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Program Requirements

Requirements for the minor

The minor in World Cultures and Literatures (WCL) requires a minimum of 18 semester hours:

  • 3 hours in World Cultures through Literature and the Arts, WCL 2351
  • 3 hours in a 4000-level capstone course, Frames of Modernity I or II WCL 4351 or 4352
  • 3 hours in a MCL course at the level of 2302 or above in the student's chosen language area and/or a class on race, gender, women's or non-Western studies.
  • 9 hours chosen according to the student’s declared program emphasis and the approval of the WCL Director. Up to six (6) hours in a major or other minor may apply to WCL minor.
  • At least 12 of the 18 hours must be in residence including six hours at the 3000- or 4000-level. As many as three approved courses may be taken outside WCL itself.
  • A minimum 2.0 grade point average for all courses in the minor is required.

Frames of Modernity (Capstone course)

WCL 4351 Frames of Modernity I considers major theoretical trends in Western Culture from the French Revolution to World War II: Marxism and Liberalism, Psychoanalysis, Feminine Subjectivity, Anthropology and Colonization, Totalitarianism and the Holocaust. Non-Western cultural areas are also addressed through presentations by specialists.

WCL 4352 Frames of Modernity II considers major theoretical trends in contemporary World Cultures from the end of WWII to the present time: Existentialism, Structuralism, Postmodernism, Deconstruction, Feminism, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Globalization Studies, and Cultural Perspectives from Non-Western Areas.

Sample WCL curriculum configurations

  • Arabic or Middle East Studies
  • Business and World Cultures
  • European Studies
  • French and Francophone Studies
  • Gender and Cultural/literary Studies
  • Gulf of Mexico Studies
  • Jewish Cultural Studies
  • Mediterranean Studies
  • Non-Western Studies (Asian, Arabic, etc.)
  • Performance (music, film, theatre) Studies
  • Post-Colonial Studies
  • Race and Cultural/literary Studies
  • Russian and Eastern European Studies
  • Visual Arts and Literary Studies

Sample Choices of Electives

  1. MCL courses in student’s language of choice (see catalogue or MCL web site)
  2. MCL courses in English Trans.:
    • Arabic (See English 2325 & 3365)
    • Chinese 3352: Chinese Cult. & Society Through Modern Lit.
    • Classical Studies 3306: Greek & Roman Myths
    • Classical Studies 3307: Greek & Roman Hero Myths
    • Classical Studies 4380: Greek Classics
    • Classical Studies 4381: Latin Classics
    • French 3364: Writing Holocausts
    • German 3360 & 3361: Masterpieces of German Lit. in English Translation I & II
    • German 3350: Understanding the 20th Century through German Culture
    • German 3362: Paris-Berlin 3363: Themes in German Drama
    • German 3364: Writing Holocausts
    • Italian 3306: Italian Cinema
    • Italian 3336: Survey of Italian Literature in Translation
    • Italian 3346: Theater in Italy
    • Italian 3396: Topics in Italian Literature in Translation
    • Russian 2303 & 2304: A Survey of Russian Lit. I & II
    • Spanish 4381: Latin Am. & Latino Cultural Studies
    • WCL 2352: World Cinema
    • WCL 3351: Introduction to Latino Cultural Studies
    • WCL 3352: Latin American and Latino Film Studies
    • WCL 3362: U.S. Caribbean and Central American Latino Literatures
    • WCL 3392: Introduction to Latin American Cultural Studies
    • WCL 4322: Seminar in Scholarly Production
    • WCL 4351: Frames of Modernity I
    • WCL 4352: Frames of Modernity II - Postmodernity and Globalization
    • WCL 4362: Seminar in Latin American and Latino Literatures
    • WCL 4381: Seminar in Latin American and Latino Cultural Studies
    • WCL 4398: Special Problems
  3. Choices outside MCL (sample options)
    • African American Studies 2322: Intro. to African Religions
    • African American Studies 3332: Anthology of African Culture
    • Art 1380 &1381 Art History I&II.
    • Art 4310: Human Body in Non-Western Art
    • Art 4375: Theories of Creativity
    • Anthropology 2304: Intro. to Language & Culture
    • Anthropology 2305: World Archaeology
    • Anthropology 3306: Sex & Culture
    • Anthropology 3349: Anthro. & 3 World Religions
    • Anthropology 3372: Gender & Media
    • Anthropology 4370: Social Aspects of Film
    • Anthropology 4379: Television & Culture
    • Anthropology 4372: Media, Power, & Society
    • Communication 2370: Film Appreciation
    • Economics 3301: Economics & the Social Order
    • Economics 3344: History of Economic Doctrines
    • Economics 3351: Economics of Development
    • Economics 3372: International Economic Policy & Institutions
    • English 2301 & 2302: Western World Lit.
    • English 2316: Lit. & Culture
    • English 2325: Literary Traditions of Nonwestern World
    • English 2360: Western World Lit. (Honors)
    • English 3300: Ancient & Classical Lit.
    • English 3301: Introduction to Literary Studies
    • English 3322: Contemporary Novel
    • English 3323: Lit. Crit. & Theory Development
    • English 3324: Development of the Novel
    • English 3326: Development of Dramatic Lit.
    • English 3345: Nobel Prize Winners in Lit.
    • English 3361: Mexican American Lit.
    • English 3365: Postcolonial Literature
    • English 4330: European Renaissance
    • English 4370: Myth, Ballad, and Folktale
    • English 4371: Lit. & Medicine
    • English 4396: Selected Topics in Lit. Criticism
    • History 2351 & 2353: Western Civ. to & from 1450
    • History 3379 & 3380: World Civilizations to & since 1500
    • History 3383: World Revolutions
    • History 3387: Freud & Psychoanalysis
    • Music 3363 & 3364: History of Music I & II
    • Philosophy 3371: Depiction, Narration & Critical Theory
    • Political Science 3340 & 3341: Ancient to Modern Political Thought
    • Religious Studies 2301 & 2302: The Bible & Western Culture, I & II
    • Sociology 3385: Sociology of World Religions.
    • Sociology 3328: Race & Ethnicity in World Perspective
    • Theatre 2342: Dramatic Structures & Genres
    • Theatre 3335 & 3336: History of the Theatre
    • Women’s Studies 2350: Intro. to Women’s Studies
    • Honors College: The Human Situation Antiquity & Modernity
    • Many other courses from different programs