Academics
In today’s world, understanding and speaking a foreign language and familiarity with foreign cultures can enlarge your career opportunities in whatever field you pursue. In public service and in the criminal justice system, knowledge of a foreign language is growing increasingly important. Many of the country’s top federal law enforcement agencies, as well as some state and local agencies, give preference to those who have this ability. Recognizing the importance of cultural studies and as part of a liberal arts education – unless otherwise exempt – a one-year sequence in a foreign language is part of the general education requirements for baccalaureate degree students at John Jay College. Languages Offered The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures offers courses in Chinese, French, Italian, Russian and Spanish. In addition the Department also offers courses in Arabic, Japanese and Portuguese. For a list of course currently being offered, click here. Spanish The department offers an array of courses to accommodate various levels of language proficiency, legal translation and court interpretation, as well as courses in literature, theatre and culture. For those in law enforcement and related fields, the department offers courses that emphasize the vocabulary and linguistic structures necessary to policing. In addition, bilingual students can avail themselves of the “Spanish for Criminal Investigation” course to complement criminal justice and police science courses. The Spanish Minor is designed to make students proficient in spoken and written Spanish through language and literature courses that also present a cultural and psychological understanding of the Spanish Diaspora. (Requirements) Faculty Advisors: Catherine Rovira 212.237.8709 Alma Mora 212.237.4751 Barry Luby 212.237.8718 Clara Castro Ponce 646.557.4416 Dagoberto Orrantia 212.237.8718 Daria Montero 212.237.8716 Erica Abeel 212.237.8718 Liliana Soto-Fernandez 212.237.8712 Marcia Yarmus 212.237.8715 Raul Romero 212.237.8714 Raul Rubio 646.557.4413 Russian In addition to a variety of language courses, the Department also offers a number of courses in Russian film, drama, literature and culture. The department offers courses in Russian Legal Translation that will teach students to translate between two legal systems by emphasizing the legal terminology used in the U.S. and in Russian speaking countries. The Russian Minor is designed to give the student a command of both the written and spoken language and a deeper understanding of the literary heritage and cultural development of the Russian people. (Course Requirements) Faculty Advisor: Olga Muratova, 646.557.4520
Catherine Rovira, Chairperson 619 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019 Phone: 212.237.8709, Email: crovira@jjay.cuny.edu