College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

The Department of Foreign Languages, a unit of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, houses 11 foreign language programs. The Department offers majors in French, German and Spanish, minors in French, German, Italian Studies, Russian Studies, and Spanish and also houses interdisciplinary programs in Latin American Studies and Medieval and Early Modern Studies. The Department also contributes many courses to the interdisciplinary Asian Studies minor. Like the majority of foreign language departments in the United States, the Department of Foreign Languages teaches language, literature and cultural studies, and serves students in the General Education Program, foreign language majors and minors in Liberal Arts and Education, and graduate students. Our students learn to express ideas in a foreign language in correct and sophisticated speech and writing, read all kinds of texts critically, and acquire a respectful understanding of other cultures.

The Department has the following goals:

• To provide intellectually vibrant major and minor programs to students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Education.
• To allow graduate students in the School of Education to pursue advanced studies in their liberal arts disciplines.
• To enable students in the general education program to reach intermediate low proficiency and to achieve advanced proficiency if they choose to continue.
• To teach literature, culture and civilization classes both in the target language and in English translation.
• To make foreign language learning a life-long enterprise for all individuals.
• To encourage non-traditional learners and to encourage all members of the college community to appreciate the value of other cultures.

Office: Jacobson Faculty Tower 414

Mailing Address:
600 Hawk Drive
New Paltz, NY 12561-2440

Phone: 845-257-3480
Fax: 845-257-3512

Chairperson: Elisa Davila (davilae@newpaltz.edu)