Subject Area: Foreign Languages & Foreign Studies
The Foreign Languages, French, and Spanish collections support the Clark Atlanta University Department of English and Modern Languages, the Morehouse College Department of Modern Foreign Languages, and the Spelman College Department of World Languages & Literature.
The Clark Atlanta University Department of English and Modern Languages offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in French and Spanish. It also offers Master of Arts degrees in French and Spanish.
The Morehouse College Department of Modern Foreign Languages offers a Spanish major and minor, a French major and minor, an Asian Studies minor, a Latin American studies minor, and a European studies minor.
The Spelman College Department of World Languages and Literature offers a French major and minor, a Spanish major and minor, and a Japan Studies minor.
Languages
Collection is done primarily in Spanish and French, due to their prominence in all three schools’ foreign language departments. However, there are numerous monographs and multimedia material in other languages found in the foreign language departments, particularly Portuguese (Spelman College) and Chinese (Morehouse College). Collection covers languages of interest to students and faculty in the Atlanta University Center (ex.: Arabic, Korean, ect.). English language materials are also collected to supports cultural studies.
Chronological Coverage
The collections spans from the classical period through contemporary period. Special emphasis is placed on 20th and 21st century works.
Geographical Coverage
The collections strive to include works from all nations studied by the schools’ foreign language departments. The collection focuses primarily upon materials pertinent to the study of the language or the literatures of France, Spain, Latin America, Japan, and China.
Scope
The core of the collections are devoted to materials useful for students of all the Foreign Language departments in the Atlanta University Center. The collection strives to support all foreign language interests of members of the Atlanta University Center, whether scholarly or recreational.
The collection consists of monographs, serials, musical recordings, films, multimedia tutorials, and electronic resources. Musical recordings and audio tutorials are collected in CD format. The film collection includes materials on DVD and streaming platforms. The electronic resources available to faculty and students include MLA International Bibliography and the Hispanic American Periodicals Index.
The collections benefit greatly from faculty input. Faculty recommend titles related to their courses, as well as important cultural works. Because of that, there are numerous popular/leisure books and films in the collections.
Efforts are made to purchase materials that incorporate the African diaspora experience into Foreign Language or culture studies. This includes Afro-latinx culture, Black French culture, and the experience of African-Americans living abroad.
Textbooks are generally not purchased for the collection. There is an exception for workbooks
that are usually requested and placed on reserve by faculty. Additionally, there are several textbooks from past courses in the collection.