World Languages and Cultures Department
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315 O'Hara Hall
Scranton, PA 18510
570-941-4014
News and Events 2024-2025
Cultural Events
Bridging Cultures: The German-Polish Christmas
Congratulations to World Languages & Cultures’ German Language Fulbright Teaching Assistant, Oliwia Doroszko! Our Department hosted close to 50 people last night at her event “Bridging Cultures: The German-Polish Christmas.” For instructors who would like to confirm student participation, below is a list of attendees who checked in at the event.
Through visuals and song, Professor Doroszko regaled the audience with a harmonious blend of German and Polish traditions. After describing Saint Nicholas and the Krampus (kind of a “good cop, bad cop” situation), Oliwia helped participants determine if they were on any naughty lists. While the cookies, tea, and other refreshments were an absolute delight for the senses, perhaps one of the most memorable moments of the event was our very own Dr. Caporale discovering a Weihnachtsgurke (German Christmas pickle) under her seat. One lucky participant took home an advent calendar in the wake of a competitive game, and everyone had the opportunity to participate in the sharing of oplatka – a traditional Polish wafer that left us showering one other with good wishes and blessings.
Finally, we are grateful to Oliwia for reminding us of the power of a song to stop a war, even for a moment. Thank you to all who were able to join her at the event; we look forward to seeing you at the next one by French Language Fulbright Teaching Assistant Emma Leclercq on February 19, 2025 in the Kane Forum (more details to follow).
Day of the Dead vs. All Saints' Day
Congratulations to our very own Spanish Language Fulbright Teaching Assistant, Fabián Bizcocho! Professor Bizcocho hosted an informative event in the Kane Forum on October 29, including a truly memorable blueprint for getting into Aztec Paradise and a Spanish dessert recommendation – huesos de santo (the bones of saints). Thank you to all who were able to join him at the event!
World Languages Open House
On October 7th, the World Languages and Cultures department hosted their Open House where students from various language classes including Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and German visited the Language Learning Center. The students were each given passports which encouraged them to engage in conversation with the Foreign Language Fulbright Teaching Assistants, language tutors, and instructors from the Department. Refreshments were also offered to those who attended.
TAIWAN: All YoU NeEd To KnOw!
The Taiwanese cultural event, TAIWAN: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!: Boba, Hot Pot, Nvidia, and Same-sex Marriage, was held on Oct. 3rd at Leahy Kane Forum. Chih-yi Wu, the presenter, is the Taiwanese visiting instructor this year at Scranton. She made boba tea with brown sugar for everyone and bought some Taiwanese snacks to share. Students said they like 旺旺 (wangwang) rice cookies, strawberry puffs, and chocolate puffs. They were surprised by the taste of 旺旺 (wangwang) rice cookies, savory and sweet, but different from the cookies in the United States.
During the event, Ms. Wu talked about the multiple ethnic groups, languages, and the history of democracy in Taiwan. Taiwanese people used to be ruled by a dictator and lost freedom of speech for 38 years. After the government demolished the Martial Law, Taiwan eventually had its first direct presidential election in 1996. Until now, Taiwan has gone through three times peaceful transition of power. Chih-Yi Wu states,”Generally, people think Chinese is a difficult language, it is. However, there are a lot of words that are translated the sound from English. For example, 紐西蘭 (niu xi lan) is New Zealand, 加利福尼亞 (jia li fu ni ya) is California. Now it’s YOUR TURN! What is 李 奧納多狄卡皮歐 (li ao na duo di ka pi ou) in English (hint: an actor)?”. People at the event got the answer. Try to speak faster and you will get it, too!
