Learning in the College

I. THE CURRICULUM

Curricular Requirements at a Glance

Core Courses

Elective Pathways

World Language Proficiency

Capstone Experiences

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II. CO-CURRICULAR AND IMMERSION OPPORTUNITIES

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I. The Curriculum

Students, faculty, and advisers work together to create a program that includes RCAH courses, general education courses, electives, languages, and civic engagement activities off-campus, at home, and abroad. Your path of study will include classes to satisfy university and college requirements--both within the RCAH and outside of the college.

During the first year, you will take four introductory core courses and a first-year seminar. The introductory courses satisfy some of the university general education requirements.

Typically, during the second year, you will take three RCAH courses that allow you to participate in small groups with faculty members for independent research, creative workshops, and hands-on community engagement.

Each student will also complete a Capstone experience. The student may choose either a senior thesis or senior seminar as the Capstone experience.

Curricular Requirements

The Major has four levels. The first is a set of four introductory core courses typically taken during the first year. These courses (111, 112, 201, and 202) combine small group discussion and larger plenary sessions so that students become acquainted with as many members of their entering cohort as possible. The second level of courses (192, 290, 291, and 292) provides more intimate seminar-style experiences, civic engagement, and creative projects. The third level—the Elective Pathways—allows students to specialize and extend their field of study beyond the boundaries of the college, including a language immersion experience through study abroad or 'study away'. The fourth level—the Capstone Experience—provides students with an opportunity to do more advanced work, whether in a seminar setting or through more independent study.

In terms of credit hours, the Major looks like this:

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Core Courses (all taken within RCAH)  
111 Writing in Transcultural Contexts 3 credits
112 Writing, Research, and Technologies 3 credits
   
201 Transcultural Relations through the Ages 4 credits
202 The Presence of the Past 4 credits
   
192 First Year Seminar 2 credits
290 Second Year Tutorial 4 credits
291 Creative Workshop 4 credits
292 Civic Engagement and Immersion Activities 8 credits
   
Elective Pathways (two of seven taken within RCAH) 6 credits
310 Topics in Childhood and Society  
320 Topics in Art and Public Life  
330 Topics in Nature and Culture  
340 Topics in Technology and Creativity  
Five Elective Pathways courses (taken outside RCAH) 15-20 credits
   
Language Immersion Experience  
390 Language and Culture 4 credits
Capstone Experience (one of two within RCAH) 4 credits
491 Senior Thesis  
492 Senior Seminar  
   
Total required credits within RCAH: 46
Total required credits for graduation: 61-66


Core Courses

During the first year of their two-year residence in the four-year RCAH program, in order to fulfill the core course requirements in a timely way, all students will take four RCAH courses: 111, 112, 201, and 202, plus the 192 First-year Seminar. These courses launch the Major by creating a common vocabulary and build community within the RCAH.

The writing and communication skills students learn in 111 and 112 satisfy the University Tier One Writing Requirement. 111 and 112 provide a comprehensive 6 credit foundation in the skills of reading, writing, and research methods.

  • 111: Writing in Transcultural Contexts (3 credits)

    This is the first semester of the required two-course writing sequence for all RCAH students. In conjunction with the first semester of the required common course, 201, this three-credit course begins to establish the foundation for the RCAH major. A student who completes both 111 and 112 will satisfy MSU's Tier One Writing Requirement. All students enrolled in a Tier One writing course can expect to receive instruction and practice in conceiving, drafting, revising, and completing writing projects of various lengths for various audiences. Students will engage in a wide variety of writing and experiment with currently available technologies. Students also will learn to use source materials responsibly and to acknowledge those sources appropriately in consideration of the objectives, genres, and audiences that comprise various writing situations.
  • 112: Writing, Research, and Technologies (3 credits)

    Students will use their knowledge of the generalized good practices of writing which was the focus of 111 to study and develop argumentative research-oriented writing of their own. Becoming a good writer is a recursive, complex, learning process that takes many years to accomplish. After the completion of 112, students will be fully prepared as writers to engage in the intellectual work of the University at a high-achieving level and will be able to engage in humanities-centered research, and to present that research in sophisticated ways, including locating, evaluating, citing, and using primary/secondary sources; analyzing and composing arguments using multiple media (oral, written, and digital formats); and knowing how to select specific genres and modes of expression to reach specific audiences.

Concurrently with these two courses, students take the two-semester sequence, 201 and 202, which substitutes for the University Integrative Studies in the Arts and Humanities requirement. 201 and 202 introduce students to the web of cultures and traditions that constitutes our world histories, and then raise questions about how individual and collective identities have been and ought to be shaped by these historical and cultural forces.

In terms of content, students in 201 will study transcultural historical development, while in 111 they will learn to situate themselves through writing in their own specific culture and history in relation to other cultures and histories. Similarly, while 202 students will be exploring the influence of the past and the opportunities we have to respond to it ethically in cross-cultural, global contexts, students in 112 will be involved in learning to do research and make arguments that are appropriate to this context.

Given the importance of the word 'transcultural' in the curriculum, it is worth pausing momentarily to clarify its meaning. Transcultural is not synonymous with multi-cultural, and it also does not refer to anything like a universal culture or something over and above (i.e., transcending) culture. By transcultural we mean the ways that cultures combine with, separate from, absorb, and sometimes collide with other cultures. In other words, transcultural refers to the transactions between cultures and the many other ways people from and in different cultures relate to one another.

  • 201: Transcultural Relations through the Ages (4 credits)

    This course serves as the opportunity for all members of the college to meet one another in an intellectually rigorous and also dynamic setting. Through a series of common meetings, members of the class will gain an understanding of the ways in which a transcultural approach to knowledge forces them to look for connections, relationships and potential new ways of synthesizing information. They will ponder such questions as: How did the first societies reach self-consciousness as "the People"? How did contact among these societies bring change, trouble and new possibilities? How did technologies and products from China, the Islamic World and Mesoamerica affect so many other things? How did the world of the last 100 years become very small and very large at the same time? Then, through a quartet of sections, students will also get specific information from which they can begin to work toward an understanding of how scholars have already begun to push past such models as Western Civilization and World Systems analysis to focus upon the cultural components of relationships throughout the world. The course is taught by four faculty members who will coordinate the common experiences every week but also bring their specific field expertise to individual classes in which discussion can be particularly robust. All four sections will focus the first two week's discussion on a common reading or readings. These might include a novel, a play, an historical account of cultural interaction, or a theoretical work.
  • 202: The Presence of the Past (4 credits)

    This course introduces students to the notion of the presence of the past, and how it creates possibilities for an engaged ethical life now and in the future. In 201 students learn what it means to think of our cultures and histories in global terms. They trace the main currents of world history across a diverse set of cultures through some of the many products, technologies, and forms of life that have emerged since antiquity. They examine the complex cultural significance of this history and some of the ethical challenges that we now face. Engagement is the linchpin of the course, and it takes several forms. It refers to the immersion of the creative artist, writer, and scholar in his or her subject matter. It also refers to the civic engagement of community members, activists, and social critics. Students will choose among various experiential learning activities located on this continuum—for example, informal creative writing workshops among themselves or with a community group such as residents in an assisted living program; coffee house poetry readings; and tutoring immigrants and refugees who are preparing for their INS citizenship test. The experiential learning activities will cut across recitation sections, and students will choose among a set of organized options with scheduled times and places. These engagement activities will include student-run film programs, poetry slams, short performances of various sorts, community service-learning projects, and studio art and performance workshops. Web technologies will be used to share information and post a calendar of events for different projects, activities, and special events for small groups, the class as a whole, and community partners.

In general, the writing skills that are learned in 111 and 112 will be used and refined in the work done in 201 and 202. For example, students typically may keep common online journals for 111 and 201, and then again for 112 and 202, or there will be other analogous common writing projects. Also, in the spring semester the formally organized engaged learning and immersion activities that students in 202 choose will be the subject of their research projects in 112.

As a whole these four core courses blend history, ethics, and culture together with selected topics and projects from the visual and performing arts in a residential environment that stresses engagement with the material at hand and in the cultural communities that give our lives meaning. This infusion of the visual and performing arts into the core curriculum is as crucial for the major as is world language proficiency and engagement. The infusion of the visual and performing arts into the core courses will vary depending upon the make-up of the faculty teams teaching these courses in any particular year.

The first-year curriculum in the RCAH often will be coupled with other courses in Integrative Studies, mathematics, and introductory foreign language instruction in the foreign language departments. For those students wishing to take the full first-year curriculum in Art, Music or Theater as they pursue a dual major in addition to their major in the RCAH, special arrangements can be made. Those enrolled in the B.A. in Music may not have this difficulty, and it may be possible for students in Studio Art or Theater to take a reconfigured complement of courses in those majors.

The remaining RCAH course that students take in their first year in residence is a seminar for first-year students only. The First-year Seminar functions in several ways, as described below and scheduling will be flexible so as to accommodate other courses and obligations.

  • 192: First-Year Seminar (2 credits)

    Each section of 192 will enroll 15-20 students who will be led by an individual faculty member in once or twice weekly meetings. Seminar topics will have a specific focus that corresponds to the 300-level Elective Pathways in the College major and will explore the specific features of at least one pathway and how it intersects with the others and with related work that is being done, much of it along similar interdisciplinary lines, in departments and programs outside the RCAH.

The third part of the core curriculum consists of three courses typically taken in the second year of residence in the RCAH.

  • 290: Second-Year Tutorial (4 credits)

    Each section of 290 will enroll no more than 15 students. Individual faculty will supervise and assist small groups of students on projects initiated by students within the faculty member's area(s) of expertise; that is, each tutorial section will operate as an independent study for small groups of students. Students may choose a research or creative project that pursues a topic they are already familiar with but in more depth and complexity, or they may choose a project that synthesizes the students' creative, intellectual, and civic engagement experiences from the previous year in a common product such as a paper, report, or creative work. Projects produced in the tutorial also may be shared with the rest of the College, either through a colloquium series, installation or performance events, or in electronic distribution. In any given year, scheduling for the Tutorial need not be evenly distributed over the entire 15-week semester but should result in significant instructional contact between faculty, students, and, where appropriate, visiting artists-in-residence.
  • 291 Creative Workshop (4 credits total)

    These 1-4 credit workshops of 15-20 students will be led by individual faculty members, staff, and graduate students with experience related to their particular workshop topic. They will also make use of local and nationally recognized visiting artists who will work with students in such areas as music performance, visual arts, creative writing, theater, film making, and the book arts. The workshops are designed for students not necessarily majoring in the fine arts but for whom such a workshop experience would be a valuable addition to their academic degree program. The number of credit hours will be determined by the length of the workshop and the projects required. Scheduling for these workshops will be flexible and may not be evenly distributed over the entire semester.
  • 292 Civic Engagement and Immersion Activities (8 credits)

    All students will be involved in an engagement project or a set of engagement activities that integrate experiential learning with critical reflection in a manner that is mutually beneficial to the students and community partners. This kind of experiential learning includes learning 'how' as well as learning 'that,' learning through acquaintance with others who have already acquired (some) knowledge, and learning how to make a difference in practice. Through a combination of integrated class work and engagement activities, students will be encouraged to reflect on the principles, methods, meaning, and ethics of engagement as well as the goals of their engagement project and the obstacles they have encountered. Through conversations with community partners, faculty leaders, mentors, and other students, students will reflect on the presuppositions, assumptions, and obstacles to engagement, especially those relating to transcultural differences and similarities. The format for these engagement and reflection activities will be the learning circle, that is, a non-hierarchical space in which different forms of knowing are valued and different types of intelligence explored.
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Elective Pathways

The elective pathways will

  • enable students to pursue their own particular interests within the scope of the RCAH major,
  • connect to and complement courses and programs available outside the RCAH, and
  • prepare graduates of the RCAH for professional, academic, and other career opportunities.

While there is one major in the RCAH, there are a variety of paths through the major. Each pathway begins with a Topics course, and the four Topics courses described below are examples of how this journey can begin. Just as different Topics courses are possible; the content of the Topics courses will vary depending upon the interests of instructors and the resources available at the time in the RCAH. They are designed for maximum flexibility. For example, if a particular guest artist or writer is in residence at the time, a Topics course may place more emphasis on one set of questions or topics than others. Or, if students are engaged in a particular performance project or civic engagement project, the topic may also vary.

It is through their elective path of study that RCAH students achieve fluency, not just proficiency in their field. It is also how faculty inside and outside the RCAH collaborate through team teaching, faculty exchanges, and other innovative instructional models and pedagogical techniques. The RCAH, as a whole, will have a mutually beneficial cooperative relationship with its sister departments in the College of Arts & Letters in particular. The RCAH elective pathways will be important in this regard for faculty as well as students.

The current list of four Topics courses and the pathways they mark is not exhaustive. As faculty and students explore the opportunities and challenges of the RCAH, it is likely other pathways, such as Topics courses in Language and Culture or in Translation and Interpretation, will be charted. An integral part of residence life in the RCAH will be participating in the development of the curriculum, especially the elective pathways, to meet the needs and interests of students and faculty.

  • 310 Topics in Childhood and Society

    What is childhood? How long does it last? What mix of dependency and autonomy should it involve? What privileges and immunities should it entail? What risks and dangers run through it? What does it mean to 'lose' it?

    Dostoevsky famously said of prisons that "The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." We no longer speak with confidence, of course, about 'civilization' and its progress by degree, as if it was a single entity capable of moving in a single direction. However, duly qualified, we might say the same thing about children and the space they inhabit. By entering the worlds which our children inhabit, whether it is contemporary India through the lens of a modern filmmaker or 19th century London through the eyes of a novelist, we learn as much about our own claims to humanity as we do about the lives of our children.

    As we judge the development of societies through the lens of 'childhood', the ethical challenges we face as adults take on new meanings. 'Childhood' is not merely a patch of time or a stage of psycho-social development; it is a series of social practices that shapes the future of society as a whole. It can be a period of moral awakening in which young people learn the norms and values of their culture, a time of discovery as they explore their own linguistic and other physical powers as well as the limits the natural world places on them. They learn to love and cherish a world they will soon inherit. On the darker side, the experiences of children abducted to fight in civil wars or coerced into marriage do not end if and when they reach adulthood. They continue to affect their families and others throughout society. 'Childhood' in this sense is an indicator of what's been done and what lies ahead, not just for children, but for all of those who participate in this social practice. RCAH students who wish to view our transcultural heritage and the ethical dilemmas it poses for us through the lens of childhood and society will take Topics in Childhood and Society taught by an RCAH faculty member joined by guest participants from other departments and programs. The topics covered include reading and writing, schooling, health and nutrition, safety and security, and play. In addition to this Topics course, students who have chosen this path will take 5 upper-level courses in other departments and programs. Consequently, students pursuing this path may also receive a degree in programs such as Music Therapy or Pre-law; or a specialization such as Bioethics, Humanities, and Society.

    Because engagement is an integral part of the mission of the RCAH, it is important that students have the opportunity to pursue engagement activities that build upon and take advantage of their particular course of study. For students in Childhood and Society, opportunities will be available with community partners such as St. Vincent's Home, The Black Child and Family Institute, Cristo Rey Community Center, The Beekman Center, The Heartwood School, Lansing Refugee Development Center, The Community Music School, and Potter Park Zoo.
  • 320 Topics in Art and Public Life

    What is public life? How does it differ from political life or public service? Who is entitled to participate in it, and why? Is there a particular language or vernacular that ought to be used in public life?

    In the RCAH we are concerned with public life in the broadest sense, that is, the life of the political communities whose cultural identities have emerged, coalesced, and come apart. Public life is a struggle for political recognition that includes what goes on within official political institutions like legislatures, courts, and political parties. But even more importantly for our purposes, it includes what goes on in civil society: the neighborhood associations, clubs, and support groups; the many associations that have formed through the Internet; and many more groups who are all, at one time or another concerned, with how the public good is defined and who can have a say in this process.

    The roles of art in this process of public life are as different as the forms of art themselves, and even more ephemeral. Monuments to great political leaders and memorials to fallen soldiers are objects of veneration that can quickly become targets of revenge as political tides turn. In other words, the role of a particular work of art in public life is not always what it was intended to be. It may grow in importance beyond the cultural boundaries in which it was conceived, and it may acquire an entirely different political meaning than it originally had. But, art is more than simply the object of competing interpretations of public goods and purposes. It can just as easily be the active agent itself. Greek tragedy's role in the political education of democratic Athens has been a rich source of inspiration for subsequent societies. The films of William Kentridge (Ubu and the Truth Com-mission) and Claude Lanzmann (Shoah) provoke and prompt as much as they report and remind. Music can inspire protest, reinforce loyalty, or rally the troops. Art in this active sense can also create public space, not just public sentiments. It can make it possible for citizens to gather, but it can also exclude others from participation in public life. For example, the history of suburban architecture, as Dolores Hayden has shown in Redesigning the American Dream, is the story of a better life for some and the loss of opportunities for others. The creation of suburban shopping malls—single-minded public spaces—has narrowed public discourse and become a foil for critical cinematic representations.

    An important part of the RCAH major is to learn how to see, hear, read, and feel our cultural environment. Students study the transcultural histories of our world through the objects that link societies together such as gold, cotton, silk, and even salt and ice. These are as much objects of art as they are economic commodities. Deciphering the peculiar impact of art on public life requires that we think of the familiar in unfamiliar terms, for example, suburban housing, handmade quilts, comics, and other crafts are laden with cultural significance for public life. Similarly, we must learn to re-think the cultural significance of the more traditional and iconic artistic productions, for example, sculptures, symphonies, and portraiture. We must learn to read these famous objects historically, not just as exquisite works of creative genius, whose significance sometimes changes dramatically.

    Students choosing this pathway will have the opportunity to pursue dual majors in Art History, Museum Studies, Urban and Regional Planning, Film Studies, Music Education, or other programs in the visual and performing arts. They will have opportunities within the RCAH to explore art and public life through special studio and performance co-curricular activities. In addition to these immersion activities, they will have opportunities to pursue engagement projects with community partners in the arts, for example, with local community theater and dance companies.
  • 330 Topics in Nature and Culture

    What is natural, and what is not? Does labeling something natural necessarily mean it is a good thing, or are there cases where nature should be resisted, reshaped, or even re-made? Are all human cultures natural, no matter how different? Is human nature ever a matter of cultural influence?

    This pathway considers the complex ways in which culture and the natural world shape each other, and the ways in which the understanding and treatment of environmental issues might be enhanced through a richer understanding of that relationship. Three main premises provide direction: 1) the natural world shapes cultures and the ways that cultures interact, 2) culture influences both the natural world itself and how we understand it, and 3) environmental issues are global issues at both a theoretical and practical level.

    How has nature shaped cultures and cultural interactions? In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond argues that environmental factors created both obstacles to and opportunities for cultures and that the dominance of one culture over another is often a product of their different interactions with their natural environments. For example, to what extent are food supplies determinative of a culture's development? To what extent do cultures interact through their manipulation of nature?

    While it is certainly true that the natural world shapes cultures and cultural interactions, it is equally true that cultures shape both the natural world and understandings of it. William Cronon's Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England reminds us that places are made as much as they are discovered. Cultural understandings of nature are reflected in religions and creation stories, art (including visual art, fiction, music, and nature writings), and science. Students who select this pathway explore the interchanges between cultures over the meaning of nature, the reality of the supernatural as well as how people should relate to their immediate natural surroundings (for example, social practices as diverse as animal welfare movements, community-based agriculture, and alternative energy).

    While it is obvious that many environmental issues are global issues—for instance, the impact of global warming knows no national boundaries—closer attention to the relationship between culture and nature reveals a much deeper sense in which this is true. Environmental problems are global problems not only because they affect people around the world, but also because they are understood and addressed by people with different cultural understandings of nature as well as different political and economic agendas. Thus, the ability to navigate cultural differences in regard to the environment is an important element in addressing global environmental problems, food security, and sacred sites.

    As students begin to think about how to apply what they are learning to real-world situations, many will find that the already burgeoning field of environmental studies serves as an interesting arena for them to pursue the questions raised by their work along this RCAH pathway. Reading and understanding environmental material from a synoptic historical, cultural, and ethical perspective will open up new areas of inquiry and give outreach and engagement activities with government agencies, private foundations, and non-profit organizations more depth.
  • 340 Topics in Technology and Creativity

    What is technology—art or science, trial and error, creation or discovery? What are the responsibilities that come with technological innovation? What are the rights that are necessary, if technology is to lead to human flourishing? How are genuinely new technologies created?

    As the ancient story of Prometheus teaches us, the human ability to use nature for our own ends is the knowledge of art, a creative knowledge of craft and technique, a knowledge that comes with much danger and much possibility.

    Technology is itself a product of chance, trial and error, and human knowing. For Aristotle, techne was a productive knowledge, an art concerned with bringing into being, an art that places an ethical and moral responsibility upon the maker. While techne and technology are not synonymous, tracing their relationship through history and across cultures can help us understand how humans are related to the things they make (arts/artifacts) and the systems they use to make those things (technologies). It is that search for knowledge, art, and use that drives all techno-logical production—from the creation and use of wampumpeag among the Haudenosaunee Peoples of North America, to the creations of Thomas Edison, Frank Lloyd Wright, Buckminster Fuller, and Linus Pauling, to more recent innovations such as the development of the Internet from the ARPANET.

    Topics in Technology and Creativity will be taught by an RCAH faculty member joined by guest participants from other departments and programs. Specific topics include the histories of technology in writing, literature, music, art, theatre; ethical issues of responsibility for the intended and unintended consequences of new technologies upon culture as well as the natural environment; and the relationship between technology as a way of producing knowledge and other artistic and craft forms of knowledge production.

    In addition to this Topics course, students who have chosen this path will have the opportunity to test their ideas in a variety of practical ways, and generate new hypotheses through experimental practice. Some students may wish to pursue a dual major or specialization in Environmental Studies, Professional Writing, Museum Studies, Art and Art History, Music, Theatre, English, or Gaming Design. Community and University partners with whom students in Topics in Technology and Culture may participate in engagement activities that build upon and take advantage of their course of study might include the Mid-Michigan chapter of the Sierra Club; the Nokomis Center; the WIDE Research Center; MATRIX: The Center for Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online; the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism; and the Center for Fundamental Materials Research.

Through these four elective pathways and others like them students will deepen their work within the RCAH at the same time that they bring the skills, sensibilities, and knowledge they acquire in the RCAH to classes in other departments and programs. It is through these elective pathways that RCAH students and faculty benefit from and enrich the many other departments and programs at MSU that are committed to the arts and humanities.

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World Language Proficiency

The study and use of world languages is an essential part of the experience of RCAH students. By achieving proficiency in a language other than English, students will gain greater insight into the workings of other cultures as well as their own. They will have a better sense of ethical issues and ethical disagreements. They will see how the main currents of world history have been woven through and continue to emerge in the very words we use to express our commitments and concerns. For some students, achieving proficiency will not require much additional course work in the foreign language departments. They will bring proficiency or near-proficiency with them to the RCAH and will quickly be able to apply these skills. For others, some preparation will be needed.

What exactly is language proficiency?

Language Proficiency is the level of competence at which an individual is able to use language for both basic communicative tasks and academic purposes. The term refers to the degree to which the student exhibits control over the use of language, including the measurement of expressive and receptive language skills in the areas of phonology, syntax, vocabulary, and semantics and including the areas of pragmatics or language use within various domains or social circumstances. Proficiency in a language is judged independently and does not imply a lack of proficiency in another language.

There are two broad solutions to the assessment of foreign language proficiency for credit in higher education. The first solution is to use time as an indicator (a seat-time requirement). For example, students must bring two to three years of secondary-level foreign language study to fulfill a university entrance requirement, and must complete an additional two to three terms of study at the higher education level to meet the graduation requirement. Currently, those colleges at MSU with a language requirement (CAL, James Madison) require a minimum of four semesters of study. The second solution is to require tested competence in a foreign language (a proficiency requirement). Students may be required to pass a proficiency examination before being admitted to an institution of higher learning or may be required to pass a proficiency examination as part of a graduation requirement (the RCAH requirement). The objective of a requirement based on proficiency testing is to encourage students to develop not only basic survival skills in the language being studied, but to achieve the ability to communicate in a number of contexts (adapted from the ERIC Digest).

  • The pedagogical goals of the proficiency requirement

    The fostering of understanding and respect for the cultural values and norms of different peoples is at the core of the RCAH's mission, and the curriculum of the college is global and transcultural in focus throughout. World language proficiency, both as an essential vehicle for the understanding of other cultures and as a valuable skill for communication, research, and employment in today's world, is thus a primary goal for students in the program. The study of world languages provides us with a valuable point of entry into new cultures and their distinctive values. The study of one's own language and the languages of others makes cultural understanding a more lasting experience and reasonable tolerance more likely.
  • The proficiency requirement

    Students graduating from the RCAH are required to achieve at least functional competence in one language other than English.
  • Students will receive a Language Proficiency Rating in at least one world language (WL).
  • RCAH students will take 390 Language and Culture, typically as part of a study abroad or domestic 'study away' program.
  • International students and others with native speaker proficiency in a language other than English will have the option totake an alternative World Language Tutorial.
  • Certification in American Sign Language (ASL) may substitute for meeting the WL Proficiency Requirement.

Once a student has passed the minimum proficiency requirement through a process of written and oral testing, he or she often will continue to improve their proficiency rating. It is the goal of the proficiency requirement and rating system in the RCAH to encourage students to elevate their proficiency rating by continuing study throughout their undergraduate career. It is expected that students will choose to re-take the proficiency exam even after they have passed the minimum requirement, perhaps several times, in order to record the highest possible proficiency rating.

Entering RCAH students with AP credits must still pass the RCAH Proficiency Requirement.

  • Language Immersion Experience

    In addition to satisfying the Proficiency Requirement, students in the RCAH have to engage in a language immersion experience in their particular target language. The requirement can be satisfied through a number of different options.

    Students will work with the RCAH language proficiency director and/or field experience director to select an appropriate language immersion experience. These include, but are not limited to, existing summer study abroad programs offered by MSU or other institutions, foreign language internships, study-away courses taught by RCAH faculty, and domestic service learning opportunities in target language communities. While diverse in their delivery, these experiences should emphasize intense language learning and exposure.
  • 390 Language and Culture (4 credits)

    As part of the language immersion experience, students will be required to enroll in 4 credits of RCAH 390 Language and Culture.

    The semester of (or prior to in the case of summer programs), students will enroll in 390 Language and Culture. They will meet as a group 3-4 times a week for two weeks with the RCAH language proficiency director and/or other RCAH faculty.

    Topics may include:
  • Relationship between language and culture
  • Issues regarding language and politics (for example, national languages versus minority languages)
  • Language acquisition
  • Theories of interpretation and translation

This portion of the class will also have readings associated with it to prepare students for the experience of living immersed in another language. These readings will depend on the instructor but can include topics such as bilingualism and adult language acquisition to personal accounts of living in another language such as Eva Hoffman's book, Lost in Translation.

At the conclusion of their language immersion experience, students will hand in a portfolio/journal chronicling their time living in another language, and to make a presentation to students and faculty reflecting on their experiences and connecting it to the themes addressed in the first part of the course. Assignments may include a reflective essay, a policy paper on issues of bilingual education in the United States, and/or a comparative look at language education in the U.S. and abroad. The four credits will be awarded upon the successful completion of these requirements.

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Capstone Experiences

The Capstone Experience performs two functions in the RCAH. True to its name, this seminar or senior thesis is the culmination of a student's work in the RCAH. It provides the student with the opportunity to make new connections, revisit arguments and ideas that are still percolating, and go more deeply into a special area of interest. At the same time, the capstone provides a new platform for launching future work that can lead to graduate study, employment, research, or service. Both ways of fulfilling the capstone experience requirement satisfy the University Tier Two writing requirement (W).

  • 491 Senior Thesis (W)

    Students compose a piece of original writing or performance art, or complete an academic project that will help them to launch their post-graduate career. The thesis projects can include field experience or internship projects, special exhibitions, performances, or other community-based activities. Whatever their final thesis project happens to be, students will complete a series of writing assignments that meets the Tier Two requirement.
  • 492 Senior Seminar (W)

    Students will study a particular topic that weaves together themes or questions that cut across the curriculum as a whole. Students will complete a series of writing projects consistent with the Tier Two requirement leading up to and including the final seminar paper.
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Co-Curricular and Immersion Opportunities

In a living and learning community like the new RCAH, knowledge-making, dialogue, and creative expression extend beyond courses and classrooms into the daily life of students as they interact with each other and with other members of the RCAH community, the MSU community, and communities beyond campus. Some of the programs, events, and activities planned for the RCAH during its inaugural year include:

  • RCAH Fellows and Mentors
  • Student Governance and Clubs
  • Visiting Artists, Guest Speakers, and Other Special Events
  • Language Proficiency Activities and Opportunities
  • Study Away/Abroad
  • Residence Life and Student Affairs
  • Monday Nights

Check back soon for a fuller description of these opportunities and for updates on new opportunities created by RCAH students and faculty.

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