or cultural studies, a creative-expressive project involving the arts, or a pedagogical project involving teaching applications. Also, depending on the focus of the student's course work and interests, the project can be single or multi-disciplinary based. Whatever the nature of the project, students must demonstrate in it: 1) linguistic competence equal to the task, 2) a method appropriate to the task, 3) adequate knowledge of the particular area of research or endeavor, and 4) an ability to analyze and reflect upon this knowledge in order to integrate it with knowledge in other areas of inquiry or performance. They also must critically discuss and share publicly the results of the project. The course is repeatable for up to a total of eight semester-hours. NOTE: Students whose projects are to be based on material collected "in the field" while studying abroad during their junior year or while engaged in off-campus apprenticeships or internships should discuss their plans with a faculty adviser as early as the second semester of their sophomore year. Prerequisites: the Junior Seminar; approval of a faculty project mentor; approval of the department chair100 executed project of eight semester- hours in the language of concentration. The project may be a research project in literary or cultural studies, a creative-expressive project involving the arts, or a pedagogical project involving teaching applications. Also, depending on the focus of the student’s course work and interests, the project can be single or multi-disciplinary based. Whatever the nature of the project, students must demonstrate in it: 1) linguistic competence equal to the task; 2) a method appropriate to the task; 3) adequate knowledge of the particular area of research or endeavor; and 4) an ability to analyze and reflect upon this knowledge in order to integrate it with knowledge in other areas of inquiry or performance. They also must critically discuss and share publicly the results of the project. The course is repeatable for up to a total of eight semester-hours. NOTE: Students whose projects are to be based on material collected “in the field” while studying abroad during their junior year or while engaged in off-campus apprenticeships or internships should discuss their plans with a faculty adviser as early as the second semester of their sophomore year. Prerequisites: the Junior Seminar; approval of a faculty project mentor; approval of the department chair(s) of the student’s major(s).

ILCC 493/494. St. Mary's Project in International Languages and Cultures (8E). (See description under the same title above. The St. Mary's Project in Chinese may be written in English but must incorporate a significant Chinese-language component.)

ILAS 493/494. St. Mary's Project in International Languages and Cultures (8E). (See description under the same title above. The St. Mary's Project in Latin American Studies may be written in English but must incorporate a significant Spanish-language component.)

For recent St. Mary's Projects completed by International Languages and Cultures majors, see the individual concentration web pages.

back to top


Requirements of the Minor

Students may receive a minor in any of the language areas of the department (Chinese, French, German, Spanish) by completing a minimum of 18 credits of course work in the target languagee, with a minimum of 12 credits of upper-division course work (300 or 400 level) and a GPA of 2.0 in the relevant courses.

A minor in Latin American Studies is in development.