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Department: Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures

Department: Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures 

(Division of Humanities and the Arts) 

Professor, Dr. Carlos Riobó, Chair • Department Office: NAC 5/223 • Tel: 212.650.6731 

The Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures (CMLL) of The City College of New York offers the following undergraduate degrees in World Languages:    

    B.A. in Romance Languages: French, Italian, Spanish 

    B.A. in Italian 

    B.A. in Spanish 

Students may also minor in Middle East and North Africa Studies, French, Italian, Jewish Studies, Latin, Portuguese Language and Lusophone Cultures, and Spanish. 

The City College also offers an M.A. in Spanish. 

Objective  

CMLL’s learning outcomes are: 

  • Develop proficiency in comprehending, speaking, reading, and writing the standard academic variety of at least one language other than English. 

  • Formulate and defend an analytical thesis in written and oral formats. 

  • Distinguish between reliable and unreliable primary and secondary research sources. 

  • Evaluate the strength of claims in one's own and others' writing. 

  • Summarize the cultural characteristics of major historical periods in the area of concentration. 

  • Relate individual literary or linguistic texts to their historical and cultural contexts. 

  • Interpret literary or linguistic works within critical and theoretical contexts in the tradition of at least one language other than English. 

  • Employ professional citation styles and standards of scholarly integrity. 

  • Use MLA/Chicago formats and styles properly. 

  • Develop an appreciation for the values of other cultures. 

CMLL offers the M.A. in Spanish, which is designed to offer students advanced courses in Spanish, Spanish American, and Latino literature as well as advanced studies in Spanish language and literary theory. The program prepares students for careers in research and teaching and provides a solid cultural and linguistic competence that gives students the possibility to explore career options in interpreting, translating, diplomatic service, editorial work, social services, commerce and business. The Master of Arts degree also opens opportunities for students to pursue doctoral programs at major institutions. 

Since 2013, CMLL hosts the Cátedra Vargas Llosa every fall. The Cátedra is an international academic project honoring Mario Vargas Llosa, the 2010 Nobel laureate in literature. It serves as an interdisciplinary resource for the study of Mr. Vargas Llosa's writings and promotes emerging Spanish-language writers, as well.   

Since 2016, CMLL, in association with Routledge, publishes Review: Literature and Arts of the Americas, the major U.S. forum for contemporary Spanish American and Caribbean writing in English and English translation. Review regularly features critical articles, fiction, poetry, essays, book reviews, and arts profiles. It has showcased work by/about Isabel Allende, Jorge Amado, Jorge Luis Borges, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Alejo Carpentier, Julio Cortázar, Carlos Fuentes, Gabriel García Márquez, Clarice Lispector, Elena Poniatowska, Manuel Puig, Luis Rafael Sánchez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Derek Walcott, and many other writers as well as critics, translators, and visual and performing artists. Translators who have published their work in Review include the late Gregory Rabassa, Edith Grossman, Suzanne Jill Levine, Alfred Mac Adam, and Margaret Sayers Peden, in addition to numerous younger practitioners. 

Advisement 

 The department provides advising services with the following faculty: 

Arabic:  

Prof. Amr Kamal  akamal@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 6320/D 

Chinese:  

Prof. I-Hsien Wu  iwu@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 5/223F 

Classics:  

Prof. Jennifer Roberts  jroberts@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 6/343 

French:  

Prof. Bettina Lerner  blerner@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 6/320A 

Hebrew:  

Prof. Shani Greenstein  sgreenstein@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 5/202 

Italian: 

Prof. Corinna Messina-Kociuba  cmessinakociuba@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 5/223E 

Japanese:  

Prof. Richard Calichman  rcalichman@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 5/223 

Jewish Studies: 

Prof. Amy Kratka  akratka@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 5/202 

Portuguese:  

Prof. Regina Castro McGowan   rcastro-mcgowan@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 6/368 

Spanish:  

Prof. Ángel Estévez   aestevez@ccny.cuny.edu  

NAC 5/223H 

Prof. Rosalía Reyes Simon  rreyessimon@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 5/223G 

Prof. Carlos Riobó  criobo@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 5/223K 

M.A. in Spanish 

Prof. Regina Castro McGowan  rcastro-mcgowan@ccny.cuny.edu 

NAC 6/368 

 

Departmental Activities 

The department has sponsored local chapters of the national French Honor Society, Pi Delta Phi, and the national Spanish Honor Society, Sigma Delta Pi. In addition, the Department has hosted languages clubs such as: Lumières; a French club; an Italian Club, a Luso-Brazilian club, a Spanish club, a Classics club; and has sponsored scholarly talks by CMLL’s faculty as well as outside speakers as part of events promoted throughout the year. 

 

Awards 

The Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures awards scholarships and fellowships annually each spring. For information, contact the department office. 

Charles Habermann Memorial Scholarship in Latin 

Michael and Irene Ross Scholarship in Hebrew 

Bentley scholarship in French (Lumières) 

Elizabeth Starčević Scholarship for Study Abroad in a Spanish speaking country 

The Ben Bosah Books-Professor Elizabeth Starčević Scholarship for Short Fiction in Spanish 

Downer Language Scholarship and Downer Study Abroad Award in French/Spanish/Portuguese/Italian 

The Theodore Litman Scholarship in French 

CLAR (Colonial Latin American Review) Scholarship 

The Alberto Traldi Memorial Fund Scholarship 

The Ángel Estévez Scholarship for MA students 

Luisa Eneida Antonia Ruiz Vásquez Scholarship for MA students 

Ephraim Cross Scholarship for MA students 

Ellen Valenti Scholarship 

 

Faculty 

Maxime Blanchard, Professor of French 

B.A., Université de Montréal; D.E.A., Université de Paris-IV; M.A., University of Minnesota; Ph.D., Harvard University. 

 

Silvia Burunat, Professor of Spanish 

Ph.D., The Graduate Center, CUNY. 

 

Richard Calichman, Professor of Japanese and Asian Studies 

Ph.D., Cornell University. 

 

Regina Castro McGowan, Assistant Professor of Portuguese and Spanish 

B.A., The City College of New York, CUNY; M.Phil. and Ph.D., The Graduate Center, CUNY. 

 

Elazar Elhanan, Associate Professor of Jewish Studies 

Ph.D., Columbia University. 

 

Ángel Estévez, Associate Professor of Spanish 

Ph.D., The Graduate Center, CUNY. 

 

Isabel Estrada, Professor of Spanish      

B.A., Universidad de Sevilla, Spain; M.A., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; M.Phil. and Ph.D., Columbia University. 

 

Amr Kamal, Associate Professor of French and Arabic 

Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 

 

Amy Kratka, Doctoral Lecturer of Jewish Studies 

Ph.D., Boston University. 

 

Bettina Lerner, Associate Professor of French 

B.A. and Ph.D., Yale University. 

 

Corinna Messina-Kociuba, Lecturer of Italian and Spanish 

B.A. and M.A., The City College of New York, CUNY. 

 

Rosalía Reyes Simon, Lecturer of Spanish  

M.A. Universidad de Monterrey, México; M.A., The City College of New York, CUNY; M.Phil., The Graduate Center, CUNY. 

 

Carlos Riobó, Professor of Spanish  

B.A. Columbia College, Columbia University; M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D., Yale University. 

 

Jennifer Roberts, Professor of Classical Languages 

B.A. and Ph.D., Yale University. 

 

Nelly Saint-Maurice, Lecturer of French 

B.F.A., The City College of New York, CUNY; M.Phil., The Graduate Center, CUNY. 

 

Daniel Shapiro, Distinguished Lecturer of Spanish 

B.A., San Diego State University; M.F.A., University of Montana. 

 

Araceli Tinajero, Professor of Spanish 

Ph.D., Rutgers University. 

 

I-Hsien Wu, Associate Professor of Chinese and Asian Studies 

Ph.D., Columbia University. 

 

 

Professors Emeriti 

Raquel Chang-Rodriguez 

Ph.D., New York University.