BA Modern Languages and International Relations

Title:

Introduction to Contemporary Democracy

Code:

PO1ICD

Convenor:

DR Christoph Arndt

Summary:

The module is intended to open students’ eyes to how democracy works or does not work around the world today. The first section on the Origins of Democracy looks globally at where democratic and non-democratic systems exist and what factors determine this distribution. We then look at the Arab Spring, varieties of political systems and electoral systems, political parties and voting in the following sections. Finally, we cover interest organisations and referendums. The examples and evidence are based on the UK, but also include comparisons beyond the UK where appropriate.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Political Ideas

Code:

PO1IPI

Convenor:

DR Andrew Reid

Summary:

An introduction to political theory, covering central topics like the state and its authority, democracy, rights and liberty, equality and social justice, and war and intervention, as well as some of the basic methods for understanding them all. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Politics: International Relations and Strategic Studies

Code:

PO1IRS

Convenor:

DR Amanda Hall

Summary:

The module introduces some of the key concepts in world politics: states, anarchy, power, and interest. This broad conceptual framework is linked to a discussion of the three main theories of international relations: realism, liberalism, and constructivism. The module also evaluates arguments about the centrality and utility of the use of force in dealing with security and strategic problems by asking: Why do states go to war? What is strategy and how does it link to warfare? Is it useful to differentiate between rebels and terrorists? Are nuclear weapons still relevant in a world facing the threats of climate change and pandemics?

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to French Culture

Code:

FR1IFC

Convenor:

DR Veronica Heath

Summary:

The aim of this module is to introduce students to a range of aspects of French culture through the study and analysis of key literary genres and visual art forms, mainly drawn from the late nineteenth to twenty first century period, including the novel and prose fiction, drama, film, poetry and music. The texts studied reflect the diversity of contemporary French society.
This module provides an excellent foundation for further study of literature and culture in more specialised modules in Part 2 and Part 3 of the French programme. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Beginners French Language

Code:

FR1L1

Convenor:

DR Marine Orain

Summary:

This module aims to introduce students with no previous knowledge of French to the study of French language and culture.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of French. Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in French comparable to level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Intermediate French Language

Code:

FR1L2

Convenor:

DR Marine Orain

Summary:

This module aims to develop the language skills of students who have already achieved AS Level in French or equivalent, as well as of students with an excellent GSCE Level qualification in French or equivalent.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of French to Honours degree level.  Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in French comparable to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Advanced French Language I

Code:

FR1L3

Convenor:

MRS Celine Biart

Summary:

This module aims to develop the language skills of students who have already achieved Advanced Level or equivalent in French. Students with an excellent AS Level qualification in French may also be considered for this module.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of French to Honours degree level, but will also be an effective study and career tool for students who are not intending to continue with French after Part 1. 

Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in French comparable to level B1/B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

The Making of Modern France

Code:

FR1MMF

Convenor:

DR Marjorie Gehrhardt

Summary:

The aim of this module is to examine events that shaped modern French society, ideas and institutions.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Icons of Modern Germany

Code:

GM1IMG

Convenor:

DR Ute Wolfel

Summary:

An introduction to aspects of the culture and history of post-1945 Germany.

Assessment Method:

Exam 60%, Assignment 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Beginners German Language

Code:

GM1L1

Convenor:

MS Regine Klimpfinger

Summary:

This module aims to introduce students with no previous knowledge of German to the study of German language and culture.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of German. Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in German comparable to level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Intermediate German Language

Code:

GM1L2

Convenor:

DR Claire Ross

Summary:

This module aims to develop the language skills of students who have already achieved AS Level in German or equivalent, as well as of students with an excellent GSCE Level qualification in German or equivalent.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of German to Honours degree level.  Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in German comparable to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Advanced German Language I

Code:

GM1L3

Convenor:

DR Alice Christensen

Summary:

This module aims to develop the language skills of students who have already achieved Advanced Level or equivalent in German . Students with an excellent AS Level qualification in German may also be considered for this module.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of German to Honours degree level, but will also be an effective study and career tool for students who are not intending to continue with German after Part 1. 

Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in German comparable to level B1/B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

German Texts and Genres

Code:

GM1TG

Convenor:

DR Ellen Pilsworth

Summary:

In this module students develop their textual analysis skills by exploring a range of literary texts from different genres including short stories, novels, and poetry. Our readings of these texts will focus on questions about identity: How do we define ourselves? And what makes us who we are? How are we affected by others?

The course introduces students to some ‘classics’ of German literature, e.g. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Bertolt Brecht, Heinrich Heine, and Anna Seghers, and contemporary authors with hybrid German identities, such as Emine Sevgi Özdamar, and Saša Stanišic. Through these texts, students gain insights into German culture from the eighteenth-century to the present day, and can reflect on the questions of how literature shapes who we are, both as individuals and as national collectives.

Assessment Method:

Exam 40%, Assignment 60%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Making Italians: A Journey in the History and Culture of Modern Italy

Code:

IT10MI

Convenor:

PROF Daniela La Penna

Summary:

This module introduces students to the history and culture of modern Italy from the struggle for Unification (achieved in 1861-1870) to the present day. Through a series of lectures and seminars students will learn about the factors and people that contributed to the birth of Italy as a nation and how these continued to shape the political debate in the fascist regime and in the Republic. Students will also learn how the narrative of national identity was used in the subsequent years after the Unification in literature and film.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 90%, Oral 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Linguistics

Code:

IT1IL

Convenor:

MR Federico Faloppa

Summary:

This module aims to familiarise students with principles in general linguistics, and to give students an overall picture of what a language is, how it works, and what its main structures are, with a particular focus on Italian. It will also provide useful meta-linguistic competence which can be applied to the study of any other language.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 20%, Set exercise 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Beginners Italian Language

Code:

IT1L1

Convenor:

MS Rita Balestrini

Summary:

This module aims to introduce students with no previous knowledge of Italian to the study of Italian language and culture.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of Italian. Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in Italian comparable to level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Intermediate Italian Language

Code:

IT1L2

Convenor:

MRS Enza Siciliano Verruccio

Summary:

This module aims to develop the language skills of students who have already achieved AS Level in Italian or equivalent, as well as of students with an excellent GSCE Level qualification in Italian or equivalent.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of Italian to Honours degree level.  Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in Italian comparable to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Advanced Italian Language I

Code:

IT1L3

Convenor:

DR Chiara Ciarlo

Summary:

This module aims to develop the language skills of students who have already achieved Advanced Level or equivalent in Italian . Students with an excellent AS Level qualification in Italian may also be considered for this module.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of Italian to Honours degree level, but will also be an effective study and career tool for students who are not intending to continue with Italian after Part 1. 

Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in Italian comparable to level B1/B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

What is Comparative Literature?

Code:

ML1COMP

Convenor:

DR John McKeane

Summary:

This module will introduce students to some of the major critical and theoretical issues in the study of Comparative Literature, as well as to important methodologies for studying literature in a comparative context. Approaching a cluster of texts from different cultural and historical traditions, students will be encouraged to reflect on the practices and consequences of reading transnationally. 

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Greats of European Cinema

Code:

ML1GEC

Convenor:

PROF Julia Waters

Summary:

The aim of this module is to provide students with an understanding of the ways in which European Cinema – and the various national cinemas that comprise it – reflects the changing political, social and cultural climate of the twentieth century. The course is designed to introduce students to key features of film analysis and to develop their ability to apply these to the films studied.

Assessment Method:

Exam 55%, Set exercise 45%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Linguistics

Code:

ML1IL

Convenor:

MR Federico Faloppa

Summary:

This module aims to familiarise students with principles in general linguistics, and to give students an overall picture of what a language is, how it works, and what its main structures are, with a particular focus on French, German, Italian and Spanish. It will also provide useful meta-linguistic competence which can be applied to the study of any other language.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 40%, Oral 20%, Set exercise 40%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Thinking Translation: History and Theory

Code:

ML1TRANS

Convenor:

DR Claire Ross

Summary:

This module introduces students to the history of translation as a literary practice, as well as to the main theoretical approaches to it and the influential concepts that have been used to reflect on translation practice.

Assessment Method:

Assignment 100%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Icons of Spain and Latin America: From conquest to independence; from revolution to globalisation

Code:

SP1I1

Convenor:

DR Cherilyn Elston

Summary:

This module introduces students of Spanish to the historical trajectory that forms the roots of modern-day Spain and Latin America, through the guided analysis of written and visual texts that span over five centuries. Through a series of lectures and seminars, in the Autumn Term, students will learn about the factors that contributed to the development of both Spain and Latin America, from Columbus’s voyage in 1492 to the decline of the Spanish Empire, and the push for independence in Latin America that characterised the nineteenth century. In the Spring Term, students will learn about the factors that contributed to the more recent development of both Spain and Latin America, from the Mexican Revolution, the Spanish Civil War, immigration, and the growing presence of the US across the continent, to contemporary debates about globalisation.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 40%, Report 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Beginners Spanish Language

Code:

SP1L1

Convenor:

DR Denisse Lazo-Gonzalez

Summary:

This module aims to introduce students with no previous knowledge of Spanish to the study of Spanish language and culture.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of Spanish. Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in Spanish comparable to level A2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Intermediate Spanish Language

Code:

SP1L2

Convenor:

MR Oscar Garcia Garcia

Summary:

This module aims to develop the language skills of students who have already achieved AS Level in Spanish or equivalent, as well as of students with an excellent GSCE Level qualification in Spanish or equivalent.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of Spanish to Honours degree level.  Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in Spanish comparable to level B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Advanced Spanish Language 1

Code:

SP1L3

Convenor:

MS Angela Mira Conejero

Summary:

This module aims to develop the language skills of students who have already achieved Advanced Level or equivalent in Spanish . Students with an excellent AS Level qualification in Spanish may also be considered for this module.

The course will provide the necessary basis for the study of Spanish to Honours degree level, but will also be an effective study and career tool for students who are not intending to continue with Spanish after Part 1. 

Students who successfully complete this module will have achieved a level of competence in Spanish comparable to level B1/B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.

Assessment Method:

Practical 65%, Oral 25%, Class test 10%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.

Title:

Introduction to Spanish and Latin American Culture

Code:

SP1SLAC

Convenor:

DR Maria Reyes Baztan

Summary:

The aim of this module is to introduce students to Spanish and Latin American culture through the study and analysis of key literary and visual art forms, including short stories, poetry, documentaries and feature films, fine art and popular music. Key authors may include Pablo Neruda, Gabriel García Márquez, Isabel Allende, Pío Baroja, Juan Rulfo, Ariel Dorfman, Julio Medem, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, José Luis Guerín, Pablo Picasso, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Iciar Bollain, Fernando Trueba, Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Fernando Pérez, and others. Texts will be read in the original language if the student is taking that language to degree level, but translations will be available.

Assessment Method:

Exam 50%, Assignment 50%

Disclaimer:

The modules described on this page are what we currently offer. Modules may change for your year of study as we regularly review our offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.