For more than 10 years, Vanderbilt University, Duke University, and the University of Virginia have partnered to offer courses in languages not often taught in the Western academic curriculum through a shared course initiative. This joint instruction includes several less-frequently-taught languages:
- Cherokee
- Haitian Creole
- Ki’che’
- Quechua
- Swahili
- Turkish
This unique effort both helps to preserve these endangered languages for future generations and adds depth to students’ understanding of subjects connected with these languages and their originating cultures.
How it Works
The partnership allows students from across all three universities to learn their chosen language together. Classes are taught synchronously via Zoom, combining students from all three campuses into one section. Each language is based at one of the three schools:
- Vanderbilt: Maya K’iche’
- Duke: Cherokee, Haitian Creole, Turkish, Quechua
- UVA: Swahili
Students attend class on their respective campuses at a common time, using Zoom to interact with students in the class at the other two universities. The course instructor works from the school where the language is based.
Fall 2026 Course Schedule
Cherokee
(courses listed in Anthropology Department)
Elementary Cherokee 1 MTuTh 4:40-5:30
Intermediate Cherokee 1 MTuTh 5:45-6:35
Haitian Creole
(courses listed in French Department)
Elementary Creole 1 MWF 10:20-11:20
Intermediate Creole 1 MWF 12:00-12:50
Advanced Creole WF 3:30-4:45
Maya K’iche’
(courses listed in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese Department)
KICH 1010/5101 Beginner K'iche I T/Th 3:00- 4:15pm (Central) (online)
Quechua
(courses listed in UVA Spanish, Italian, Portuguese Department)
Elementary Quechua 1 TuTh 10:05-11:20
Swahili
(courses listed in African American & African Studies Department)
SWAH 1010-online MWF 10AM-10:50AM (Prof Anyango)
SWAH 2010-online MWF 12-12:50PM (Prof Rotich)
Turkish
(courses listed in Middle Eastern & South Asian Languages and Cultures Department)
Turkish Elementary 1 MWF 4:55-5:45
Turkish Popular Culture MW 3:05-4:20 (advanced Turkish)
About The Languages
The Cherokee language has been spoken for hundreds, if not thousands, of years in western North Carolina by Cherokees as well as their neighbors and friends.
Elementary and Intermediate Creole classes build proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and provide an introduction to Creole studies. These classes also explore the following issues: health care, Haitian women's rights, and unpaid children servants.
The four-part sequence in Maya K'iche' (1010, 1020, 2010, 2020) is is designed to introduce students to three core content areas: K’iche’ language, Maya linguistics, and Maya culture.
In this course, students acquire basic skills of Quechua within units on culture and history, focusing on conversational routines and forms. Cultural topics include agricultural cycles, community practices, Andean spirituality, and multilingualism.
Learning Swahili offers an opportunity for you to learn a language and culture different from your own and engage positively with people from the Swahili region, makes you competitive in the job market, and looks good on your CV.
Speaking Turkish will allow you to travel to Türkiye, a secular Muslim country with a vibrant economy and thousands of years of history. The earliest human settlements we know today, such as Göbeklitepe are in Southeast Türkiye.