How is CLAC different from a typical language class?
Duke’s language departments offer a wide array of courses that span the arts, humanities, and the professions, from literature, film, politics, intellectual history, visual culture, and linguistics to language for special purposes such as business and medicine. CLAC courses expand upon these offerings by giving students a skillset tailored to a specific area of study. Courses are developed in tandem with faculty from multiple departments, and students learn both language and disciplinary skill from experts in those areas, helping them to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
What kinds of students take CLAC courses? Who are they geared to?
For students who have finished their language requirement and want to extend their fluency, these courses help maintain and build language skills while adding depth to their field of study. For those preparing for or even returning from a service or service-learning experience, CLAC courses offer a unique environment to contextualize and personalize their learning experience.
Because CLAC emphasizes vertical integration, language learners have the opportunity to work with heritage speakers, and undergraduates with graduate students.
How are decisions made about which languages will be offered?
CLAC aims to be needs-driven, and so our first efforts have been to survey students to identify which languages they speak, where they are already working internationally, and where they intend to conduct research, complete service, or work abroad. Interested in offering a CLAC course? Please contact us!
