BeginningsThe Post-War YearsThe New MillenniumStudent Work Off-Campus


Founded in 1866 by the Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches, many of Carleton’s first engagements with the wider world were associated with its Christian mission. A number of Carleton’s earliest graduates went on to undertake missionary work in China, Japan, India, Turkey, as well as throughout the United States. Some of Carleton’s earliest international students first become acquainted with Carleton through these missionary connections.

The study of foreign languages at Carleton also has its roots in Carleton’s earliest years: initially, Latin and Greek, with French and German joining them soon thereafter. The early 20th century saw an international dimension introduced to new areas of Carleton’s curriculum, from international relations to geology, with the help of notable figures like Frank B. Kellogg and Laurence M. Gould.

Hyme Loss

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German lunch table
German lunch table
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Professor Hyme Loss
Professor Hyme Loss
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Professor Hyme Loss

circa 1930

Professor Hyme Loss (b. 1888; d. 1977) brought experience and expertise to the foreign languages at Carleton. Minnesota-born and Harvard-educated, his studies included time in France—this in an era when languages were typically taught for reading knowledge by professors with little experience abroad. Fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, Yiddish, Latin, and Greek, Professor Loss joined the faculty in 1926, chairing Romance Languages from 1942 to 1953. He also helped support Carleton’s first Jewish student association.

19 January 2018