Departmental Newsletter for Modern Languages & Literatures at the College of William & Mary
During the American Revolution, five students at the College of William & Mary founded Phi Beta Kappa. They believed that a new nation required new institutions – cultural as well as political – and they were committed to intellectual fellowship shaped by the values of personal freedom, scientific inquiry, liberty of conscience, and creative endeavor…. Read More
Hey William and Mary Modern Languages and Literatures Department! It’s Jordan and Megan, the former dynamic TA duo telling you all the exciting and surprising things we have found living in Austria’s capital. We were both very lucky and excited to have our applications to the Austrian-American Educational Commission Fulbright program accepted. Having acclimated ourselves… Read More
Kier learned about the essay contest in Foreign Policy from Professor Prokhorov in the Russian/Post-Soviet Studies Department, who emailed Russian students and encouraged them to apply. She decided to submit an essay, “The United States and Russia Must Work Together on Nuclear,” because she wanted to share her thoughts on nuclear cooperation and nuclear issues… Read More
Last month, our Italian Studies Program participated in a series of events in Washington D.C. hosted by the W&M Alumni Association. On November 7, Professor Monica Seger gave a talk at the W&M Washington Center and shared her latest research which is based in Italy’s Puglia region. Professor Seger studies the rich wave of novels and films that have emerged… Read More
The Italian House and International Fellow Chiara di Maio were featured in the 3rd episode of “Plant-based Eating for a College Lifestyle”, a video series by W&M Sustainability Interns. One of our Italian Major, Zoe Nelson, who is also an Intern at W&M Dining, participated in the video. Chiara, Zoe, and our students prepared a dish called “Pasta… Read More
On October 4th 2019, two of our students/artists, Alyssa Glauser and Laura Brancati, added a new masterpiece to the walls of the Italian House. It reproduces the world-famous Creazione di Adamo (The Creation of Adam), a fresco painted by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling that can be admired in the Vatican Museums. The resemblance to the original is… Read More
In fall 2019, Dr. Paul Vierthaler joined MLL’s Chinese Studies program, and we asked him some questions about being a professor of Chinese Studies: How did you become interested in Chinese? When I was deciding what I wanted to study in college, I really wanted to learn a language that had a lot of utility… Read More
During the summer of 2019, Grace Bruce spent two months living and working in Munich. While in Germany, Grace had the chance to complete a B2-level language intensive course at the Goethe Institut, ultimately earning her B2 certificate. Grace also worked as a Marketing and Communications intern at Autonomous Intelligent Driving GmbH. Here, she learned… Read More
When I declared a double major in Neuroscience and German Studies, I never imagined that they would be a combination that would actually go together! I considered them to be two separate academic interests of mine, and every class I took in college was directed towards either one or the other. That is, until my… Read More
Imagine the opportunity to try okonomiyaki, tempura, miso dip, plum wine, red bean paste rolls, natto, and other delicious familiar and unfamiliar Japanese cuisine. I enjoyed a summer doing that and more in Tokyo and Tatebayashi. Thanks to William & Mary’s Freeman Intern Fellowship program, I spent two months as an intern with Toyo Suisan,… Read More
As the scene outside the window of the Shinkansen train gradually changed to a delightful rural view, I knew I had arrived in Kyoto. The beautiful city full of historical architecture greatly resembles Makoto Shinkai’s movie. New experiences at Ritsumeikan University were ahead of me. Its small Kinugasa campus is home to a diverse study… Read More
The four months I spent studying in Japan were memorable and valuable. I enrolled in business and Japanese language classes at Ritsumeikan University’s Osaka campus. Significantly different from the classes at William & Mary, business classes at Ritsumeikan University focused on the comparison of distinct company culture in different countries. In-class discussions and teamwork with… Read More
This summer I traveled to Russia for six weeks on one of the W&M Summer Study Abroad programs. There were ten students and Professor Corney in our group, and we stayed in St. Petersburg for five weeks and Moscow for one week. While in St. Petersburg, we took Russian language courses at Herzen State Pedagogical… Read More
This past summer I studied abroad at Herzen State University in St. Petersburg with William and Mary. Our group studied in St. Petersburg for five weeks and traveled to Moscow for a week. At Herzen State we studied Russian language and history. Our history class, taught by Prof. Frederick Corney, focused on historical sites of… Read More
The Russian House (Pleasants Hall) hosted the RPSS Homecoming reception for alumni of the program. Former and current students, friends, majors and minors gathered to catch up and enjoy delicious Russian food. It was great to learn about all the exciting things you are doing and about your future plans. Stay in touch and visit… Read More
Our International Fellows in the Language Houses just received a glowing endorsement from the Flat Hat! One of the aspects stressed in the article is the community that the IFs create in the Language Houses, community that students often miss after they move on from their freshman dorms. Check out the article and apply to… Read More
For the first time in the history of W&M’s Language Houses, residents and International Fellows marched as a group in the Homecoming Parade! Wearing branded T-shirts and carrying banners, flags, and sugary treats, over fifty students walked from Boundary Street to Kaplan Arena, greeting the onlookers in the various languages they study. MLL faculty assembled… Read More
On September 19, 2019, Professor David Brandenberger from University of Richmond gave a talk entitled “Stalin’s Master Narrative” in which he discussed his book Stalin’s Master Narrative: A Critical Edition of the Short Course on the History of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks), co-edited with Mikhail Zelenov (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019). Dr. Brandenberger talked… Read More
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, Hispanic Studies has a new media intern! Meet Hayes Pearce, who maintains our Instagram account, interacts with clubs and organizations on campus, and promotes events sponsored by Modern Languages and Literatures and other departments by keeping the HISP community up to date and sharing our news and accomplishments! Check out… Read More
This year’s J Worth Banner Award has awarded to Carrington Metts and Kiera McKay. Professor Banner was a well-liked Spanish professor at W&M and a respected Chair of Modern Languages & Literatures for many years. In the past, this generous award has helped support the recipient’s pre-honors research, international travel, or participation in study abroad programs…. Read More
Prof. Brett Brehm sat down with Nathan Rabalais to talk about his new book of original poetry in French, Le Hantage: un ouvrage de souvenance, just published by Éditions Tintamarre. BB: I’m intrigued by the play of text and image in this book. Could you tell us how you conceived of that interplay? NR: I… Read More