Policy on World Language Requirement Accommodations

Department of World Languages and Cultures
October 23, 2017 [updated May 15, 2020]

For students graduating with a B.A., B.M., B.S.W., or B.S.B.A. degree, the world language requirement is for 8 credits of a language, normally, as the General Catalog states, “Course number 102 in a world language in which the student has no more than one year of high school credit, or course number 203 in any world language.”

Students who have documented accommodations from the Access and Accommodations Resource Center may fulfill the world language requirement by taking three courses, one from each of the following categories, for a total of 8 credits. These courses cannot simultaneously count for other categories of General Education (for example, a student taking HIST 250 cannot count that course as both fulfilling the world language requirement AND the Humanities: History requirement).

Rationale:

The nature of the world language requirement makes it difficult to identify adequate substitutes. While the requirement is placed within the Cultural Diversity General Education requirement, one of the goals of world language classes is to lead students to knowledge about and reflection on how language itself functions. Very few courses outside WLC and the English department discuss and teach language in a sustained, disciplinary fashion, or lead students to this kind of reflection on language. Thus, the following list of courses represents those in the university curriculum that have the closest affiliation with WLC courses in terms of source material, methods, and emphasis on cross-cultural learning. This list will be updated from time to time to reflect ongoing changes to the curriculum. All additions to this list must be approved by the Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures.

I. Required courses: 2 credits

GS 180 Civic Engagement: Conversation Partner (2 cr.)¹
GS 200 Study Circle on Race Relations (2 cr.)

II. WLC courses in translation: 3 credits

CHIN 200 Chinese Literary Studies
CHIN 291 Topics in World Cinema
FREN 200 French and Francophone Literary Studies
FREN 291 Topics in World Cinema
FREN 300 Topics in French and Francophone Cultures
GER 200 German Literary Studies
GER 291 Topics in World Cinema
GER 300 Topics in German-Language Culture
GKRO 200 Tales of Heroism: Greek and Roman Epic Poetry
GKRO 201 Antiquity on Stage: Drama in Greece and Rome
GKRO 202 Greek and Latin Roots of English
GKRO 220 Approaches to Greek and Roman Archaeology
GKRO 250 Greek and Roman Monuments in Context
GKRO 251 Greek and Roman Mythology
GKRO 290 Topics in Greek and/or Roman Studies
GKRO 291 Topics in World Cinema
JAPN 200 Japanese Literary Studies
JAPN 250 Topics in Japanese Literature and the Fine Arts
SPAN 200 Hispanic Literary Studies

III. Courses outside WLC: 3 credits

INTL 150 Global Perspectives
INTL 290 Topics in International Studies
COMM 291 Topics in World Cinema
ENGL 203 Middle Eastern Literatures
ENGL 204 Middle Eastern Cinemas
ENGL 306 World Literature in English
ENGL 343 Introduction to Linguistics
ENGL 344 Sociolinguistics: Language Across Cultures
ENGL 368 Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages: Theory and Methods
ENGL 369 Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages: Methods and Practices
EAST 340 East Asian Humanities Topics
HIST 140 Introduction to East Asian Culture
HIST 232 Latin American History and Society
HIST 235 Modern Mexico: Competing Visions of the Nation
HIST 250 African History and Society
HIST 329 Revolution! Insurgence in Latin America
HIST 333 Latin America in the Cold War Era
HIST 341 Revolution and Its Roots: The Making of Modern China
HIST 342 Tragedy and Triumph: The Making of Modern Japan
HIST 350 Colonialism and Independence: Understanding Modern Africa
HIST 355 Modern Middle Eastern History
MGT 440 Cross-Cultural Management
PHIL 220 Asian Philosophy
THEO 345 The Church in the World
THEO 361 Indian Religions and Cultures
THEO 362 Islamic Religions and Cultures
THEO 363 Religions of China and Japan
THEO 364 Native American Religions
THEO 367 Topics in South Asian Religions

¹ These credits can only count when earned through the English Conversation Partner program in which domestic students meet for one hour per week with international students. The two credits can be earned by meeting with two students in one semester or one student in two different semesters. For more information: https://www.valpo.edu/language-resourcecenter/english-conversation-partners.