College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Iowa State University

New name, new direction

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures may soon have a new name.

March won't come soon enough for Dawn Bratsch-Prince.

And it's not just the beginning of spring that has the chair of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures excited.

In March, the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, is tentatively scheduled to vote on the approval of a new name for the academic department that Bratsch-Prince chairs.

"I can't wait to be able to say World Languages and Cultures," said Bratsch-Prince. "We're eager to order new stationery and business cards. We want the name change to be approved."

So much so that when workmen came to put up signs earlier this semester in the department's recently renovated space in Pearson Hall, they were told to wait until after the Regents act.

The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures formally began the process of changing the department's name back in July 2004, although the groundwork was laid as far back as 2001.

Since that point the proposal has been approved by various groups on campus including the Faculty Senate. Before the Board of Regents can approve the change, the Council of Provosts, a statewide group, must also sign off.

Until that point Bratsch-Prince is counting down the days until the change is official.

"World Languages and Cultures more accurately describes how this department has broadened the scope of what we do," she said. "Literature, narrowly defined, and languages aren't the only things we teach in this department. By looking at the old name, however, that is the impression one gets."

Faculty in the proposed Department of World Languages and Cultures use film, culture and literary and non-literary texts to teach a variety of courses including offerings in civilization, history and women's studies.

"The name just better reflects what we actually do," Bratsch-Prince said, "and it gives us room to reorient ourselves and continue to build on our strengths. The new name will allow us to attract a broader student audience. Once they see what the department has to offer, we are hoping they will enroll in our courses and declare a primary or secondary major in World Languages and Cultures.

"The new name should allow us to attract different kinds of faculty – individuals who have a more interdisciplinary focus and expertise."

The department's current faculty searches have already demonstrated that – attracting candidates that Bratsch-Prince describes as being "flexible" when it comes to their research efforts and classroom instruction.

In the past, other academic departments on campus have been slow to approach faculty in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures with collaborative projects because of the department's previous perceived narrow focus.

Bratsch-Prince hopes the name change will enable additional interdisciplinary faculty research and classroom efforts that focus on the world's languages and cultures.
One of the first such efforts has been F LNG/ME 484/584x, "Globalization, Technology and Culture," co-listed and team-taught by Mark Rectanus, professor of German, and Jim Bernard, Distinguished Professor of mechanical engineering. The course has attracted over 100 students this spring ,the majority of them in engineering, and many of these are off-campus participants.

Another collaboration will be a 100 level course that the department and the linguistics program are collaborating on called "Introduction to World Languages" (F LNG/Ling 199x), planned for fall 2005.

"World Languages and Cultures is a better home for courses like these," Bratsch-Prince said. "You wouldn't find these types of courses in a more traditional Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. It brings these two disciplines to a meeting point."

Bratsch-Prince says the department aims to increase collaboration with logical partners such as English, TESL, anthropology, history and political science, while welcoming research and teaching projects with new disciplinary partners such as management, HRIM, and biological and chemical engineering.

"The new department name brings these two disciplines (languages and cultures) to a broader public," she said.