English Program
Haven-Warren Hall, Room 100
Telephone: (404) 880-8169

Modern Languages Programs
Sage-Bacote Hall, Room 325
Telephone: (404) 880-8789

Dr. Georgene Bess-Montgomery
(Interim Chair)
gmontgomery@cau.edu

The mission of the Department of English and Modern Languages is to prepare students in College Composition and creative writing, various genres of literature, critical analysis, and research to transform and enrich diverse learners intellectually, culturally, and professionally. Additionally, the mission of the Department of English and Modern Languages is to prepare and expose language majors and non-majors to the languages and cultures of different societies and to achieve functional proficiency and communicative competence in the target language—Spanish and French—through immersion and varied enrichment experiences. The vision of the Department of English and Modern Languages is twofold: to be a collaborative center of innovative teaching, learning, and research that will enhance students’ ability to engage globally in a variety of professions through enriched programs and curricula and to develop a multilingual community of learners, which affords students the opportunity to perfect their language skills for global communication and awareness, understand curricular content and innovations, and international experiences that connect them to a larger world.

The Department of English and Modern Languages offers courses that satisfy the University's core requirements in English, Spanish, French, and the Humanities and prepares students for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in English, Spanish, and French. The Department of English and Modern Languages also offers a Minor in Creative Writing. In addition, the Department sponsors extracurricular activities and organizations that enhance the cultural and academic climate of Clark Atlanta University and the Atlanta community. Foremost among them is the Annual Writers Workshop Conference. The English and Modern Languages Department sponsors the Charles Waddell Chesnutt Association (an affiliate of the American Literature Association and of the College Language Association). The Department of English and Modern Languages also sponsors the Alpha Beta Beta chapter of the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society as well as an active English Club. The Creative Writing program publishes the CAU Review, a journal of students’ fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. The Department of English and Modern Languages maintains several professional affiliations and memberships, including the Modern Language Association (MLA), the College Language Association (CLA), and the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF).

The Department also meets the General Education Core for foreign language requirements and assists students in enrolling in one of the four levels (101, 102, 201 or 202), according to their departmental requirements, as well as level of proficiency—as determined by placement tests, administered by the department. Students who enter with superior preparation, as evidenced by scores on the placement examination, may begin their major language requirements in the freshman year.

Students may arrange for interdisciplinary majors with the approval of the department chair. Students may also arrange to travel and study in a country where the language in which they are majoring is spoken. Both semester and yearlong programs are especially recommended for students during their junior year.