Welcome! ¡Bienvenidos! Willkommen! Bienvenue!
The programs and courses of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures make accessible to students the languages, literatures, and cultures of France and the Francophone world, Germany and other German-speaking countries, and Spain and Latin America. Studying a foreign language also provides a multitude of benefits that impact many aspects of life and enhance your career opportunities.
On behalf of the faculty of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, I welcome our students to the 2024-2025 academic year! My colleagues and I look forward to working with you! All of us are committed to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community in which everyone can strive for success. We are committed to acts of kindness to create a supportive learning community in which kindness is a guiding principle. For more information see the United in Kindness-resolution.
President Ming-Tung "Mike" Lee and his wife Fei with Professors Emily Clark & Michaela Grobbel at SSU Decision Day
Announcements
Sonoma State's Giving Day is back on Thursday, April 4, 2024. For 24 hours, our entire community will come together to transform the future of Sonoma State. The Modern Languages and Literature Department is thrilled to be part of Giving Day!
Alumni, donors, parents, faculty, staff, students, and community members can participate in the celebration and festivities. Donations of all sizes have a huge impact and help support student life initiatives, academic programs, athletics, student scholarships, enhancing research, and so much more!
Support the Modern Languages and Literature Department!
Your support will be used to help SSU participate in the prestigious Fulbright Program. SSU has been the only university in California to host FLTAs who support our language students and serve as cultural ambassadors presenting campus-wide events for the entire university. This marks SSU as unique in the CSU and in the UC, and also provides critical support for our languages.
Donate here!
Learn more and give on April 4, 2024 at givingday.sonoma.edu.
Thursday, March 28, 3:00-4:30 p.m., students from our beginning German class will present original German poetry, art work, a spoken word performance "Autos!" to photographs of race car competitions, and a piece by Johannes Brahms on clarinet.
Weill Hall Lobby will open at 2:00 p.m. to view the displays and stage performances will begin at 3:00 p.m., followed by a reception in Prelude.
Professor of German and Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Michaela Grobbel recently published "The Nazi Genocide of the Roma Through the Eyes of Ceija Stojka" in Roma Artist Ceija Stojka: What Should I Be Afraid of? (Hirmer Verlag, München, 2023). This monograph was published on the occasion of the exhibition of "What Should I Be Afraid of? Roma Artist Ceija Stojka" that ran from May 23 to September 25, 2023 at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York.
The French Club is back every other Wednesday from 12-1pm with its French Conversation Hour! Meet at Stevenson 1204, starting February 21st. Ce serait un plaisir de vous avoir là! Click here to learn more!
Associate Professor of Spanish, Emily Clark, published her latest article titled "Gendered Gothic Ghosts: Vengeful Spirits of Spanish Romantic Fiction by Eugenio de Ochoa, Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, and Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer" in Anales Galdosianos, Vol. 58, 2023. View the A&H spotlight here.
Margaret Pavey, a senior and triple major in Psychology, French, and the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies, was awarded the Reilly French Scholarship at SSU.
Despite pursuing three majors, Margaret studied in France for a year at Aix-Marseille Université (AMU) in Aix-en-Provence through CSUIP. She very much enjoyed her studies and life abroad. She had a wonderful learning experience, and decided to go back to France after graduation to work as an assistant English teacher for a year. One of the eligibility requirements for the Maria and William Reilly French Scholarship stipulates that the awardee plans for a PhD in French and prepares for an international career focusing on French culture. View the A&H spotlight here.
Congratulations et toutes nos félicitations, Margaret!
Professor Emeritus, Christine Renaudin is performing Run… Or Don’t at the Theatre of Yugen in San Francisco on February 24-25. Devised with collaborators Christina Lewis and Jenny Beth Schaffer, the show invites the viewers to dive into the depths of the unconscious and the ocean of human experience as they follow 3 characters into their secret worlds. This image-rich and dreamlike hour of physical theater will transport its audience somewhere unexpected.
SATURDAY 3 pm, SATURDAY 7 pm (sold out), SUNDAY 3 pm. Tickets through Eventbrite.
Enjoy a German Film every other Wednesday at 7:15 pm in Darwin 107! All movies have English subtitles.
Find out here!
Student Testimonials
We bid farewell to Nathan Gerdes, our 2023-2024 Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (Fulbright FLTA) from Germany! Nathan earned his Master’s Degree in English, Italian, and Education at the University of Münster. He co-taught German language courses, assisted German language learners in their studies outside the classroom, and offered many German-related events together with the SSU German Club as well Associated Students and other programs on campus. As a Fulbright Cultural Ambassador, he also presented many cultural events on and off campus. The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures greatly appreciates his extraordinary support for our students and his creative projects to promote international awareness at SSU!
-Dr. Michaela Grobbel
Chair, School of Ethnic Studies and Languages, and Department Coordinator, Modern Languages and Literatures
