Languages and Cultures   

In this course, formerly Exotic Travel, speakers will discuss travel in Africa and Asia for research and teaching. Their experiences include: conducting linguistic fieldwork in Cameroon, archival research in south India, anthropological work in urban South Africa and teaching in Ladakh (far northern India). Each presentation will be about 90 minutes, via Zoom, and there will be opportunities for questions and discussion.

NOTE: There is no class session on Wednesday, April 23.

This course is designed to provide an opportunity to speak and listen to Spanish in a comfortable nonjudgmental atmosphere. It is meant for those who already speak Spanish with some fluency but who don’t have all the opportunities to converse that they would like. Each week, students will be provided with materials to stimulate conversation on a particular theme, including poems, readings, song lyrics and discussion questions. During each class, we’ll talk in a whole group and in breakout rooms. Themes include education, music, science and more, but it will be all right to stray from the theme. Grammar and vocabulary questions that arise will be answered, but the class is about enjoying conversation in Spanish. Any learning that occurs arises from that. It will enhance our conversation if students spend some time with the materials posted on LearnerNotes before each class. Translations are provided for readings and song lyrics. 
 
NOTE: This is not a Spanish course per se, and it won’t work for beginners. Rather, it is a chance for those who already comprehend and speak Spanish with some fluency to listen to others, converse freely and encounter readings and songs that reflect Hispanic culture. Those who have been in previous Conversaciones courses will find new themes, readings and music.

This is a previously taught course with new content. This course aims to broaden a student’s vocabulary and understanding of the day-to-day German spoken today. The etymology of certain words will be discussed, and the rules of grammar will be explained on request. This term we will read the instructor’s memoirs referring to the events in 1992 and later.

This highly interactive, informal class will give you a chance to improve your Russian. We will use a minimum of English and repeat and contextualize Russian so that everyone understands and can respond in Russian. Grammar will be discussed only as needed, as our focus will be on using Russian. The free online textbook “Mezhdu Nami” provides some materials, along with a selection of short readings, songs and poems. 
 
NOTE: We don’t expect students with fluent Russian. Experience shows that some students struggle with pronunciation, some with cases and some with the Cyrillic alphabet. The Russian From Scratch course is not a prerequisite but could help many students.

Students who want to start learning Russian or want to brush up on what they know of it will profit from this class. Using the free online textbook “Mezhdu Nami,” we will move at a student-set pace through its conversation-based introduction to Russian. More advanced students who would like to fill in gaps in their command of Russian are welcome, providing they are willing to join in encouraging everyone to participate in an active class.