FOREIGN Languages
at Harvard
(excerpted from the Languages at Harvard brochure)
At Harvard, you can study Catalan, French, Italian, Portuguese or Spanish, as a
total beginner or at whatever level you reached in high school. Through our
many courses in language, literature, and culture, you can study the Romance
world of the past or look into what is going on today in France, Spain, Latin
America, Italy, Portugal and Brazil, as well as in other countries and regions
where Romance languages are spoken. You will learn about these places and
peoples by reading their literature, watching their films, studying their cultural
history, reading the press, or watching television news programs transmitted
by satellite or via the web. Many of our courses use feature films, and a
number include computer‐based materials.
As you can see from the variety of offerings listed in the Courses of Instruction,
we recognize that Harvard students are a diverse group, and have many
different reasons for studying the language or literature of a given culture. In
our department, whose languages are spoken on five continents, as well as in
the South Pacific, you can read many of the classic authors who have defined
Western thought and civilization as we know it, as well as those who are
voicing the ideas and experience of emerging nations.
CATALAN
Joan Miró’s whimsical sculptures and paintings, Antoni Gaudí's supple
buildings, Salvador Dalí's irreverent creations, Pau Casal´s lilting music, Mercè
Rodoreda´s subtle and sensitive prose: these are only some of the modern
manifestations of Catalan culture, whose rich and vibrant history includes some
of the world’s most famous epic and lyric poetry and some of its most
sophisticated and ancient political formations. A language of approximately
nine million people in parts of Spain, France, and Italy, as well as Andorra,
Catalan is an important European language that does not, however, enjoy the
support and visibility of a sovereign nation‐state apparatus. Barcelona, the
capital of Catalonia, is one of the world’s most visited cities, with extraordinary
cultural and natural offerings. Valencia and the Balearic Islands (most notably,
Mallorca), each with its own particular forms and traditions, attest to the diversity of the language. At present, the department offers beginning courses
in Catalan, with the possibility of independent study and directed reading and
research at the intermediate and advanced levels.
FRENCH
Regardless of your special interests or the concentration you choose, during
your years at Harvard you will feel the influence of France. Historically, France
and its culture have played a major role in areas as diverse as philosophy,
sociology, political science, cuisine, dance, art and cinema, as well as literature
and literary theory. Today, French studies encompass the literature and culture
of the entire French‐ speaking world both inside and outside of France,
including many countries in Africa and the Caribbean, Belgium and Switzerland
in Europe, and our northern neighbor, the Canadian province of Quebec. Some
students are attracted to French by the beauty of the language; others are
fascinated by the desire to study or live in France or in a francophone country
and realize that to do so, they need to know the language. Along with
language, courses in French in the Department of Romance Languages and
Literatures allow students to study intellectual currents or literature, including
the canon (the classics of French literature), contemporary philosophy and
criticism, feminist writings, contemporary civilization, and francophone novels,
poetry and cinema.
ITALIAN
Although you may not know it, you already speak Italian. Opera, piano, tempo,
pasta, pizza, maestro and soprano are just a few examples of words that you
use without realizing their Italian connection. But Italian is more than food and
music. For you at Harvard, studying Italian will be like going beyond a few
coastal resorts that you may know to explore a new and rich continent. There
you will find that Italian is indeed the language of good things in life, but also
the vehicle of a glorious tradition of masterpieces and landmarks of our
civilization from Dante and Machiavelli to Pirandello and Fellini.
PORTUGUESE
Have you ever heard of Fernando Pessoa, the poet who sang with three voices?
Have you ever seen images of Rio's colorful Carnaval? Heard the sultry
cadences of that most famous of bossa novas, "The Girl from Ipanema?"
Moved to the rhythm of a samba? Do you remember the voyages of Vasco da
Gama and Ferdinand Magellan? How about Brazil's thrilling World Cup victory?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are already familiar with
Luso‐Brazilian culture. But there is so much more. By studying Portuguese at
Harvard, you will learn all about a culture known worldwide for its warmth,
music, and poetry. You will find that Portuguese, spoken by almost 200 million
people, is a language of both great lyricism and great humor. And you may just
learn how to dance and write poems yourself!
SPANISH
Spoken by more than 300 million people in the Iberian Peninsula, the Americas,
North Africa and the Philippines, the Spanish language can claim a present and
future as significant as its past. With Spanish now in wide use in the U.S., many
people study Hispanic language, literatures and cultures for practical and
professional reasons. Spanish courses at Harvard draw on a history rich in
adventures and encounters: from the time of Spain's multicultural past,
through the Christian Reconquest and global expansion, struggles for
independence and democracy in Spain and in the Americas, to the growth of
vibrant Spanish‐speaking communities in North America. Courses in both
Spanish and Latin American literature explore such areas as the relation
between history and fiction, popular culture and film, poetic and narrative
traditions and experimentation, the construction of national and social
identities through literature, and women's writing.
The Office of International Programs (OIP), the Harvard Summer School and the
David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) offer several
opportunities for study and work in Spanish‐speaking countries. In addition to
its office in Cambridge, the David Rockefeller Center has overseas offices in
Santiago, Chile and São Paulo, Brazil, and soon plans to open an office in
Mexico City. These offices help organize comprehensive academic and
extracurricular/work experiences for Harvard students in many different Latin
American countries. For specific information regarding programs and
opportunities available to students, visit the David Rockefeller Center web site,
the Office of International Programs
web site and the Harvard Summer School.
For further information
For information about the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures
and about language study, literature courses, or concentration in French,
Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, you can consult the department's website at
http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~rll or call (617) 495‐2524. You are also welcome
to visit us and to speak with our Undergraduate Advisers in Boylston Hall.
2009-2010 Brochure of Languages at Harvard.
Last updated on August 24, 2009
