Hofstra Department of Romance Languages and Literatures

08/06/2026

In this course, students practice their conversation skills in Spanish in a relaxed environment where they feel comfortable with the language while improving their fluency. Conversation topics for each session are tailored to individual students’ needs and interests, and include discussion of current events, films, or readings. Students meet individually with their instructor, once a week for 30 minutes, either in person or via Zoom.

08/06/2026

08/06/2026

French 107 allows students to gain confidence in their ability to converse in French with a professor who is a native speaker of the language. No books required for this course, just the desire to speak French!

07/31/2026

Check out Spanish 113B: Cultures of Latin America, offered this fall!

This course is an introduction to the history and cultures of the nations that comprise the Latin American continent today. Students will study politics, social structures, traditions, and artistic movements from pre-Columbian civilizations to the present. This course, as all courses with the SPAN prefix, is taught in Spanish.

07/31/2026

Offered in fall 2026, ITST 142: (IS) ITALIAN MAFIA: HISTORICAL REALITY AND FICTIONAL REPRESENTATIONS examines the wide spectrum of representations of Italian organized crime, from historically oriented works to fictional popularizations.

Some of the major narratives dealing with southern organized crime will be presented. At the same time, students will learn about the origins and the development of the Mafia and its economic and political background, with a special focus on the period between the post-war years to the present.

This course is taught in English.

07/31/2026

For a few days each May and again each August, the setting sun lines up so precisely with the Champs-Élysées that it appears to slide directly under the Arc de Triomphe, framed inside the arch like it was built for this. Photographers call it Paris Henge, a nod to Manhattanhenge, the same kind of sunset alignment New Yorkers chase twice a year along Manhattan's street grid.

The window is short and the spot is exact. This year, the alignment falls across a few days in early August, with the sharpest, most centered version of the sunset landing around August 4. A day or two on either side still gets you a version of the shot, just with the sun sitting slightly higher or lower in the arch.

Position matters as much as the date. Move a few feet off the axis and the sun slips out from under the arch entirely. The sweet spot is the Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, where the arch's width in the sky almost exactly matches the width of the setting sun. People start claiming a spot on the sidewalk an hour or more before sunset for a clear line down the avenue.

The arch itself has stood at the top of the Champs-Élysées since 1836. Nobody building it was checking whether the sun would ever line up this perfectly with it.

Photo:

07/29/2026

Spanish 106 is an intensive non-fiction writing language course designed to help professionals in communication and the media and pre-professionals preparing to work in these areas, allowing them to develop real-life Spanish language skills they can use in this line of work. All students who have placed above Spanish 003 are encouraged to take this course.