Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
A New Book on Infusing Foreign Language Content in Humanities Courses
Incorporating Foreign Language Content in Humanities Courses (Routledge Press, 2019) is the title of a new book co-edited by Dr. Priya Ananth (associate
professor of Japanese) and Dr. Leah Tolbert Lyons (associate professor of French).
This volume offers innovative ways to incorporate foreign language content and concepts
into humanities courses taught in English. In light of declining enrollments in humanities
courses nationwide, and foreign language courses in particular, the contributions
to this collection display the adept joining of foreign languages with humanities
content courses in the areas of literature, linguistics, and culture. The book presents
tangible course samples from a variety of languages and proficiency levels and serves
as a useful resource to all foreign language faculty, without regard to their language
speciality, for the adaptation and development of their own curricula that infuses
foreign language content into English-taught humanities courses.

Dr. Priya Ananth
World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
2019 SEATJ Teacher of the Year Award
Dr. Ananth is an associate professor of Japanese in the Department of World Languages,
Literatures and Cultures. Dr. Ananth was awarded the 2019 SEATJ Teacher of the Year
Award, by the Southeastern Association of Teachers of Japanese (SEATJ) at the 34th SEATJ Conference on March 2, 2019 at Wake Forest University, North Carolina. This
award is given annually to an outstanding teacher of Japanese who demonstrates excellence
in teaching and leadership in the field of Japanese Language education. The nominations
are sought from SEATJ members who come from all over the United States and Japan.
As such, this award has national significance. Here is a quote from the award letter,
"We are impressed with your dedication to your students and the advocacy for Japanese
studies at MTSU. We are also very thankful for your leadership and contributions
in the field, not only at SEATJ but also at the national level."
Faculty member Dr. Ann McCullough recognized for Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award
Dr. McCullough was awarded the 2015-16 Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award during
the MTSU Honors Annual Awards Ceremony on April 28th. The award was established in
November 2004 by Dr. Jan Hayes to recognize faculty members who received the highest
student evaluations teaching an Honors course. One Honors faculty member is selected
over the course of the year's evaluations and is given the award at the MTSU Honors
Annual Awards Ceremony each April.
Dr. McCullough is an associate professor of French in the Department of World Languages,
Literatures, and Cultures. She received her Ph.D. from Emory University in French
Language and Literature.
Two faculty members have been recognized for their outstanding contributions and performance
Nancy Sloan Goldberg
World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Outstanding Research Award
Dr. Nancy Goldberg is a professor of French in the Department of Foreign languages
and Literatures. She received her Ph.D. in French Literature from Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Goldberg’s research interests focus on the interconnectedness of literature
and politics in early twentieth- century France and specifically on fiction written
during the World War I. She has published two books and twenty peer-reviewed articles
and book chapters. These publications, written in English, French and Spanish, have
appeared in well-known journals in France, England, Italy, Chile, Australia, and the
United States. Recent publications include “Qui donc fermera la porte entr’ouverte?”
and “The Home and the Nation in Women’s War Poetry” in Essays in French Literature
and Culture and “Rereading Ventura García Calderón” in Hispania. Dr. Goldberg’s dual-language
website, “French Writers of the great War/Les Écrivains Français de la Grande Guerre,”
has provided access and information to a global community of students and scholars
since 2006.
Jason L. Pettigrew
Foreign Languages and literatures
Outstanding Teacher Award
Dr. Jason Pettigrew is an assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign
languages and literatures. He received his Ph.D. in Modern Foreign languages at the
universityof Tennessee-Knoxville. He has been a member of the MTSU faculty since 2011.
Dr. Pettigrew has taught Spanish Language course at all levels, Hispanic American
literature, and an introductory course about teaching foreign languages. He also serves
as the faculty advisor to the MTSU Spanish Club and is a member of the graduate faculty
and honors faculty. His area of specialization is Hispanic American Literature, and
his main research interest is the literary analysis of poetry.
As an instructor of Spanish, Dr. Pettigrew wants students to realize that knowledge
of other cultures and languages can not only help them, reach professional goals,
but can also enrich their understanding and participation in national and world communities.
He strives to maintain an approach to foreign language teaching that is informed by
sound research on second language acquisition. He endeavors to keep his classroom
learner-centered, open to different learning styles, and low-anxiety, so that students
will feel comfortable experimenting with Spanish. Dr. Pettigrew also strives to integrate
culture into his language classes. He not only wants students to build communicative
competence in Spanish, but also to open their minds to the peoples and cultures of
our interconnected world. The broadened perspective and cultural understanding that
students gain through foreign language study are the ultimate goals of all his efforts
in the classroom.