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Christian Michener, Ph.D., Chair

The department of Language, Literature, and Culture houses the interdisciplinary major and minor in Health Humanities, as well as the Spanish minor. Offering an intellectually stimulating curricula for a variety of learners, the department of Language, Literature, and Culture aims to challenge and support students in their intellectual, spiritual, personal, and professional development, especially in nurturing students’ appreciation for, and understanding of, the diverse literatures, languages, histories, and cultures of our world.  Almost every student at Saint Mary’s takes several classes offered by the department of Language, Literature, and Culture, in areas including Literature, History, Spanish, Latin, and Writing.

Health Humanities

Reflecting the university’s mission of awakening, nurturing, and empowering learners to ethical lives of service and leadership, the Health Humanities program cultivates a broad understanding of health and promotes ethical approaches to health care. The program prepares students to pursue careers in health-related fields and to navigate healthcare systems and structures in their own and others’ lives.

The program in Health Humanities emphasizes that health is a complex and interrelated set of concerns and that patients, caregivers, and health care practitioners are whole persons whose physiological, psychological, and spiritual needs require a holistic understanding. In keeping with a Lasallian emphasis on practically and humanely meeting the needs of all, and emphasizing the dignity of the human person, the Health Humanities program advocates for social justice, compassionate care, and professional practice directed toward the common good.

Health Humanities Goals

The Health Humanities curriculum is designed to help students:

• Examine systems, contexts, and narratives (e.g., ethical, theological, and biosocial) that shape decisions and policies regarding health and health care.

• Integrate the methods and perspectives of humanistic disciplines to critique competing conceptions of health.

• Analyze health-focused narratives and experiences from multiple perspectives (e.g., patient, caregiver, provider, practitioner).

• Develop skills and dispositions critical to ethical, whole person care reflective of the Lasallian charism, such as discernment, sympathy and empathy, and self-reflection.

• Demonstrate awareness of rhetorical situation, genre, audience, purpose, and context; integrate primary and secondary research; and communicate effectively with a primarily public audience.

Spanish

Offerings in Spanish provide a comprehensive study of the language, literature, and cultures of the Hispanic world designed to prepare students for a professional career in international business, a career in teaching, or graduate study in Spanish. The use of proficiency-based methodologies and audio-visual tools in the study of culture and language bring students to an understanding and an active command of Spanish in the areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. All Spanish courses are conducted in Spanish. A full complement of courses for a Spanish minor is available on the Winona campus.

Spanish Goals

Upon completion of their studies, minors are able to demonstrate:

• The ability to engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions;
• The ability to understand and interpret both spoken and written language on a variety of topics; and
• The ability to present information, concepts, and ideas to an audience of readers on a variety of topics.

Credits by Placement

• All students who have taken Spanish in high school must have an interview with a Saint Mary’s University professor prior to continuing in that language at Saint Mary’s University. The interview facilitates placement at an appropriate level and is given prior to registration each semester. Upon completion of one semester of study with a final grade of B or above, a student earns 2 credits for each class bypassed in the language sequence (courses numbered 101, 102, 201, 202). If a student earned a 3 or higher through the CEEB AP program, she/he may receive 4 100-level credits. A maximum of 8 credits may be earned that count toward a Spanish minor, and as elective credits that count toward graduation.
• Native/Heritage speakers may test out of SP301 Advanced Spanish Conversation with consent of coordinator.
• Native speakers who have completed high school in their home country may test out of SP302 Advanced Grammar/Composition with consent of coordinator.

Spanish Studies Abroad

Saint Mary’s University has an affiliation with Spanish Studies Abroad, which offers courses and internships in Spain (Seville, Alicante, Barcelona), Argentina (Cordoba), Cuba (Havana), and Puerto Rico (San Juan).  These are semester or academic-year programs as well as short-term options during the winter, spring, or summer. 

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