The study of Romance Languages at Hopkins began with the founding of the university in 1876. The original intent was for Romance Languages to supplement classical studies. Aaron Marshall Elliott was named an Associate in 1876 to teach Romance Languages and was promoted to full professor in 1892. Elliott received the Ph.D. from Harvard in 1867 and studied in Europe for eight year before returning to assume his position at Hopkins. Since he was the only faculty member at Hopkins in his field, Elliott taught a wide variety of languages, not only romance (Italian, Spanish and French), but also Persian, as well as medieval languages. By 1884 Elliott had established a doctoral program, which would train many prominent romance scholars for American universities. At this time, he also founded the Modern Language Association of America and its review, the Publication of the Modern Language Association (PMLA), which still plays an important part in literary studies.
Edward Cooke Armstrong, a Hopkins Ph.D. (French), succeeded Elliott as Chair of the department in 1897. Armstrong taught at Hopkins from 1897 to 1917, chairing it from 1910 until 1917, when he became professor of Romance Languages at Princeton. Under Armstrong's direction the Romance Journal Club was founded, composed of a group of faculty and students who met weekly and reviewed foreign scientific literature. In 1919, Henry Carrington Lancaster, who received his Ph.D. from Hopkins in French in 1907, was named Professor and Chair. He rebuilt the department while also reinforcing the traditional seminar style of education. Although courses were offered in Italian and Spanish, French remained the primary emphasis of the department.
In the 1950s, the department benefited from the presence of émigré European scholars, such as Leo Spitzer, Georges Poulet (who succeeded Lancaster as chair in 1952) , Jean Starobinski. When Poulet returned to Europe, Nathan Edelman became chair. In 1957 Charles Singleton returned to the department after spending ten years at Harvard. Singleton's presence was to dominate the Romance Languages Department for almost three decades, despite the fact that his primary appointment was in the Humanities Center, which he had founded. Singleton was known as one of the foremost scholars on Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, and his scholarship received numerous awards, including the Order of Commendation, the highest honor the Italian government can bestow on a non-Italian.
Singleton was also instrumental in developing the Villa Spellman, in Florence, Italy, as a study facility for Hopkins faculty and graduate students. The building is used as a retreat for Hopkins scholars doing research in Italy, and is also the site of a foreign study program for undergraduates. Singleton remained involved in the affairs of the Romance Languages Department until his death in 1985.
In 1984 the Department of Romance Languages was divided into two separate departments, the Department of French (chaired by Géard Defaux), and the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies, under the direction of Harry Sieber. This arrangement lasted until 1999, when the two departments were once more reconstituted as the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures with Stephen G. Nichols as Chair. Today, the Department continues the tradition of close ties with scholars and universities from other countries in Europe and Latin America. Graduate students and undergraduates regularly study in major universities and institutes abroad. Every year, students and faculty from partner universities from abroad teach and study in the department creating a dynamic and stimulating intellectual scene. |
