Romance Languages
- Degree Type Bachelor of Arts
- Department Romance Languages
- Academic Division The College
- Offerings Major
Washington and Lee fosters an intellectual interest in language and provides students with the skills to use the language in a multiplicity of contexts. Cultural fluency is established through the examination of literary, historical and cultural texts, as well as other forms of expression.
Romance Languages
The Romance Languages major combines an emphasis in French or Spanish language, literature and culture, and Hispanic linguistics, with language and cultural proficiency in a second Romance language, which could be French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish. There are two components to the major: Complete the French or Spanish major with one fewer 200-level elective (27 credits), and complete six credits at the 200-level of a second Romance language. To meet the second component, students typically start with Elementary Spanish or French (111), or Accelerated Elementary Portuguese or Italian (113).
The affiliated Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program (LACS) provides the intellectual excitement of an interdisciplinary approach to the exploration of multicultural societies that speak French, Portuguese and Spanish.
World Language FDR
One of the Foundation and Distribution Requirements at Washington and Lee is proficiency in a world language. Romance Languages offers coursework toward language proficiency in French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, and fulfillment of the foreign language FDR.
If you have a background in French or Spanish and wish to study the same language at W&L, take the placement test to determine the right class for you. Placement 161: Register for French or Spanish 161; Placement 164: Register for French or Spanish 164; Placement 200: Register for any French or Spanish 200-level course.
If you have a background in French or Spanish and wish to start a new language, take the placement test and register for Italian or Portuguese 113, Spanish 111 or French 111. If you have studied little or no French or Spanish and would like to study one of those languages, register for French or Spanish 111.
If you have studied Italian or Portuguese, contact the department for course placement.
Opportunities
Romance Languages is affiliated with study abroad programs in most of Spanish America, Portugal and Brazil, Italy, Spain and France. An extended study abroad experience sets students on the road to linguistic and cultural fluency and is strongly encouraged by our faculty. For students who are pursuing Portuguese or Italian as a second language for the Romance Languages major, study abroad is an excellent way to complete the major.
Back in Lexington, language tables such as Table Français, Mesa Española and Bate-Papo Brasileiro meet twice a week and are a great way for students to practice languages with W&L’s native teaching assistants and faculty.
The English for Speakers of Other Languages Program (ESOL) facilitates communication within the increasingly diverse population of Rockbridge County.
Other opportunities include Casa Hispánica, where students live and speak Spanish, and which serves as a weekly meeting place for cultural activities; French and Portuguese language student-run clubs; Romance Languages Poetry Night; and Pluma, a Spanish-language literary journal.
In addition, students are encouraged to participate in our honors program, which allows engagement in original research with a faculty member on a topic of interest. Completed projects are invaluable assets for graduate or professional school.
Faculty research projects in Art History or Digital Humanities; Spring Term study abroad courses in Italy, France, Argentina, Cádiz and Sevilla, Spain; and Environmental Studies in the Brazilian Amazon offer additional opportunities for progress in language and cultural fluency.
Outcomes
Our majors have gone on to pursue graduate study as well as careers in which language and cultural proficiency have proven invaluable. A number of graduates have been successful in gaining prestigious Fulbright Fellowships, no doubt in part due to their strong performance as majors. Recent examples include:
- Keturah Nichols ’12, Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA), Brazil
- Kendre Barnes ’13, Fulbright ETA, Panamá
- Anna Paden Carson ’16, Fulbright ETA, Colombia
- Harrison Westgarth ’17, Fulbright Research Fellowship, Brazil
- John Dannehl ’17, Fulbright ETA, Spain
- Jared Shely ’18, Fulbright ETA, Colombia
- Caroline Rivers ’20, Fulbright ETA, Mexico
CBL Faculty Collaborative Generates New Community Connections
The 2023-2024 academic year at W&L saw the proliferation of several new course offerings for students through a new faculty development initiative offered by the Office of Community-Based Learning (CBL).
W&L’s Anna Bosking ’24 Awarded Fulbright to Colombia
Bosking has been awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Colombia.
W&L’s Gillian Holloway ’24 Earns Fulbright to Spain
Holloway was selected for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to teach English in Spain.
Washington and Lee Names Four Faculty Members to Endowed Professorships
These faculty have been recognized for their outstanding teaching, scholarship and service to the university.
Leading Campus Kitchen, a student-run organization focused on addressing food insecurity, has been a rewarding experience.
W&L’s Kristina Roney Receives Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award
The assistant professor of French will utilize the scholarship to perform research in Paris.
Pablo Abufom to Deliver Lecture on Latin American Politics
The Chilean activist’s talk will be held Feb. 12 at 5 p.m.
W&L French Professor Publishes New Book
Mohamed Kamara’s book titled “Colonial Legacies in Francophone African Literature” hits bookshelves Dec. 15.
W&L’s Seth Michelson Quoted in NPR Segment About a Film Documentary
The Spanish professor appears as a faculty expert in the film that debuted at the Virginia Film Festival last month.
Domnica Rădulescu’s Play “The Town with Very Nice People” Set for World Premiere in New York City
The professor has also published two literary works in recent months.
Zoila Ponce de León’s chapter is titled “Health Care and the Public-Private Mix in Mexico, Chile, and Peru” and appears in the Latin American section of the publication.
Meet the Faculty
At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Mohamed Kamara
Department Chair and Professor of Romance Languages; Campus Muslim Student Advisor
- P: 540-458-8475
- E: kamaram@wlu.edu
Professor Kamara holds degrees in French, English and Secondary Education. He teaches French courses in the Department of Romance Languages and also teaches in the university’s Africana Studies Program. As faculty advisor to campus Muslim students and the W&L African Society, he is a member of the Religious Staff in the Office of Inclusion and Engagement.
Matthew Bailey
Professor of Romance Languages
- P: 540-458-8160
- E: baileym@wlu.edu
Bailey teaches Spanish language, culture and literature. His research interests include medieval Spanish literature and culture, and more specifically, medieval epic narrative.
Jeff Barnett
S. Blount Mason Jr. Professor of Spanish
- P: 540-458-8950
- E: barnettj@wlu.edu
Barnett teaches courses in Spanish language, translation, and Spanish-American literature and culture. His research deals with modern Latin American narrative and cultural studies as well as literary translation.
Mónica Botta
Professor of Spanish
- P: 540-458-8297
- E: bottam@wlu.edu
Botta teaches courses in Latin American Theater, literature and culture. She has researched Latin American culture with an emphasis on post-dictatorship periods.
Patricia Hardin
Adjunct Instructor of Italian; Visiting Instructor of German
- P: 540-458-4730
- E: hardinp@wlu.edu
Ellen Mayock
Ernest Williams II Professor of Spanish
- P: 540-458-8816
- E: mayocke@wlu.edu
At Washington and Lee, Mayock has taught courses in Spanish, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her research focuses on gender and its intersections in literature and film, feminist theories and practice, and representations of conflict and violence. Mayock also writes poetry and creative nonfiction.
Stephen P. McCormick
Medieval and Renaissance Studies; Associate Professor of French and Italian
McCormick heads W&L's Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program and teaches courses on French language and culture. He also supervises the French study abroad program. He has researched old French epic and medieval/early modern Italian cartography.
Seth Michelson
Associate Professor of Spanish; Program Head, Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Michelson teaches the poetry of the hemispheric Americas, as well as a diversity of courses on the literatures, cultures and languages of the region. His research focuses on poetry and state violence, and he is the author of numerous book chapters, articles and essays on the subject, among others.
Jayne Reino
Visiting Assistant Professor of Spanish
- P: 540-458-8716
- E: jreino@wlu.edu
Reino teaches Spanish language courses and is a faculty liaison for Community-Based Learning. Her research in contemporary Latin American literatures and cultures explores portrayals of gender and identity in historically marginalized figures in the U.S./Mexican border region.
Antonio Reyes
Associate Professor of Spanish
- P: 540-458-8081
- E: reyesa@wlu.edu
Reyes teaches courses on Political Discourse and Language Ideology, as well as a spring course in his native Cádiz, Spain. He has published a monograph: Voice in Political Discourse.
