Life at Miami University can be a struggle for students studying foreign languages.
The career fair has very few employers looking for our skill set. The State Department is no longer funding scholarships like the Fulbright, Gilman or Critical Language scholarships, which are vital opportunities for students studying foreign languages. Miami’s Department of German, Russian, Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures (GRAMELAC) and Department of French, Italian and Classical Studies are no longer offering their individual language majors for new students.
When I learned that my major, Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies, would no longer be offered to incoming students, I was upset. I set out to write an article about how I was watching Miami’s foreign language education crumble around me.
Instead, I found a different story. Despite a lack of support from the government, administration and American culture in general, Miami’s humanities professors continue to provide students a quality education.
Professor Mila Ganeva, the department chair of GRAMELAC, explained how the department plans to move forward while supporting students who want to study foreign languages and cultures. She said the majors were being cut because of low enrollment, but the department is committed to allowing current majors to complete their degrees.
Moving forward, GRAMELAC has merged with the Department of French, Italian and Classical Studies to offer a new major: World Languages and Cultures. While the major is still pending approval, it is likely to begin admitting students in the fall.
“[The degree] will accommodate a wide range of students,” Ganeva said. “Those who are interested in immersive language learning, as well as those who are more interested in the study of the culture, history and comparative view of the cultures associated with the languages we offer.”
Ganeva said designing a new major requires a huge amount of work.
“It took us about a year of very hard work to put a shape to this new project … a lot of serious thinking went into that,” Ganeva said. “We are not mechanically combining all of the languages; we are trying to create something actually future-proof, that has a future and will continue to create value for the students that are coming to Miami.”
As Ganeva explained the process of developing this course, she kept coming back to the faculty’s involvement.
“It’s exciting for some of our faculty to develop the new intro courses for this major,” Ganeva said. “The capstone for this major, and generally to contribute to the curricular innovation that happens within this new major, within the available resources and the expertise of the faculty we have.”
This was the moment I realized that Miami’s foreign language education wasn’t crumbling around me; it was surviving because of the work of its faculty and staff.
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In a climate where higher education is being increasingly scrutinized, universities must prove their worth. Majors with low enrollment aren’t profitable, so they are cut. Foreign language programs are an especially vulnerable target, not just at Miami, but nationwide as well.
GRAMELAC and the Department of French, Italian and Classical Studies recognized this trend and adapted to keep their programs alive at Miami. This shift isn’t just about professors keeping their jobs; it’s about allowing students to study foreign languages and cultures at Miami, and allowing them to learn from professors who love teaching these subjects.
Eliza Sullivan is a first year double majoring in diplomacy and global politics and Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian studies. She writes for the Opinion section of The Miami Student. She is also involved with model Arab league and plays in the Miami steel band.
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