The Romance Language Major
The Romance Language Major is an
interdisciplinary program that encourages students to explore the
connections among the different languages making up the Romance
Language family. It is distinct from a Spanish BA and a French BA,
and distinct from a “double major” in both these languages, because
in this program students compare and contrast not only Spanish and
French, but other Romance Languages as well – implicitly throughout
the major, and explicitly in the pivotal junior-level linguistics
course “Linguistics of a Language Family: The Romance Languages.”
This course, along with various optional courses in the areas of
French, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Spanish, and Ancient History,
prepare the student for a culminating experience in the senior year,
the Romance Language Capstone Experience, in which students
research, write, and revise an extensive research paper under the
supervision of a member of the Classical and Modern Language
faculty. The research undertaken in this course addresses the
language, literature, culture, history, and/or civilization of at
least two Romance languages and the societies they represent, and
underscores the synthetic nature of the Romance Language Major as a
whole.
Truman’s Romance Language major aims to build broad linguistic versatility in gifted foreign language students, while providing them with an introduction to the diverse cultural patterns that span the array of Spanish-speaking, Lusophone, Italian-speaking and Francophone societies of Latin America, Africa, North America, and Europe. It prepares students for advanced study in linguistics, cultural studies, Romance literature, education, and foreign language pedagogy and for careers in business, international affairs, communications, and international development. In addition, the Romance Language major is a path to dual secondary teaching certification in Spanish and French through Truman’s MAE program.
Admission to the program is open to any
student completing Elementary and Intermediate Spanish and French
(or their equivalent) with a grade of B or better. However, because
intermediate level proficiency in two languages can take as long as
two full academic years to achieve, students interested in declaring
a Romance Language major should consult early with the Romance
Language steering committee to discuss their prospects in this
major, and should consult the
Romance Language Major Advising Worksheet.
Romance Language Faculty
Because the Romance Language major involves
coursework from a number of disciplines, students may end up taking
classes with virtually any professor of the
Classics faculty,
French faculty,
Italian faculty,
Linguistics faculty,
Portuguese faculty or
Spanish faculty, or
History faculty. RLM students
thus get to know many different professors, but will find
specialized support from the Romance Language Steering Committee,
which consists of Professors Capuano
(Spanish, Portuguese), Farley (French), Harrison (Latin), Richter
(Linguistics), Scuderi (Italian), and Tornatore (Spanish and
Italian).
Opportunities Abroad in Romance Languages
RLM students are encouraged to participate in one or more of our
many Study-Abroad and Internship Abroad Programs, which include
semester and/or summer stays in Argentina, Brazil, Quebec, Chile,
Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Italy, La Réunion,
Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland (Lausanne),
and Uruguay.
Student Organizations
Romance Language Majors will find a wide array
of extracurricular support for their intellectual pursuits in such
groups as Spanish Club, Le Coin Français, Italian Club,
Casa Hispánica,
Eta Sigma Phi/Classics Club,
French Student Theatre,
French Immersion Program, Hablantes Unidos, Capoeira Club, and
Sigma Delta Pi, and are encouraged to participate in visiting
speaker events, colloquia, film series, and student-led theatre and
dance presentations offered each year in various Romance languages.
Conversation tables in French, Italian and Spanish and the
peer-learning program that accompanies all lower-division language
learning at Truman likewise provide RLM students with informal
avenues, both academic and social, for building and sharing their
language mastery and their understanding of diverse Romance
cultures.
