Languages, Linguistics and Philosophy Department

Leroy Meyer, Chairperson
Slagle 306
(605) 677-5357
languages@usd.edu
http://www.usd.edu/languages

FACULTY:

Professors:

István Gombocz, Ph.D. (German), German Language, Literature and Culture
Leroy N. Meyer, Ph.D. (Philosophy), Logic, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Culture

Assistant Professors:

Angela Helmer, Ph.D. (Spanish), Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture
Vaughn Huckfeldt, Jr., Ph.D. (Philosophy), Ethical Theory, Meta-Ethics, Practical Reason
Isaac Joslin, Ph.D. (French)
Armik Mirzayan, Ph.D. (Lakota & Linguistics), Phonetics and Phonology, Lakota, Quechua, American Indian Languages, Language Structures
Robert Turner, Ph.D. (Spanish)

Instructors:

Kristine Djerf (Spanish), Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture
Deborah Van Damme (Spanish), Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture

Emeritus Professors:

Susan Wolfe, Ph.D. (Linguistics), Gender Studies, Philosophy of Language
Werner Kitzler, Ph.D. (German)

MAJORS:

French Studies, B.A.
German, B.A.
Philosophy, B.A., B.S.
Spanish, B.A.

MINORS:

French Studies
German
Philosophy
Spanish
Interdisciplinary Language Areas

The study of a second language is a valuable asset for every university student regardless of career goals and personal aspirations. Knowledge of other languages and cultures makes one a more informed citizen and may provide a marketable skill. The Department of Language, Linguistics & Philosophy offers programs in French Studies, German, and Spanish. Students wishing to satisfy the fourteen-hour language requirement for the Bachelor of Arts degree may do so in any of the aforementioned languages, or in Arabic, Lakota, or (offered through the History Department’s program in Classics) Latin. Students may elect to minor in French, German, or Spanish. Teaching majors and teaching minors are offered in French, German, Lakota (minor only), and Spanish. Students who wish to expand their knowledge of the world by living in a foreign culture may take advantage of exchange opportunities in France, Germany, Hungary, Spain or Mexico, among many other options. Student exchange programs currently exist with the Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Oldenburg, Germany; the Friedrich Schiller Universität, Jena, Germany; the University of Pau, France; the Pázmány Péter Catholic University of Hungary; and the University of Vigo, Spain.

The study of philosophy represents the finest tradition in university education and will be of lasting value in any vocation prizing that tradition, e.g. law, government, health services, psychology, physics, mathematics, and fine arts. A philosopher is committed to a way of life which promotes wholeness, excellence, and well-being. A philosophical way of life is achieved only through intense, critical investigation of the fundamental principles of all reality and human belief. This is what is meant by referring to philosophy as the love of wisdom. The philosophy program does not hold a narrow, professionalist view of its work, and therefore denies that philosophical activity is limited to scheduled hours of the day. Both inside and outside the classroom, the faculty teaches by engaging in philosophical reflection with those who desire to learn. In light of the work of great philosophical thinkers, the curriculum challenges the student to seek consistent, reasonable, and well defined positions regarding such issues as the nature and possibility of knowledge; the grounds for moral judgment; the methods, aims, and presuppositions of the sciences and arts; the objects and limits of religious belief; and the fundamental nature of reality. Philosophical study not only encourages, but requires, responsible, independent thought and action; it often widens the scope of experience by disclosing surprising alternatives to settled opinions and habitual beliefs. Philosophy instills the conviction that free, critical inquiry is a necessary condition of a genuinely worthwhile life. The Philosophy program is administratively located in the Department of Languages, Linguistics and Philosophy.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Constance Hampl - French majors
Alexander Hartman - French or Spanish majors
Edwin Behrendt- German majors
Lillian Hollingsworth - Spanish majors
Edward and Helen Greene Travel Fund – Language Majors
Akeley Philosophy fund