Showcase - Department of Romance and Classical Studies

RCS Scholarly and Creative Activity

The Department of Romance and Classical Studies is comprised of active scholars, creators, instructors, advisors, staff and students. We dedicate our productive energies and contributions to many communities, on campus and beyond.

NEWS

Graduates in green caps and gowns sit in a spacious indoor arena. One cap features a large jeweled "S." The mood is celebratory and formal.

Perfect Achievement: 16 College of Arts & Letters Graduates Receive Board of Trustees Awards

April 13, 2026

Sixteen College of Arts & Letters students who are graduating in Spring 2026 have earned the Board of Trustees Award for having maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during their undergraduate education. These students are among the 315 graduating from MSU in Spring 2026 with a 4.0 GPA, the highest scholastic average one can attain at the end of their undergraduate career at Michigan State University.

A group photo of twelve people indoors. Two men stand holding large ceremonial checks above smiling individuals seated on a couch, exuding celebration.

Students Recognized with ‘Honors Giving Back Awards’ for Outstanding Community-Engaged Work

April 9, 2026

The 10th annual Honors Giving Back Awards recognized eight Michigan State University students for their outstanding community-engaged work, including two College of Arts & Letters students. The

RCS Carnival Festival Unites MSU Community Through Language, Culture, and Celebration

March 25, 2026

What better way to lighten up the grey Michigan weather in March than to celebrate the RCS Carnival Festival that focuses on romance cultures and

Special Topics and Programs

SPN412: Latin Popular Music and Globalization

FRN440: Cartoons, Graphic Novels and Film in the Francophone and Arab Worlds

FRN450: Memory and Culture of French-Indochina

SPN462: Don Quixote Rides the Silver Screen

PRT350: Luso-Brazilian Modern and Contemporary Short Stories

PRT340: Topics in Luso-Brazilian Culture – Film Adaptation

PRT340: History of Portuguese Encounters

PRT340: Topics in Culture – Regional Cultures of Brazil

Summer Study Abroad: Spanish for Healthcare in Oaxaca

PRT350: The Short Stories of Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis

PRT320: Advanced Portuguese – Journey Into Brazil

SPN472: Puerto Rico’s Colonial Odyssey and Resistance

FRN440: French Literature in the Jazz Age

FRN420: Gained in Translation – French-English Translation

SPN412: Boleros to Protest Song – Music Genres from Spanish America

SPN452: Bridging Cultures – Mastering the Art of Translation

SPN412: Gender and Sexuality in Latin America

SPN491: Sorcery and the Supernatural in the Renaissance

Pláticas: Spanish Conversation Meets 4 Times a Week

PRT350: Introduction to Literary Analysis – Brazil’s “Belle Époque”

SPN482: Evolution of the Spanish Language

FRN440: Cartoons, Graphic Novels and Film in the Francophone and Arab Worlds

SPN452: Spanish Language for the Medical Professions

CLA190: Introduction to the Study of the Classics

FRN350: French History in Painting and Visual Arts

FRN450: Dreams of Freedom in Color – Cultures of the Francosphere

SPN491: Race, Sexual Identity, and Gender in Contemporary Latin America

SPN 472: Peruvian Science Fiction and Futurism

FRN 440: Perspectives in Literature and the Arts of the Francosphere – Comics

FILM AND MEDIA

RESCHEDULED Pre-Release Screening: Safoi Babana-Hampton’s “Choeurs Atlantiques”

A collection of six film posters arranged in two rows. From left to right in the top row: "La Nuit du 12" (a woman in a red coat at night), "The Beast" (a close-up of a woman's face), and "Retour à Séoul" (a woman in a black coat in front of neon lgihts). Bottom row: "Other People's Children" (a smiling woman and man with a child), "Le Mépris" (a woman lounging in a room above the ocean), and "Banel & Adama" (a woman in a red dress laying on cracked earth).

Albertine Cinémathèque French Film Festival Returns to MSU

Sculpture of large pistol tied in knot

Boehm Awarded Grant to Develop “Our Knotted Gun” Documentary

Prof. Safoi Babana-Hampton Releases Film Trailer

Photos four Italian films

20th Annual Italian Film Festival Returns to MSU

Film Festival Shines Spotlight on Latinx Culture and Global Issues

Faculty Highlights

Graduates in green caps and gowns sit in a spacious indoor arena. One cap features a large jeweled "S." The mood is celebratory and formal.

Perfect Achievement: 16 College of Arts & Letters Graduates Receive Board of Trustees Awards

Sixteen College of Arts & Letters students who are graduating in Spring 2026 have earned the Board of Trustees Award for having maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during their undergraduate education. These students are among the 315 graduating from MSU in Spring 2026 with a 4.0 GPA, the highest scholastic average one can attain at the end of their undergraduate career at Michigan State University.

April 13, 2026

A group photo of twelve people indoors. Two men stand holding large ceremonial checks above smiling individuals seated on a couch, exuding celebration.

Students Recognized with ‘Honors Giving Back Awards’ for Outstanding Community-Engaged Work

The 10th annual Honors Giving Back Awards recognized eight Michigan State University students for their outstanding community-engaged work, including two College of Arts & Letters students. The

April 9, 2026

RCS Carnival Festival Unites MSU Community Through Language, Culture, and Celebration

What better way to lighten up the grey Michigan weather in March than to celebrate the RCS Carnival Festival that focuses on romance cultures and

March 25, 2026

student Highlights

Graduates in green caps and gowns sit in a spacious indoor arena. One cap features a large jeweled "S." The mood is celebratory and formal.

Perfect Achievement: 16 College of Arts & Letters Graduates Receive Board of Trustees Awards

A group photo of twelve people indoors. Two men stand holding large ceremonial checks above smiling individuals seated on a couch, exuding celebration.

Students Recognized with ‘Honors Giving Back Awards’ for Outstanding Community-Engaged Work

Cristina Rivera Garza speaks into a microphone at the left end of a faculty panel, flanked by another MSU faculty members seated before a full audience. A small high-top table with water bottles sits at the center of the panel arrangement.

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Mexican Author Engages MSU Community in Conversations on Storytelling, Memory, and Justice

Rachel Zhai stands at a podium holding notes while delivering an oral presentation to an audience seated in a lecture-style room at the Diversity Research Showcase.

Arts & Letters and RCAH Students Earn Awards at Diversity Research Showcase

MSU Student Spends a Semester Abroad in France Studying Politics and Philosophy

Three people stand side by side in front of a bright red wall featuring the word “Canada” in large white letters. A Canadian flag is between the person on the left and the person in the center. The person on the left wears a dark pullover and patterned pants, the person in the middle wears a short-sleeve button-down shirt and trousers, and the person on the right wears a dark suit with a light dress shirt. All three are smiling.

Student View: Interning with the Canadian Consulate

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