Academic Programs
Modern Languages
Studying modern languages at Denison
A world of modern languages
LEARNING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE provides an exercise in cultural and linguistic concepts that open up new vistas on what it can mean to be human. Foreign language courses allow entry into the subjectivity of the target language on its own cultural and linguistic grounds, allowing for a more profound redefinition of culture.
Our basic courses offer the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary for the eventual mastery of a foreign language. Students can then use the target language in subsequent courses dealing with the foreign culture. For the most part, courses are conducted in the foreign language, as students can best appreciate a foreign culture from within its own mode of expression.
A student wishing to spend a summer, a semester, or a year abroad with programs approved by Denison should consult members of the department and the Office of Off-Campus Studies.
Each semester the department offers students opportunities for cultural enrichment in foreign languages. Thanks to the Patty Foresman Fund, generously endowed by the John B. Hutchins family, the Department of Modern Languages can provide its students with exceptional experiences usually available only through study-abroad programs. These opportunities include off-campus trips to target-culture plays, movies, and performances, as well as campus visits by native scholars and performers.
Additional opportunities for students to improve their command of the language are provided on the campus by the Multimedia Language Learning Center, language tables and language clubs.
The department sponsors a magazine for the language arts, Collage. Students are encouraged to contribute poetry, prose and artwork.
The modern languages major and minor
Denison's Multimedia Language Learning Center features state-of-the-art audio and video equipment for teaching and learning language and cultural
The modern languages department offers majors and minors in French, German and Spanish. It also offers courses in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese for the purpose of general education and support of other college programs.
Students majoring in French, German or Spanish must take a minimum of nine courses beyond the entry level course. Students are encouraged to fulfill some of their upper level course requirements abroad.
Senior German majors are required to complete a senior project in the context of a 300 level course.
Senior Spanish majors can petition to do a full-year senior research project.
Students minoring in French must take six courses beyond FR 211.
A student minoring in German must take at least three advanced language courses above the 211 level, one literature course and one course in area studies.
A student minoring in Spanish must take at least five courses above the 213 level, including three required courses at the 200 level and two electives at the 300 or 400 level.
With a view toward career opportunities, the department encourages integrating foreign language study with a variety of other academic areas, which present multiple perspectives on other cultures and areas of intellectual experience.
What do modern languages majors do after Denison?
A major in a language provides students with a range of skills that serve them well in many career fields. Language majors have continued on to law and business schools. Some students continue on to do graduate work in their language or related fields.
Other students have moved directly into the job market, seeking careers in fields such as advertising, investment banking, publishing and sales.
Who are our professors?
Professor J. Eduardo Jaramillo-Zuluaga, Chair of the department, joined the faculty at Denison in 1990 and teaches Spanish. He earned his B.A. at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia) and his M.A. and Ph.D. at Washington University. His research interests include Colombian and Spanish American literature and José Asuncion Silva.
Associate Professor Christine Armstrong joined the faculty at Denison in 1992 and teaches French. She earned her D.E.U.G. and Licence from the Université de Franche-Comté, her M.A. from Miami University and her Ph.D. from Cornell University. Her research interests include 20th century French literature and medieval French literature. Armstrong also directs the Denison French Summer Program in Besançon.
Associate Professor Mónica Ayala-Martínez joined the faculty at Denison in 1997 and teaches Portuguese and Spanish. She earned her B.A. from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, her B.A. from Universidad de Antioquia, her M.A. from West Virginia University and her Ph.D. from the University of Miami. Her research interests include Hispanic (particularly Brazilian) literature, culture and history.
Professor Gary Baker joined the faculty at Denison in 1989 and teaches German. He earned his B.A. from Juniata College, his M.A. from Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. His research interests include Germany, Netherlandic topics and Henriette Roland Holst-van der Schalk.
Professor Judy Cochran joined the faculty at Denison in 1984 and teaches French. She earned her B.A. from Smith College and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University. Her research interests include contemporary French poetry, literary translation and Andrée Chedid.
Associate Professor Gabriele Dillmann joined the faculty at Denison in 2000 and teaches German. She earned a B.A. at Ruprecht-Karls-Universitat Heidelberg, Germany and a B.A. at California State University, Sacramento and her M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests include the holocaust in German literature and 20th century German culture and civilization.
Associate Professor Susan Paun de Garcia joined the faculty at Denison in 1987 and teaches Spanish. She earned her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. Her research interests include 17th century Spanish prose and theater and early 18th-century Spanish theater and zarzuela.
Assistant Professor Dosinda García-Alvite joined the faculty at Denison in 2003 and teaches Spanish. She earned her B.A. at Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, her M.A. at Eastern Michigan University and her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include 20th century peninsular Spanish literature, literature and cultures of Equatorial Guinea, film, culture and women's studies.
Visiting Instructor Melyssa Haffaf joined the department in 2007 and assists the French program with courses and activities.
Visiting Assistant Professor Margarita R. Jacome joined the faculty at Denison in 2005 and teaches Spanish. She earned a Licenciada en Filologia e Idiomas at Universidad Nacional de Colombia, a magistra at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and a Ph.D at the University of Iowa.
Visiting Instructor/Assistant Professor Minggang Li joined the faculty at Denison in 2007 and teaches Japanese. He earned a B.A. and M.A. at Peking University, a M.A. at Ohio State University and is a doctoral candidate at OSU. His research interests include modern Japanese literature and journalism and comparative studies of the modern literature of Japan and China.
Associate Professor Xinda Lian joined the faculty at Denison in 1994 and teaches Chinese. He earned his M.A. at Fujian Teachers University and his M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. His research interests include Chinese literature.
Instructor Lihua Liu joined the faculty at Denison in 2007 and teaches Chinese. She earned a B.A. and M.A. at Nankai University, China, and taught English writing at Beijing Normal University. Her research interests include feminist literary theory and course design in TEFL.
Professor Bernardita Llanos joined the faculty at Denison in 1991 and teaches Spanish. She earned her B.A. at Universidad Catolica de Chile, her M.A. at University of California at Davis and her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include Latin American literatures and cultures and women's studies.
Visiting Instructor/Assistant Professor Leslie Marsh joined the faculty at Denison in 2007 and teaches Spanish. She earned a B.A. at the University of Illinois (Urbana/Champaign) and a M.A. at the University of Michigan where she is a Ph.D. candidate.
Visiting Instructor/Assistant Professor Olivier Marteau joined the Denison faculty in 2007 and teaches French. He earned a Licence d'Histoire at the University d'Orleans, a master's degree in contemporary history and a master's in political science at the University of Paris, and his Ph.D. in Francophone Studies at the University of Louisiana. His reseach interests include the place of North American French communities in Francophone studies.
Assistant Professor Joanna Mitchell joined the faculty at Denison in 2005 and teaches Spanish. She earned a B.A. at the State University of New York, Albany and an M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Rochester.
Professor Charles O'Keefe, joined the faculty at Denison in 1975 and teaches French. He earned his B.A. from St. Peter's College and his Ph.D. from Duke University. His research specialties are French literature and André Gide, and his publications include work on Stendhal, Léopold Senghor, André Gide, and Patrick Modiano. He has also directed a number of junior-year programs in France.
Visiting Instructor Sadika Ramahi joined the faculty at Denison in 2005 and teaches Arabic. She earned a B.S. and M.A. at Indiana University, Bloomington, where she is an ABD Ph.D. candidate.
Visiting Assistant Professor Leo Riegert joined the faculty at Denison in 2006 and teaches German. He earned a B.A. at Saint Johns University, an M.A. and Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota.
Instructor Mariko Tanemura joined the faculty at Denison in 2007 and teaches Japanese.
Associate Professor Michael S. Tangeman joined the faculty at Denison in 2001 and teaches Japanese. He earned his B.A. at Denison University and his M.A. and Ph.D at Ohio State University. His research interests include Japanese literature.
For more information about the department and curriculum, go to:
or contact:
J. Eduardo Jaramillo-Zuluaga, Chair
Department of Modern Languages
Fellows Hall, Room 314
Denison University
Granville, Ohio 43023
Phone: (740) 587-6731
Fax: (740) 587-6772
E-mail: jaramillo@denison.edu