Department of Romance Studies
Introduction
The Department of Romance Studies is a diverse, multicultural, and plurilingual academic unit that engages in interdisciplinary research and instruction in French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, as well as Indigenous and other languages of Europe and the Americas such as Romanian, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Yucatec Maya, and Guaraní. The principal aims of the department are to preserve, increase, and transmit knowledge and understanding of the Romance languages, literatures, and cultures within the global and regional contexts in which they have developed.
Our course offerings present a diversity of approaches — historical, literary, linguistic, sociopolitical, cultural, and theoretical — to the study of literary and nonliterary works and of the cultures of places where Romance languages are spoken. Students acquire competence in the practice and analysis of Romance languages together with a critical knowledge of the written, oral, and visual traditions of their origin and diaspora. Our faculty promotes interdisciplinary connections and incorporates the study of literature, culture, linguistics, theory, and history across the curriculum. Through coursework that emphasizes rhetoric, language analysis, and written and oral expression, our majors receive sustained personalized training in critical thinking and close reading.
Advising
The Department of Romance Studies offers a major with five concentrations and six minors. All students can find their primary academic advisor in Dey Hall. Students are strongly encouraged to meet regularly with their advisor and review their Tar Heel Tracker each semester. Each of the department’s language advisors will meet with current and prospective majors by appointment. Departmental academic advising is particularly important for those majors who are considering going on to graduate school. Further information on courses, undergraduate research opportunities, the honors program, careers, and graduate schools may be obtained from the department’s website.
Graduate School and Career Opportunities
A major or minor in Romance studies provides excellent preparation for a variety of careers. Recent graduates have gone on to work in international business, law, publishing, education, journalism, and public policy, among other fields. A bachelor of arts in Romance studies qualifies graduates for employment in private-sector firms, foundations, educational institutions, and government agencies. A second major or minor in Romance studies can be an asset for students seeking careers in any field requiring foreign language proficiency and intercultural communication skills, including the health professions and the sciences. The department offers several courses dedicated to the practical application of Romance languages for specific careers (business, law, health professions, translation) alongside courses that contribute to a well-rounded liberal arts education.
Romance studies majors often pursue post-graduate education. M.A. and Ph.D. programs in Romance studies are oriented towards literary, linguistic, and cultural studies, and the undergraduate student should prepare accordingly. Useful allied disciplines are English, comparative literature, history, classics, philosophy, linguistics, and art history. Faculty members can advise students on choices of graduate schools.
Majors
- Romance Languages Major, B.A.–French and Francophone Studies
- Romance Languages Major, B.A.–Italian
- Romance Languages Major, B.A.–Portuguese
- Romance Languages Major, B.A.–Hispanic Studies
- Romance Languages Major, B.A.–Hispanic Linguistics
Minors
- French Minor
- Italian Minor
- Portuguese Minor
- Hispanic Studies Minor
- Spanish Minor for the Professions
- Translation and Interpreting Minor
Graduate Programs
Courses
Professors
Lucia Binotti, Verónica Garibotto, Bruno Estigarribia, Oswaldo Estrada, Juan Carlos González-Espitia, Serenella Iovino, Hassan Melehy, Ellen Welch.
Associate Professors
Rafael Acosta Morales, Maggie Fritz-Morkin, Irene Gómez-Castellano, Lamar Graham, Carmen Hsu, Jessica Tanner.
Assistant Professors
Danila Cannamela, Adam Cohn, Sean Matharoo, Erika Serrato.
Teaching Professors
Elizabeth Bruno, Cristina Carrasco, Amy Chambless, Hélène M. de Fays, Dorothea Heitsch, Hosun Kim, Anastacia Kohl, Malgorzata Lee, Josefa Lindquist, Abel Muñoz-Hermoso, Valérie Pruvost, Martha Ruiz-García, Richard Vernon.
Teaching Associate Professors
Martha Alexander, S. Paola Cadena-Pardo, Laura Demsey, Michelle Gravatt, Pedro Huesa, Heather Knorr, Alicia Shade, Kristine Taylor.
Teaching Assistant Professors
Lorna Avilés, Chloe Hill, Nilzimar Hauskrecht, Kyung Huer, Sharrah Lane, Beatriz Lomas-Lozano, Pedro Lopes de Almeida, Giovani Lopez Lopez, Raquel Maqueda Jimenez, Paulo Rodrigues Ferreira, Benjamin Romero Salado, Cecile Paule Ruel, Loida Slate, Elizabeth Tolman, Melissa Venegas.
Professors Emeriti
Grace Aaron, Robert Anderson, Martine Antle, Cesáreo Bandera, Dino Cervigni, Angel L. Cilveti, Glynis Cowell, Frank A. Domínguez, Dominique D. Fisher, Yves de la Quérière, I.R. Stirling Haig, Antonio Illiano, Hannelore Jarausch, Larry King, Federico Luisetti, Julia Mack, William C. Maisch, James S. Noblitt, Rosa Perelmuter, Ennio Rao, Monica P. Rector, Alicia Rivero, Maria A. Salgado, Carol L. Sherman.
