Language is the medium by which every fact, opinion, and belief is conveyed.
Each language is a unique system for communicating such information. Each language gives rise to a distinct culture, a pattern of sentiments, ideals, and assumptions which molds the way we think and act. One powerful medium of culture is literature, which both shapes the culture and reflects it from the point of view of a sensitive and thoughtful observer. The Department of Germanic, Slavic, and Asian Languages seeks to mediate between different worlds, the one of the English language and American culture and the ones that are revealed by the languages we teach. We do this by offering beginning classes for general education for a broad spectrum of undergraduates as well as higher level classes for students seeking degrees in our special fields.