COURSE TITLE The Languages of Europe : A Cultural Introduction COURSE NUMBER:   50.315

The Languages of Europe : A cultural Introduction aims at broadening the students' mental horizons by having them travel virtually to the 15 + 10  countries that in May 2004 will compose the European Union.  This voyage will begin with a philological exploration of the major official languages of the Union. It will be complemented by relevant texts or web links and illustrated with audio and video materials.

The triple aim of this course is:
a) to introduce students to the rich linguistic heritage shared by English and the major languages of Europe, namely French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, with linguistic excursions into the other languages of both Eastern and Western Europe ;
b) to broaden their understanding of cultural differences ;
c) to explore the relations between intercultural understanding and the role of Europe.

     If accepted, this course will be part of the General Education 2000 Program for Arts & Humanities and Diversity.

    There are no prerequisites to this course, taught in English in a multimedia classroom with access to the Internet.

          Basic reference text: Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe, edited by Glanville Price, Blackwell, 2000.

          Other relevant materials and web links found at http://faculty.uml.edu/jgarreau/50.315/material.htm

GRADING POLICY: A  4.00 ; A-  3.70 ;  B+  3.30 ; B  3.00 ; B-  2.70 ; C+  2.30 ; C  2.00 ; C-  1.70 ; D+  1.30 ; D  1.00 ;  F  0.00

Joseph Garreau, Ph.D.
Professor of French
Department of Cultural Studies
Coburn 113 D
Voice Mail: 978.934.4297
Email:  joseph_garreau@uml.edu