http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/flac/

Director, 2007-08: Irina Walter (Russian), Russian language

Faculty, 2007-08: Jolene Barjasteh (French), French language and literature; Gwendolyn Barnes-Karol (Romance Languages), Spanish language and literature; Maggie Broner (Spanish), Romance Languages, Spanish language and literature; Christopher Chiappari (Spanish), Sociology/Anthropology, Latin America; J. Patrick Dale (Russian), Political Science, comparative politics, Russian, Eurasian and European politics; Jeane Delaney (Spanish), History, Latin American history and nationalism, Argentina and Brazil, modern Cuba; Robert Entenmann (Chinese), History, Chinese history; Timothy Howe (Latin), History, ancient Greece and Rome; Anna Kuxhausen (Russian), History, Russian and European history; Kent McWilliams (German), Music, piano; Todd Nichol (Norwegian), History, immigration and Scandinavian history; Dolores Peters (French), History, French history; Anne Sabo (Norwegian) Norwegian literature and language; Gary Stansell (German), Religion, Old Testament and Hebrew Bible; Ariel Strichartz (Spanish), Romance Languages, Hispanic language and culture; Gregory A. Walter (German), Religion, Christian systematic theology; Solveig Zempel (Norwegian), Norwegian, Norwegian literature and language

In keeping with the college’s commitment to integrative study and global perspective, the program in Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum (FLAC) offers students opportunities to combine their knowledge of a foreign language with their study of other fields in the liberal arts. By definition, FLAC courses combine at least two fields of knowledge: a language other than English and a discipline such as history, religion, or political science.

FLAC courses are specially designated courses that offer an optional 0.25-credit foreign-language component. Each component meets an additional hour each week. In most components, students read and discuss supplementary texts in the designated foreign language. In some components, students read texts in the foreign language and discuss them primarily in English. In others, the “texts” are actually oral/aural sources (e.g., newscasts, dramatizations, films) in a foreign language, discussed in that language. FLAC courses are particularly appropriate for students who are preparing for, or returning from, study abroad, who appreciate literature and the power of language, who enjoy analyzing original texts, or who are considering graduate study that requires the use of foreign language in reading and research.

REQUIREMENTS

To be eligible to participate in FLAC courses, students should have proficiency in a foreign language equivalent to at least the fourth semester of college language study. Students who successfully complete the foreign-language component in two FLAC courses will earn Applied Foreign Language Certification on their St. Olaf transcript.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

FLAC courses span the curriculum. Since 1989, foreign-language components have been developed for courses in a variety of disciplines (including history, religion, economics, political science, and chemistry) and in a variety of languages (Chinese, French, German, Norwegian, Russian, and Spanish). Not every FLAC course is available every year, and new courses are developed periodically. Students should consult the roster of FLAC options available each semester in the Class and Lab Schedule.