The Department of Modern Languages and Literature

The Department of Modern Languages and Literature at Goucher College offers a course of study in six language sections: Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian, and Spanish. The Russian section operates as a cooperative program with the Johns Hopkins University. Each language section offers a minor in the target language. With the exception of Arabic, Italian and German, all offer a major. Students interested in Hebrew should look under Judaic Studies. The Department's mission is twofold: to strengthen the liberal arts undergraduate curriculum at Goucher College by providing language programs of broad scope and high quality; and most importantly, to engage students in the study of compelling transnational issues through the study of texts produced by other cultures. Our faculty is international and interdisciplinary in its research and teaching, offering courses in areas as diverse as film, literature, culture, anthropology, theater, holocaust studies, folklore, sociol-linguistics, ecology.

At Goucher, all students are required to complete through the last semester of the intermediate level (ARB 130, IT 130, FR 130, GER 130, GER 130G, SP 130, SP 130G, RUS 130, JS 133). Placement tests are administered to determine the student’s entry level into these courses. Students must complete a placement test before enrolling in a language class or take language courses abroad. On the basis of a placement test students may exempt (but not receive credit for) certain courses and enter the language sequence at a higher level. Placement test results have an expiration date of one year -- i.e., students need to retake their placement test after two or more semesters if they have not taken the language course in which they were placed, unless they have opted to satisfy their language requirement with another language altogether. Finally, students interested in fulfilling their language requirement with a language not taught at Goucher must consult in advance with the chair of the department, and sign a written agreement.