#  Course Levels in RLL 

 



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- **Courses 10 through 60** are designed primarily for undergraduates and focus on language acquisition in cultural context. Using film, music, the media, creative writing, and short fiction, the courses explore contemporary issues like sustainability, regional and urban studies, and human rights. Students enroll at their appropriate level, from beginning and early intermediate (10-20), to upper level (30) and advanced (40-60). Courses numbered 59 combine language study and engagement with living-language communities in the Boston area. Courses at the highest level in the sequence (the 60s) offer effective bridges between the studies of language, culture, and literature. Students may begin a new language at level 10, while those with some experience place into intermediate or advanced. Many go on to earn a language citation, and some choose to concentrate in one or more of the language and literature traditions.
- **Courses at the 70 and 80 levels** introduce undergraduates to a wide range of literary and other cultural works, which lay a foundation for more advanced study in RLL. At the same time, students learn to analyze and write about texts using current approaches in the field of literary and cultural studies. Some 70-level courses focus on particular themes or literary genres in specific periods, such as scientific exploration in the Renaissance, love poetry in the Middle Ages, or gender in the 21st century. Others explore works from across broad regions, like Latin America or the Francophone world, to examine how common threads and unique characteristics in cultural production have developed from the past to the present. Courses at the 80 level can include workshops or other hands-on instruction in translation or theater production and performance. All 70s and 80s are taught entirely in the language and are reserved for undergraduates. Close study of complex texts, along with sophisticated discussion and writing practice, ensure the further improvement and refinement of students’ language skills.
- **Courses numbered 100-199** are advanced courses in literature and culture, open to both undergraduates and graduate students. The level of language skill required in these courses is not necessarily more advanced than in the 70s and 80s, so undergraduates interested in a particular topic should explore the course. **Unlike the 10s through the 60s, courses that are 70 and above do not need to be taken in numerical order.**
- **200-level courses** are intended primarily for graduate students. They are chiefly seminars, and some are conducted in English. They are sometimes open to interested, advanced undergraduates, who must have the professor’s consent for permission to enroll.