About The Program
Format: Online or On Campus
In Northern's global language and culture program, you'll be provided with skills and experiences to communicate effectively in global contexts across various cultural settings, becoming an effective participant in a global community.
This program, offered in person or online, explores research across the curriculum - including sociology, business, history, government, cultural and communication studies, and modern language - to offer a vibrant and accessible curriculum that stays current with global trends and market needs.
This is not a language program, but rather a global cultural studies program that incorporates the practical use of language in a global context. If you major in this program, you will choose one language as your concentration: Chinese, German or Spanish.
A B.A. in global language and culture supplements minors including international business, international studies, sociology, English, communication studies, government, public relations and public history.
Many courses offered in this program double count between majors, which opens the opportunity for you to add a B.A. in global language and culture as a second major. Labs are only required for majors within the program, which opens the opportunity for non-majors to enroll in any non-lab GLC prefix course and have it count toward the 300 level and above credit requirements that must be fulfilled by majors in all programs.
This contextualized learning of languages and culture prepares you to take on a wide variety of professional roles in areas including international business/banking, technology services, immigration services, international student programs, hospitality services, health care services, and embassy support.
We'll work closely with you and our connections to find internships and field experiences that accord with your interests.
For more information about this degree, offered on campus and online, call 605-626-2601 or email Dr. Elizabeth Haller. Or, contact NSU Admissions at 605-626-2544 or admissions@northern.edu.
Our Faculty
Ph.D. in Theater Studies, University of California at Santa Barbara
MFA in Theatre Performance, Arizona State University
BA in Theatre Arts, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Anderson joined the faculty at NSU in the Fall of 2019. Previously, he served as a professor at Hendrix College, Pacific Lutheran University, and the University of Puget Sound.
His research interests include acting, directing, performance studies, comic studies, and popular culture. Many of his scholarly publications feature his ethnographic research in cosplayers at San Diego’s Comic-Con International. Dr. Anderson is currently working on his book manuscript examining superheroes as iconic performances of Americanism.
Kane is also an accomplished actor and director who has worked on stages across the country.
Dr. Lysbeth Em Benkert arrived at Northern State University in the fall of 1995, one year after receiving her Ph.D from Washington State University.
Her specializations include rhetorical theory and early modern literature, including Shakespeare. She also teaches creative writing. In addition to her academic scholarship, she has published original poems in a variety of literary magazines and a chapbook titled #girl stuff (Dancing Girl Press, 2018).
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Dr. Brownfield joined the NSU faculty in 2015. Her current research looks at deviance and “bad behavior” in online forums devoted to support networks. She recently has published articles on depictions of prisons in film and rural policing on television.
Research Interests/Areas of Expertise
Popular culture
New media research methods
Online phenomena
Race/class/gender
Social psychology, identity, narrative, and deviance
Ph.D, University of Wisconsin - Madison
Juan M. Gonzalez, originally from Salt Lake City Utah, worked for 18 years as an international public relations specialist/marketing rep for an advertising firm. Part of his responsibilities included making three to four week trips throughout South America and Mexico to meet and greet radio and TV managers and owners. He has worked and lived in every major city in that area.
An economic downturn in the mid-90s found him without work and consequently he went back to school to complete a BA and MA in Spanish at the University of Utah. He left Utah in 1998 to complete his Ph.D in Spanish at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, from which he graduated in 2005. Recently, he spent four years teaching Spanish at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado.
Juan has been teaching at Northern State University in Aberdeen,…
Library Cat Translating website
M.A., Spanish, Arizona State University
M.A., Communication, University of North Dakota
B.A., Spanish and English Philology, Kiev National Linguistic University, Ukraine
In her Spanish, linguistics, and communication classes, Tetiana (Tanya) White gives students opportunities to develop new and various lenses through which to see themselves and other cultures. She enjoys watching students gain the confidence to speak publicly and carry that skill into their future careers.
Ms. White’s research interests lie at the intersection of linguistics and communication. Her latest master’s thesis studied critical cultural awareness of students, the structure of their mental lexicon, and their cultural values and beliefs. Her scholarly…