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Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC)

SPRING 2025 LAC one-hour courses

    • SPAN 308.001.  Spanish LAC: Sociocultural Influences on Mental Health in Hispanic Countries

Monica Gaudier-Diaz

A one-hour per week stand-alone course taught in Spanish.  Mental health, which encompasses emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing, is a growing health concern. As rates of mental illness have increased worldwide, it has been recognized that sociocultural factors significantly contribute to mental health risk and outcome. In this course, we will explore how historical sociopolitical events have influenced mental health in Hispanic countries, including Spain, Cuba, Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, among others. Further, we will discuss how rates of poverty, drugs, and abductions, have impacted mental health in these Spanish speaking countries.  No co-registration required.

Wednesdays, 9:05am

Prerequisite: SPAN 204 or equivalent or permission of the instructor. Native speakers are encouraged to enroll.

    • PORT 408.001.  Portuguese LAC:  How to Dress Like a Portuguese Girlie and Other Fashion Trends in Portugal and Brazil

      Chloe Hill

      A one-hour per week stand-alone course taught In Portuguese.  How does fashion represent a national identity? In what ways is self-expression emphasized, rehearsed, and affirmed by what we wear? How can clothing and what we choose to put on our bodies represent not only an aesthetic choice but political, economic, environmental, and ethical choices as well? In this course we will study fashion from Brazil and Portugal to explore these questions and more. Spanning traditional dress to contemporary styles, this course will raise such issues as fast fashion, cultural appropriation versus appreciation, body positivity and inclusion, and identity and personal style. We will read magazine articles, watch films and short videos, and explore social media content in Portuguese to examine how fashion influences understandings of people and place. From the iconic style of Brazil’s Carmen Miranda to the recent TikTok trend “how to dress like a Portuguese girlie”, this course will host weekly conversations in Portuguese, offering students the opportunity to analyze and discuss the aesthetics and politics of fashion in the Portuguese-speaking world.  No co-registration required.

      This one-credit course can be taken in conjunction with the 1-credit series for students interested in 3-credits in Portuguese.

      Wednesdays, 12:20pm

      Prerequisite: Portuguese 204, its equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

    • GSLL 489.001.  Russian LAC: The Russian Historical Imagination.

Matthew McGarry

A one-hour, stand-alone LAC course in Russian that introduces students to the Romantics, Realists, Revolutionaries, and Reactionaries of Russian Cultural History. Students will read, analyze, and discuss critical passages in Russian by Ivan the Terrible, Alexander Pushkin, Vissarion Belinsky, Nikolay Gogol, Fedor Dostoevsky, Lev Tolstoy, Petr Kropotkin, Alexander Blok, and Vladimir Lenin, and Alexander Dugan. This weekly course exposes learners to Russian language and thought across the centuries, from the Medieval to the Postmodern periods, while advancing their abilities to read and speak about them in Russian. Every weekly class will consist of two presentations that will provide the grounds for a discussion of the text with an eye towards establishing its historical importance and continued impact on the Russian Historical Imagination.  No co-registration required.

Prerequisite:  Russian 204 or permission of the instructor

    • SWAH 408.001.  Swahili LAC: Contemporary Health Issues in Africa.

Raphael Birya

A one-hour, stand-alone LAC course in Swahili offered to students who have completed SWAH 403. In this course, students will explore contemporary health issues and other current affairs in Africa. The course is designed to help students understand the basic health issues in Africa as well as develop their language skills in reading, listening, comprehension and writing of Swahili language. Further, students will examine how language and culture impact beliefs and behaviors, and how together, these impact health interventions. Class discussions and assignments will be based on online readings and relevant videos assigned in the course syllabus.

Prerequisite:  SWAH 403

About LAC at UNC-CH

UNC-CH’s LAC Program offers students the opportunity to use world languages in a variety of courses outside the language and literature curricula.

The program aims to promote a better understanding of world regions while demonstrating the relevance of practical language skills across the disciplines.

Successful completion of a LAC course option will improve students’ ability to:

      1. Communicate in the target language about course topics;
      2. Describe how course topics relate to world regions that speak the target language;
      3. Explain course topics from the perspective(s) of individuals who use the target language;
      4. Use the target language to conduct course research.

 

There are several types of LAC courses:

LAC Recitation Sections are weekly 50-minute group discussions in the target language offered for lecture courses that require a recitation section. LAC recitation sections function like normal recitations except that selected readings and assignments are completed in the target language. Students who participate in a LAC recitation receive one additional graded hour of language credit by enrolling in the corresponding LAC language course (ARAB 308, FREN 308, GERM 389, ITAL 308, PORT 408, SPAN 308, or SWAH 408) in addition to main course’s corresponding LAC recitation section.

 

Supplementary LAC Discussion Sections are weekly 50-minute group discussions in the target language linked to courses that do not normally require a recitation section. Supplementary LAC sections enable students to complete short readings and assignments related to the linked course in the target language. Students who participate in a supplementary LAC section receive one graded hour of language credit by enrolling in the LAC language course (ARAB 308, CHIN 508, FREN 308, GERM 388 or 389, ITAL 308, PORT 408, SPAN 308, or SWAH 408).

 

Combined LAC Discussion Sections are weekly 50-minute group discussions in the target language. These are linked to two or more related courses offered during the same semester. Students complete short readings and assignments in the target language on interdisciplinary themes or issues common to the linked courses. Students who participate in a combined LAC discussion section receive one graded hour of language credit by enrolling in a LAC language course (ARAB 308, CHIN, 508, FREN 308, GERM 388 or 389, ITAL 308, PORT 408, SPAN 308, or SWAH 408).

 

Stand-Alone LAC Discussion Sessions are weekly 50-minute group discussions in the target language. These are not linked to any other course, and so the content is determined by the LAC instructor. Students complete short readings and assignments in the target language on interdisciplinary themes or issues These course may have varying thematic focus. Students who participate in a stand-alone LAC discussion section receive one graded hour of language credit by enrolling in a LAC language course (ARAB 308, FREN 308, GERM 389, ITAL 308, PORT 408, SPAN 308, or SWAH 408).

 

LAC Seminars are stand-alone three-credit courses taught entirely in the target language. Course identifiers may vary, so consult the present semester’s publicity or contact the LAC coordinator for current offerings.

 

LAC Research Components offer students the opportunity to complete course projects or papers in the target language, with assistance provided by a faculty member or graduate student. Students do not receive extra course credit, but are given a certificate of completion. Contact the LAC coordinator for current opportunities.

 

Teaching Associate Professor Michelle Gravatt currently serves as the point of contact for LAC courses. Please email her at [email protected] with questions about the LAC program, to set up an appointment, learn about LAC teaching opportunities, or ask questions about what LAC courses are being offered and how to register. Please check this web page for updates.

Administration and Support

UNC-CH’s Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC) program receives support from the College of Arts and Sciences as well as from six campus Title VI centers:

Diversity

The LAC Program supports the University’s core values encouraging diversity and equal educational and employment opportunities throughout the University community. These values are articulated in the University’s non-discrimination policy and by the office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.