The study of international languages and cultures has become increasingly essential in today's globally interdependent society, mainly as it helps facilitate cultural understanding and appreciation and a greater exchange of material and intellectual goods. Oswego's Department of Modern Languages and Literatures is one of the largest programs in the SUNY system. Our diverse department offers majors and minors in French, German, and Spanish and a Language and International Trade major. Supplemental language courses include Arabic, American Sign Language, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian and Portuguese. We also offer minors in French, German, and Latino/Latin American cultural studies.
Our mission statement aligns with SUNY Oswego's James A. Triandiflou Institute for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Transformative Practice. Through the study of languages and cultures, our department offers intensive practices of intercultural competence where diverse perspectives are embraced in a fostering, thriving, and inclusive learning environment.
In our course design, teaching practices, extracurricular activities, and study abroad experiences we seek to promote engagement and belonging to further values of inclusivity and partnership. Some of our common pedagogical practices include inter-group dialogue to advance topics of diversity and social justice, thus creating an academic community where all individuals can flourish regardless of their gender, race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability status. Faculty and students work in close collaboration to achieve such goals, which is a constitutive element of the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures at SUNY Oswego.
