Department of Critical Languages

 

Critical Languages offers courses in Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Hindi, and Modern Greek, Vietnamese and Hebrew. Students enroll in these courses for a variety of reasons, which include career goals, personal interest, preparation for study abroad, and the desire to fulfill certain university and college program requirements. Successful completion of Critical Languages courses can satisfy the international studies core requirement as well as the language requirements of majors ranging from Asian Studies to International Business.

Learn Languages
Critical Languages offers courses in Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Hindi, Modern Greek Vietnamese and Hebrew. Students enroll in these courses for a variety of reasons, which include career goals, personal interest, preparation for study abroad, and the desire to fulfill certain university and college program requirements. Successful completion of Critical Languages courses can satisfy the international studies core requirement as well as the language requirements of majors ranging from Asian Studies to International Business.

Study Literature, Film, and Pop Culture
Critical Languages courses in Chinese and Japanese literature and in Japanese film and popular culture—all given in translation—invite students from any major to develop familiarity with Chinese and Japanese culture.

Certificate Programs
Certificates of specialization in Chinese, Japanese and Arabic focus on learning language skills and developing a strong foundation for the effective use of Chinese, Japanese and Arabic socially and professionally.

Requirements for the Certificate of Specialization in Chinese: Chinese Elements I, Chinese Elements II, Chinese Intermediate I, Chinese Intermediate II, Chinese Advanced I, and Chinese Advanced II. A grade of C- or higher must be earned in all required courses.

Requirements for the Certificate of Specialization in Japanese: Japanese Elements I, Japanese Elements II, Japanese Intermediate I, Japanese Intermediate II, Japanese Advanced I, and Japanese Advanced II. A grade of C- or higher must be earned in all required courses.

Requirements for the Certificate of Specialization in Arabic: Arabic Elements I, Arabic Elements II, Arabic Intermediate I, Arabic Intermediate II, Arabic Advanced I, and Arabic Advanced II. A grade of C- or higher must be earned in all required courses.

Minor in Japanese
The Minor in Japanese emphasizes language study while also recognizing the importance of learning about Japan through work in fields such as literature, history, anthropology, religion, and geography and urban studies. A grade of C- or higher must be earned in all courses for the minor.

Courses required for the Minor in Japanese include Japanese Intermediate II, Japanese Advanced I, and Japanese Advanced II. [Note: students who place out of Japanese Intermediate II will need one additional elective. Those who place out of Japanese Advanced I will need two additional electives. Those who place out of Japanese Advanced II will need three additional electives.]

Also, students must complete one of the following: Japanese Popular Culture and Its Literature, Japanese Literature in Film, Survey of Japanese Literature: Pre-Modern, and Survey of Japanese Literature: Modern.

Electives: Additionally, students must complete any two College of Liberal Arts courses that focus exclusively on Japan . These may include the Japanese literature, film, and culture courses noted above. They may also include courses given in departments such as History, Religion, Anthropology, Geography and Urban Studies, etc.

Major or Minor in Asian Studies
Critical Languages courses count toward many of the requirements and electives of the Asian Studies major and minor.