Chair's Welcome

Bonjour! Buon giorno! Buenos días! Bom dia! I am happy to welcome you to the Department of Romance Languages & Literatures.

The Department of Romance Languages & Literatures serves Hofstra University in a variety of ways. We are one of two language departments at Hofstra that provide instruction toward the completion of the foreign language requirement. (Please consult the University Bulletin for an explanation of the foreign language requirement.) It also provides instruction in the language, cultures, and literatures of French, Italian, and Spanish. In addition, we offer language courses in Portuguese and will soon be adding Catalan to the list of options.

In addition to traditional classroom instruction, we regularly organize culture outings to plays, museum exhibitions, scholarly conferences, restaurants, and films, usually in Manhattan. These are some of the ways our students can benefit from the rich cultural offerings one can find in New York and thereby enhance their familiarity with the culture they are studying.

As well as outings to Manhattan, we offer a series of study-abroad programs that students can attend: Nice (France), Sorrento (Italy), Venice (Italy), Santiago (Spain), and Guadalajara (Mexico). These programs take place over 4 or 5 weeks in the summer (with the exception of the program in Venice, which is 3 weeks in January). Students live with families or in dorms or apartments, attend classes, participate in cultural excursions, and develop their linguistics skills far beyond what they can accomplish in a traditional classroom. (Information on study-abroad programs can be obtained from Mrs. Maria Fixell in the Office of Study-Abroad Programs, 300 Calkins Hall.)

Dr. David A. Powell, Chair
Department of Romance Languages & Literatures
338 Calkins Hall