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 majors who plan to apply for admission to Truman’s MAE program should consult the Romance Language Major Pre-MAE 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.

The Romance Language Wing

The Romance Language Wing of Missouri Hall is a semi-immersion residential living option for students who would like to speak their target language(s) as much as possible on a daily basis. Students are paired up with roommates (as available) who wish to practice the same language(s) and who are at approximately the same level. Whenever possible, we attempt to place native speakers on the Wing also, to act as language models and cultural informants. Spanish and French are the more common languages spoken (the Spanish speakers form a subgroup of the Wing called "Casa Hispanica"), but some semesters students taking Italian and Portuguese courses can also be heard practicing or studying together. Most students on the Romance Language Wing are majoring in Spanish, French or Romance Language, but the wing is open to students minoring in Italian Studies, Spanish, and French also, and to students of any other major who wish to challenge themselves, build fluency, and be a part of a focused residential community. You can find the application for the Romance Language Wing here: Application for residence.

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, 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.