CLAC Offerings For 2026-2027
Fall 2026
CGST 240: Introduction to Tamazight: The Native Language of North Africa and Beyond (CLAC.50) Prof. Amir Aissa
This course will introduce students to the language (sounds and script) and culture of the Amazigh people, an ethnic group (commonly known as Berbers) native to North Africa and West Africa, specifically Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, northern Mali, and Niger, with some oases in Egypt and the Canary Islands.
The Tamazight language--the alphabet of which is called Tifinagh--has been a written language for almost 3000 years, although it was disrupted throughout history due to various invasions and conquests of the area. The Tuareg people of the Sahara desert in Northern Africa, and as of late Morocco and Algeria, have been using the Tifinagh alphabet (oldest dated inscription from about 200 BC) and the Tamzight language as a secondary national language.
The objectives of this course are: 1. To introduce students to the sounds and script of Tifinagh; 2. To teach students basic conversation and essential elements of the Tamazight language; and 3. To familiarize students with the culture of the different Amazigh peoples.
CGST 241/ASLD 221: Introduction to ASL in the Performing Arts (CLAC.50) Prof. Leslie Warren
This course offers an introduction to artistic ASL interpreting. "Artistic ASL Interpreting" does not apply only to performing groups who present songs in sign language on a stage. Nor is it a term that is exclusively linked with theatrical interpreting in a "platform" setting of plays, musicals, or poetry. Artistic interpreting can be explained as a refined, more creative style of interpreting at the highest levels of the profession. For students, it presents challenges that encourage more attention to eye gaze and contact; shifts in body stance and positioning; size and style of sign production; facial expressions; gestures as communication and sign alternatives in overall concept formations and messaging. These are, in fact, some of the most important components in ASL communication and some of the most challenging aspects to encourage or teach.
CGST 245/RL&L 245: Not Just Neorealism (CLAC.50) Prof. Ellen Nerenberg
This introductory course on Italian cinema, taught in English, investigates major silent and sound films and contextualizes them, their production, and the subjects they treat within a historical, cultural, and political framework. We will trace the intersection among politics, ideology, and Italian cinema, from its Golden Age of silents through fascism and neorealism (as well as its contested legacy), from a consideration of the "exquisite" examples of the auteur directors like Fellini and Sorrentino to the ways these and other directors enter into dialogue with genre cinema (the giallo, spaghetti westerns, melodrama, etc.), and beyond. Featured filmmakers will be drawn from this list: Pastrone, Rossellini, De Sica, Fellini, Bertolucci, Antonioni, Wertmuller, Cavani, Pasolini, the Taviani Brothers, Leone, Sorrentino, Rohrwacher, Nicchiarelli, Crialese, and others. Additional material includes readings in film theory and criticism, Italian history, literary sources, screenplays, and interviews. For interested students with advanced competency in Italian, there will be a .50 credit (CLAC) discussion section, ITAL245/CGST245, at a time to be determined but very likely after our second class of the week.Students seeking credit for an Italian-language course for the ITST Major must take 1.5 credits. ITST students may take only the English-language course for an English-language course acceptable to the major.
CGST 323/CJST 315: Hebrew in the Media: From National Literature to International Films and TV Shows (CLAC .50) Prof. Dalit Katz
This new language course is offered as an enrichment opportunity to students with intermediate or advanced Hebrew skills who are interested in improving all their language skills and/or acquiring additional linguistic and cultural preparation for study abroad in Israel. Cultural activities including participating in the series Contemporary Israeli Voices and Lunch and Learn meetings with native speakers are part of the course. The course explores the changes in Israeli society as it moves from national ideological literature to the exploration of new multi-cultural media such as films and TV shows and thus gaining swift international fame.
CGST 356/COL 356/ARAB 321: Reading Classical Islamic Theology and Philosophy in Arabic (CLAC .50) Prof. Hadel Jarada
Offered alongside Classical Islamic Theology and Philosophy, this Arabic CLAC provides guided close reading of selected primary texts in their original language, including excerpts from al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes. Conducted primarily in Arabic, the course develops facility with classical philosophical vocabulary, argument structure, and transliteration, and is open to students at any level of Arabic study.
Spring 2026
CGST 206: Global Engagement in Practice, Swahili Language and NGO Case Study in Kenya (CLAC 1.0) Anita Deeg-Carlin and John Kiarie Wa'Njogu
This integrative, hands-on course is only open to Global Engagement Minors selected during the fall application process. Building on the theoretical frameworks and practical tools introduced in the gateway course, CGST 205: Introduction to Global Engagement, it weaves together Swahili language learning, regional studies, and an immersive spring break engagement with an educational NGO in Nairobi, Kenya. Situated within the broader regional education landscape, the course invites students to contextualize the NGO's work while also making their experience personally relevant through the design and implementation of a micro-project aligned with their academic interests. Course content introduces key historical, cultural, and contemporary dynamics of East Africa, with particular attention to the NGO's role within this evolving ecosystem. Through structured reflection and post-travel analysis, students critically examine their field experiences, strengthening their intercultural competence and deepening their global perspective. Throughout the semester, students will study beginning Swahili while exploring the broader context of the case study NGO, Kenya Education Fund. Course content will introduce students to key historical, cultural and contemporary dynamics of the East African region, with particular attention to the youth-led movements shaping present-day Nairobi and the NGO's role within that landscape. In preparation for the trip, students will design a personalized micro-project aligned with their academic interests, to be implemented during their time on the ground. Upon return, they will reflect on and analyze their experiences, deepening their intercultural understanding and global perspective.
CGST 226/FREN 233: French and Franophone Gastronomy (CLAC.50) Prof. Emmanuel Paris-Bouvret
This course explores the variety of French and Francophone gastronomy through texts, recipes, and other media such as films and cooking shows. Through these materials, students will reflect on the relationship between food and culture and the shape it takes in French and Francophone cultures. They will develop a deeper knowledge and appreciation for various foods and dishes. The course will include a hands-on component through which students will cook and taste foods from various areas in the Francophone world. The course will culminate in a final public event during which students will introduce and share foods from the Francophone world, which attendees will have the opportunity to taste. In addition to weekly meetings, there will be a few cooking workshops. Grade will be based on class participation, weekly reflection journals, a final presentation, and a final paper. This course is taught entirely in French. Readings, written assignments, and class discussions will be in French. Any student who has completed FREN 215 (with a minimum grade of B) or has placed out of FREN 215 through the placement test may sign up for this course. It is an advanced course intended for students who have not yet studied abroad in a French-speaking country. Students who are not admitted to the course through pre-registration are strongly encouraged to submit an enrollment request and attend the first class. This course will count as one course toward the French studies major and minor, the Romance Studies major, and the COL major. It also fulfills the language requirement for the ARHA major and GEM (Global Engagement Minor).
CGST 238/PSYC 281: Investigaciones Importantes en Psicología (CLAC.50) Prof. Steven Stemler
This course will focus on several key empirical studies that have had an impact on the field of psychology. We will explore the big-picture question each study was examining, what the thinking in the field was then and is now on this big-picture question, how the data were gathered and analyzed, what relevant replication attempts have found, and what the implications of the findings are for the field of psychology. Lectures and conversations will be conducted in Spanish. Readings will generally be in Spanish, but some may be in English. Students should be at the intermediate level or above.
CGST 242/ASLD 222: Introduction to ASL/English Interpretation (CLAC.50) Prof. Leslie Warren
Having completed course work in Beginning ASL I, II, and Intermediate I, II, students who have demonstrated a strong interest in continuing their studies at a more sophisticated and challenging level may find this coursework interesting pursuant to becoming a professional, credentialed sign language interpreter.
This experience will provide students with a working knowledge of the profession of interpreting including the code of professional conduct, certification criteria, the roles and responsibilities of a professional interpreter, and discussions of the role of the interpreter in a variety of professional settings including educational, medical, legal, the performing arts, counseling, and rehabilitation.
Students who attend this course demonstrate that they are able to express in ASL, with some confidence, routine and everyday experiential topics within a conversational format with some elaboration. They demonstrate clear and accurate signing and fingerspelling at a moderate rate of speed.
This coursework uses a process-oriented approach for applying the essential cognitive strategies for interpretation. These strategies include organizing and manipulating visual images, analyzing message for meaning, and self-monitoring for message accuracy. This experience serves as a transition from language learning to beginning interpretation.
CGST 252/CHIN 303: Chinese Calligraphy (CLAC.25) [Chinese] Prof. Mengjun Liu
This 0.25 CLAC course will provide students with a brief understanding of the art of Chinese calligraphy through calligraphy practice. They will learn about the characteristics of Chinese calligraphy from the "Four Treasures of the Study," as the tools of calligraphy (writing brush, ink stick, ink stone, and paper). They will understand the development history of Chinese calligraphy from five basic scripts of Seal (zhuanshu), Clerical (lishu), Standard (kaishu), Semi-cursive (xingshu), and Cursive (caoshu). The course focuses on imitation and practice of the Standard script kaishu. Prerequisite: Current or future Chinese class students are preferred.
CGST 350/RUSS 350/REES 350: Twentieth-Century Russian Poetry (CLAC.50) Prof. Natasha Karageorgos
Taught in Russian, this course is dedicated to the reading of 20th-century Russian poetry in the original (Blok, Mayakovsky, Mandesltam, Akhmatova, Brodsky, Prigov, etc.). The course is appropriate for native speakers, heritage speakers, advanced and intermediate learners (with the minimum of four semesters of Russian).
CGST 357/COL 357: Arabic Accounts of Free Will (CLAC.50) [Chinese] Prof. Hadel Jarada
This CLAC accompanies the course Do We Truly Choose? Free Will in Philosophy and Theology and focuses on reading classical Arabic discussions of human agency and divine predestination. Students will deepen their understanding of key philosophical and theological terms related to causation, responsibility, and choice while strengthening advanced reading skills in Arabic.
CGST 358: Translating German Philosophy (CLAC.50) Prof. Daniel Smyth
This CLAC will explore the practice of translating philosophical German by focusing on Wittgenstein's Tractatus, its recent translations, and its (often unnamed) sources and influences -- including writings by Gottlob Frege and Immanuel Kant as well as by various Viennese intellectuals such as Karl Kraus and Otto Weininger. The Tractatus is a particularly productive focal point because it advances a theory of language and meaning that has immediate relevance for conceptualizing what is involved in translating from one language into another. In practicing translation, students will be testing the theory that they are attempting to translate. This will provide them an additional dimension in which to wrestle with the content of the text. Enrollment in the associated seminar, PHIL389/COL386, is encouraged but not required. The course is open to students at all levels of German study. Discussions will be conducted in a mixture of English and German, since we will be discussing the nuances of words and phrases in both languages. By preparing (and discussing) their own translations of texts, students will become familiar with the sorts of challenges that arise in rendering philosophical German into English and will develop strategies for negotiating these challenges. Students will also be encouraged to consider translations into other languages in which they are competent.
CGST 414/CJST 414: Israeli Cinema (CLAC 1.0) [Hebrew], Prof. Dalit Katz
This Hebrew course will be linked to the a parent film course, taught in English. This course is targeted toward students with very advanced knowledge of the Hebrew language. Students will mostly view the same films as the parent class, with special attention to the Hebrew language. We will analyze, discuss, and write on each of the films. The focus of the course will be to map the cultural and social changes in Israeli society reflected in the transformation in format and themes of Israeli films. Scholar visits will be part of the course, and students will attend cultural enrichment activities as part of the course curriculum. This course may be repeated for credit.