Welcome to the Department of World Languages and Cultures

Congratulations to our Fall 2020 Graduates!

The Department of World Languages and Cultures joins with the American Council of Foreign Language Teachers in the following statement:

We are horrified by the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Eric Garner. Sandra Bland. Philando Castile. Alton Sterling. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. Countless others. Their lives-and the hope that came with them-were cut tragically short.

ACTFL denounces systemic racism and police brutality against the Black community, Native and Indigenous communities, and communities of color in this country. As we have stated before, racism, bigotry, and white supremacy have no place in American society. We share in your grief and commit to do our part to combat these ideologies and systems of hate.

We are angry and our hearts are heavy. As language educators, we play a pivotal role in developing the world view of young people in this country. We have a responsibility-to our students, colleagues, and to our profession-to create a learning environment that is not only safe from racism and hate but antiracist. We must model to our students that our differences are to be cherished and respected, and we must speak out against racism and hateful ideologies wehn we see them. We vow to listen to students and teachers of color.

Black lives matter. Our words and actions matter

We also affirm the statement of the Modern Language Association.

As Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, I join with chairpersons and directors from across UNCW in the following statement:

We mourn with the victims of racist violence across the United States. We know the names George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. Yet, our society inflicts countless acts of injustice and brutality on black and brown people continually. We do not know how to name them all.

We share the anger and the hope of those who are protesting racism across America. We are taking steps to confront racism within our university, and we support every member of our community who chooses to do this important work alongside us. There is no middle ground between racism and anti-racism. We commit ourselves to confronting racist ideologies, sentiments, and actions, as we wish to see UNCW live true to its values of diversity, integrity, and excellence.

We as chairpersons and directors will lead, teach, research, and serve in ways that address the challenges and the aspirations articulated in this statement and our chancellor's.

Derrick Miller

We offer B.A. degrees in French, French with Teacher Licensure, German Studies, Spanish, and Spanish with Teacher Licensure, as well as academic minors in Classical Studies, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, Russian Studies and Spanish. Courses also include the study of American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, and Italian. At the graduate level we provide opportunities for a Certificate Program in Spanish, a Master of Arts in Spanish, and a 3+2 Bachelor/Master combination. Beyond campus, the Department continues its collaboration with the NC World Language Exchange, providing language courses across the UNC system.

University Studies Requirement Fulfillments
These degree programs are the core of our mission, and yet we contribute a wide array of courses for students to fulfill the University Studies Requirements in the following components:
- Foreign Language
- Aesthetic, Interpretive & Literary
- Living in a Global Society
- Living in our Diverse Nation
- Writing Intensive
- Explorations Beyond the Classroom
- Transdisciplinary Clusters
- Capstone Courses
World Languages Offered
Students can fulfill their foreign language requirement in our department with courses in:
- American Sign Language
- Arabic
- Chinese
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Latin
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Spanish
Recently, in cooperation with NCSU, we have offered Hindi-Urdu and Ancient Greek.

Many of our language programs have active student language clubs, and our faculty members develop and accompany students abroad in Chile, France, Germany, and Spain. We are proud that we successfully meet UNCW's goal of preparing students to become global citizens.
Degree Audit Language Requirements

Undergraduate students have many questions concerning their foreign language requirement statement on their degree audit. Learn more in-depth details about the FL Requirements.
Language Placement Tool

Undergraduate students wanting to continue the study of a language previously studied must take the FL Placement Tool to be placed into the correct level.
Spanish for the Online Accelerated Program (OAP)
Past Achievements
- Walter Kearnan's Honors Thesis in French, "La Dualité de l’Etat et de l’Eglise: Les Missions socioreligieuses, économiques et politiques des Jésuites français en Nouvelle France dans les années 1630" (Spring 2016), has been accepted for publication in Explorations: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities for the State of North Carolina. Read more (PDF)
- Mentored by Ms. Roza Starodubtseva, students Laura Hart and Shyanna Kiekenapp presented in the Slavic Studies section of the Undergraduate Research Forum at the South Atlantic Modern Language Association (SAMLA) in Jacksonville, FL. Read more
- Students Sara Burkinshaw and Bethany Showers have been accepted to attend the TOMODACHI Dawa House Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. in October. Read more
- Spanish major Morgan Clark spent more than two months in Guatemala completing a Spanish internship (SPN 498) in a maternity clinic this summer. Read more Dr. Francisco Brignole publishes co-edited edition. Working with Dr. Corinne Pubill (Salisbury University), Dr. Brignole has recently published Miradas desobedientes: María Teresa Andruetto ante la critica (2016), a co-edited volume on the literature of contemporary Argentinean writer María Teresa Andruetto. Read more
- Dr. Amrita Das is featured in the Cameron Art Museum's "She tells a story" exhibit. Read more
- Dr. L.J. Randolph was awarded a College of Arts and Sciences Summer Curriculum Development Initiative Award.
- Dr. Amrita Das was awarded a College of Arts and Sciences Summer Curriculum Development Initiative award.
- Dr. Greta Bliss was awarded a College of Arts and Sciences Summer Research Initiative award for her research project “Democracy and Disillusion: Revolution and New Definitions of Human Rights in Tunisian Cinema.”
- Derrick Miller was awarded a Summer Pedagogy Development Stipend from the Center for Teaching Excellence for his project, "Study of Core Courses and Requirements for World Languages Umbrella Degrees."
- Dr. Emmanuel Harris was awarded a College of Arts and Sciences Pilot Grant for his summer research.
- Dr. Michelle Scatton-Tessier, chair, was honored with the Inconvenient Woman Award from the Women's Studies and Resource Center.
- Drs. Boomershine and Randolph hosted a group of Spanish teachers, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates to Santiago, Dominican Republic in July 2016.
  Read More
- Dr. Regina Félix was awarded a Global Citizenship Award from the Office of International Programs.
- Staff member Olivia Causby was awarded an OIP Global Staff Travel Grant. Read more
- Dr. Scott Jualll has been awarded funding from the International Programs Advisory Committee towards his expenses to France.
- Dr. Emmanuel Harris and student Jasmine Beck have been awarded $3,500 in funding by Applied Learning for their SURCA project to take place in Spring 2016.
- Dr. Amanda Boomershine's SPN 490: Service learning and research class (Fall 2015) conducted oral history interviews that can be viewed on the UNCW Randall Library as a digital collection entitled: Somos NC: Voices from the North Carolina's Latino Community.
- Dr. Ashlee Balena was awarded the Excellence in e-Learning Award by the Office of e-Learning in 2015.
- Dr. Pascale Barthe was awarded a Charles L. Cahill Award for her research proposal "Tales of Empires: Seventeenth-Century French Travelers in Persia and India" in 2015-16.

A Bit of History

Founded in 1947 as Modern Languages, the Department of World Languages and Cultures (WLC) is a community of scholars dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, and service to local and global communities. Through innovative and substantive pedagogies, the Department seeks to promote student understanding of the linguistic and cultural subject matters it teaches. We prepare students to acquire proficiency in world languages at all levels and enhance the students' effective communication, creativity, critical thinking, greater awareness of the world's peoples, and interpersonal skills, as well as their understanding of their own language. We are dedicated to creating an atmosphere of intellectual exploration and exchange in order to develop students' research interests and abilities. Through teaching, applied learning, service, and research, we serve as a bridge connecting local, regional, and international concerns. To learn more about the department of World Languages & Cultures watch this video.