The College Curriculum Council heard from professors in the English, Italian studies and German studies departments and approved proposed changes to these programs during a meeting Tuesday.
Kevin McLaughlin, professor of English and chair of the department, proposed a number of alterations to the English curriculum, some of which are related to changes that have already recently occurred.
"We're still cleaning up from the changes made to the English concentration last year," McLaughlin said. "After we eliminated the three required survey courses, we realized it was no longer logical to require 11 courses for the concentration."
The CCC approved McLaughlin's proposal to reduce the requirement from 11 to 10 courses.
McLaughlin also recommended removing sections of EL 20: "Seminars in Writing, Literatures, and Cultures" from the list of courses defined as writing-intensive because they often lack a specific focus on the writing process.
"Courses defined as writing-intensive must attend to the process of writing and revising within the topics of the course," McLaughlin said. "It should not be something that students are only involved in outside of the class."
The CCC also approved McLaughlin's proposal to rename the focus in American literature to "American, British, or Another National/Regional Literature," which represents an effort to offer a broader range of options to students and recognize the development of literary traditions beyond American literature.
Changes to the English concentration will go into effect in the spring of 2007, according to a document McLaughlin handed out to CCC members.
When the CCC completed its review of McLaughlin's proposals, Caroline Castiglione, assistant professor of Italian studies, and Professor of Italian Studies Massimo Riva spoke about the Italian studies concentration requirements before the CCC.
"We are looking to change the undergraduate program because the concentration has changed so much in the past years as the department has moved in a more interdisciplinary direction," Castiglione said. "We are not requiring additional courses; we are adding distribution requirements to make students sample the different areas of Italian studies."
By adding these distribution requirements to form a more structured course of study, Castiglione said she hopes the concentration will attract more students earlier in their Brown career. Currently, most concentrators tend to declare an Italian studies concentration during their junior or senior years, she said.
The CCC approved adding distribution requirements that will require concentrators to take three courses chosen from three of four distribution areas: Italian literature, history, history of Italian art and architecture and film or performance.
The CCC also voted to reduce the number of courses from departments outside Italian studies that will count toward the concentration from two to one.
In addition, all senior concentrators will give a presentation to the department on a topic of their choice at a "senior conference" at the end of the year. The presentations could focus on a student's capstone experience in Bologna, Italy, or a capstone experience in any upper-level course.
"Students can take an aspect of their junior year trip to Bologna and relate it to their senior thesis or capstone course," Castiglione said. "It's just another way to pull the entire program together."
A document handed out during yesterday's meeting that outlines changes to the Italian studies concentration does not specify when they will go into effect.
Professor and Chair of German Studies Katherine Goodman also spoke before the CCC to present several proposed changes to the German concentration.
"The CCC approved the new senior seminar last spring," Goodman said. "Now we want to use this seminar as a capstone experience required of all senior concentrators."
The CCC voted in favor of replacing the previous requirements of GM 90: "Introduction to German Studies" and the departmental colloquium with the senior seminar.
"GM 90 was intended to be an introductory course in German studies, but in the past years it has turned into a general course on great German thinkers such as Nietzche and Freud and is now taught in English."
While the department will continue to offer GM 90, it will no longer be a requirement for German studies concentrators.
Goodman said that in order to reach out to the majority of German studies concentrators who are double concentrating in international relations, economics, history or other social sciences, the senior seminar will incorporate these interdisciplinary fields into the seminar.
The CCC approved replacing the required departmental colloquium with a presentation that would be an integral part of the senior seminar and would allow students who are double concentrating to explore connections among their different interests.
A document handed out during yesterday's meeting describing these changes to the German studies concentration does not specify when they will go into effect.
