Academic Catalog 2023-2024

World Languages and Cultures (WLC)

WLC 611 / AMLA 611  -  Technology, Media, and Human Relations in the [Target Language]-Speaking World,  2 credits.  

Note: Multiple sections of this course may be taught in different languages. This course is designed to engage students in listening, reading, writing, and speaking around the topics of technology, media, and human relations in target cultures around the world. Particular attention will be paid to students in K-16 educational contexts, such as the influence of social media on students, students' abilities to engage in current events through technology and social media, and the way in which technology and media affects human relationships and communication in target language countries. Students will read, listen to, and view a variety of authentic texts, and they will also engage in text analysis and discussion on these topics.

WLC 613 / AMLA 613  -  Products, Practices, and Perspectives of 21st Century [Hispanic, African, Arab, etc.] Diaspora,  2 credits.  

Note: Multiple sections of this course may be taught in different languages. This course will ask students to examine the relationships between products, practices, and perspectives found in 21st century diaspora within particular countries. Depending on the language being studied and the countries most influenced by the diaspora, students may examine Hispanic diaspora, African diaspora, Arab diaspora, etc. Diaspora comes from the Greek word "to scatter about" and refers to a group of people with the same or similar heritage or ethnicity who have moved to new places throughout the world. Students will examine cultural topics through different lenses in order to understand that the relationship between products and perspectives or practices and perspectives can vary within one particular culture. Human experiences such as emigration and immigration also greatly influence perspectives. Students will read, listen to, and view a variety of authentic texts, and they will also engage in an ongoing portfolio project and discussion on these topics.

WLC 626 / AMLA 626  -  Advanced Pedagogical [Target Language} Grammar,  4 credits.  

Note: Multiple sections of this course may be taught in different languages. In this course, students will examine some of the problematic aspects of advanced target language grammar, focusing on such concepts as indicative times (past tenses), subjunctive tenses (values and uses in simple and complex structures), the values and uses of particular prepositions, and a variety of other concepts. The course will also pay special attention to concepts that are particularly confusing for non-native speakers of the language. However, the course also allows for individual exploration of advanced concepts in order to increase students' own knowledge of the language. In order to examine grammar within authentic, meaningful contexts, students will read and view a variety of texts such as short stories, news, and social media, paying close attention to the values and uses of the concepts being studied.

WLC 628 / AMLA 628  -  Young Adult Literature in [Spanish],  2-4 credits.  

Note: Multiple sections of this course may be taught in different languages. In this course, students will read and discuss several young adult novels written in the target language. Although there are a number of competing definitions of this genre, this course will mostly focus on literature that is written and published in the target language expressly for young adults between the ages of 14-20 (or older). Students will focus on the way in which aspects of culture are represented and reflected in the various examples of young adult literature we will read in this course. Often young adult literature pushes boundaries, and students will also examine critical questions and topics that arise in the literature within the context of the target culture(s) in which the novel takes place.

WLC 630 / AMLA 630  -  Teaching through Film in [Target Language],  4 credits.  

Note: Multiple sections of this course may be taught in different languages. In this course, students will view, discuss, and write about various target language films that they could integrate into their own classrooms in order to teach historical, political, and cultural content through film. Students will read about and research the themes present in the films in order to gain a stronger understanding of the content, themselves, allowing them to develop course materials for their own classrooms. The films will lead to an exploration of different genres of film, various historical and political events, and diverse views of society, human relationships, and other aspects of the target culture.

WLC 632 / AMLA 632  -  Critical Topics and Social Justice in the [Spanish]-Speaking World,  2 credits.  

Note: Multiple sections of this course may be taught in different languages. This course is designed to allow students to explore current critical and social justice topics in the target cultures. As these are dynamic topics that are ever changing, the topics of the course will change to reflect current issues in need of examination in various target language countries and within the diaspora. Some examples might be the exploitation of natural resources and environmental justice, gender and sexuality movements, or women's rights and access to reproductive healthcare. Students will read, view, discuss, and write about the topics this class will examine, considering action that they and/or their own students could take to address similar topics in their own communities and beyond.

WLC 680  -  Special Topics,  0-4 credits.  
Repeatable: Yes