English and Modern Languages & Cultures BA

Core English modules:

Renaissance to Revolution: Early Modern Literature

This module will introduce you to literary study at degree level by focusing on the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, a period of enormous innovation in English literature. You will study writers such as Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, Philip Sidney, Mary Wroth, John Donne, and Aemelia Lanyer, and you will develop close reading skills by analysing the ways in which these writers used formal and stylistic techniques. You will examine how the literature of the period related to the surrounding culture, society, and politics, and consider the different ways in which texts could be produced, read, and performed.

20 credits

Writing Revolutions: Restoration to Romanticism

'Writing Revolutions: Restoration to Romanticism' starts with the literature of the second half of the seventeenth century (including Marvell and Milton) and moves through to the late eighteenth century (including writers such as Behn, Pope, Heywood, Gray, Equiano, and Burney). Building on the work you completed on 'Renaissance to Revolution: Early Modern Literature', you will continue to think about the relationships between literary texts and the social, cultural and political contexts in which they were produced. You will also explore the evolution of forms and genres through the period.

20 credits

Core Modern Languages and Cultures modules, students will take one language from the list below, with its associated core content modules:

Please note, you will follow this language throughout the remainder of your degree

French Advanced

This unit aims to consolidate an initial preparation for a prolonged professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and introduces the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to engage in authentic and spontaneous interaction with native speakers (CEF level B2).

20 credits

French Beginner Intensive

This unit aims to consolidate a general foundation in the language and culture in order to cope with a range of predictable, everyday communicative situations encountered when interacting at a elementary level, orally and in writing, with native speakers during, for instance, a brief visit abroad (CEF level A2+).

20 credits

Understanding Modern France and Francophone Cultures

This core content module will introduce students to key aspects of France's history, society, politics and culture through the study of a range of important texts and media. It will focus on key historical events and texts (including print, film, and other media) to examine the values and ideas that inform French and francophone societies today, giving an historical overview of their development from Louis XIV to the present day. You will learn the key critical skills specific to a range of cultural forms and develop a . It will provide them with a sound understanding of disciplinary studies, both within the language(s)/culture(s) they have chosen to study and, more broadly, within the discipline of Languages and Cultures today. The module will facilitate your transition to University study, to complement the core language modules (which also cover aspects of culture) studied at Level 1, in addition to serving as the solid foundation for more advanced study and specialisation at Level 2 and onwards.

20 credits

German Advanced

Assuming a good A level in the language or equivalent, this unit aims to provide an initial preparation for a prolonged professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and introduces the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to engage in authentic and spontaneous interaction with native speakers (CEF level B2-).

20 credits

German Beginner Intensive

This unit aims to consolidate a general foundation in the language and culture in order to cope with a range of predictable, everyday communicative situations encountered when interacting at a elementary level, orally and in writing, with native speakers during, for instance, a brief visit abroad (CEF level A2+).

20 credits

Dutch Beginner

This unit aims to consolidate a general foundation in the language and culture in order to cope with a range of predictable, everyday communicative situations encountered when interacting at a basic level, orally and in writing, with sympathetic native speakers during, for instance, a brief visit abroad (CEF level A2).

20 credits

Understanding German and Dutch Histories and Cultures

This core German and Dutch content module will introduce students to the history, societies, politics, and cultures of the German- and Dutch-speaking worlds. You will focus on the major historical events and dynamics (such as the building of the Berlin Wall, Dutch and Belgian colonialism,  the impact of WW2, the importance of the Greens to contemporary Germany. You will explore key texts and a range of visual material. You will also acquire a theoretical toolkit that will enable you to analyse these major events and cultural forms. The module complements the core German and Dutch language modules (which also cover some aspects of culture) studied at Level 1, in addition to serving as the solid foundation for more advanced study and specialisation at Level 2 and onwards.

20 credits

Russian Advanced

This unit aims to consolidate an initial preparation for a prolonged professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and introduces the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to engage in authentic and spontaneous interaction with native speakers (CEF level B2).

20 credits

Russian Beginner Intensive

This unit aims to consolidate a general foundation in the language and culture in order to cope with a range of predictable, everyday communicative situations encountered when interacting at a basic level, orally and in writing, with sympathetic native speakers during, for instance, a brief visit abroad. Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to: perform at Level A1+ of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages understand and make themselves understood orally by a sympathetic native speaker in simple, routine, predictable situations, requesting or providing factual information, and coping with unfamiliar language or unexpected responses by asking for repetition or clarification read aloud and extract key information from short, simple texts and written documents (messages, notices, instructions, brochures, etc.) talk about holidays (e.g. places they visited, food they ate) in the past and the weather write simple notes, messages and short personal letters or emails (e.g. write a postcard to a friend, fill in a simple form) demonstrate a basic insight into the most common aspects of the culture and everyday life in the target country so as to react appropriately in simple situations demonstrate a practical understanding of essential grammar terminology and a basic ability to study the language by themselves, using essential tools such as the World Wide Web or a dictionary and developing techniques for the acquisition and retention of new language demonstrate awareness in a number of transferable skills such as IT skills, presenting information, handling simple unexpected communicative situations, taking intercultural differences and language barriers into account, learning independently, etc.

20 credits

Czech Beginner

This unit aims to consolidate a general foundation in the language and culture in order to cope with a range of predictable, everyday communicative situations encountered when interacting at a basic level, orally and in writing, with sympathetic native speakers during, for instance, a brief visit abroad (CEF level A2).

20 credits

Russian and Czech Cultures in the Age of Empire and beyond

This module gives an overview of Russian and Czech cultures with a focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It will critically examine the concepts of statehood, empire, nationalism, totalitarianism and democracy by studying the two nations' different experiences through visual sources, literature and language usage. It thus introduces students to topics dealt with in greater depth in optional modules at Levels 2 and 3, and helps them to learn how to analyse cultural artefacts and sources of different kinds.

20 credits

Spanish Advanced

This unit aims to consolidate an initial preparation for a prolonged professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and introduces the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to engage in authentic and spontaneous interaction with native speakers (CEF level B2).

20 credits

Spanish Beginner Intensive

This unit aims to consolidate a general foundation in the language and culture in order to cope with a range of predictable, everyday communicative situations encountered when interacting at a elementary level, orally and in writing, with native speakers during, for instance, a brief visit abroad (CEF level A2+).

20 credits

Catalan Beginner

This unit aims to consolidate a general foundation in the language and culture in order to cope with a range of predictable, everyday communicative situations encountered when interacting at a basic level, orally and in writing, with sympathetic native speakers during, for instance, a brief visit abroad (CEF level A2).

20 credits

Portuguese Beginner

This unit aims to consolidate and expand the general foundation in the language and culture acquired at Beginner's level, providing a solid basis for the next level and enabling learners to cope with a range of predictable, everyday communicative situations encountered when interacting at an elementary level with native speakers during, for instance, a brief visit abroad (CEF level A2).

20 credits

Understanding Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese Histories and Cultures

This module examines the historical trajectories of Spain (including Catalonia) and Portugal; their emergence as states in the Iberian Peninsula; their  imperial expansion overseas into Latin America, Africa, and Asia; and the eventual independence of the colonies and their development and consolidation into the various modern-day states we know today. The module will explore the social, political, linguistic and cultural characteristics of these states and their peoples, and highlight the importance of understanding their complex histories in the formation of national and other identities, languages and cultural and political values. Seminars focussing on key cultural outputs (e.g. film and other visual cultures, literature, music) complement large-group lectures.

20 credits

English optional modules (choose up to 20 credits):

Contemporary Literature

This module introduces you to a diverse range of texts in English (prose, poetry, and film) with a focus on texts published since 2000. Texts will be chosen to provoke thinking and debate on urgent and controversial topics that might include: globalisation and neoliberalism; ecology and animal lives; artificial intelligence and the posthuman; political activism and social justice; migration and displacement; state violence and armed conflict. We will discuss formally and conceptually challenging works, raise ethical and philosophical questions and begin to discover how current critical and theoretical approaches can help us to engage with contemporary texts.

20 credits

Hybrid Forms: Reading Genre

This module gives you the opportunity to study developments in comedy and tragedy from classical antiquity to the present day. This focus on genre enables you to take a broadly comparative approach, setting, for instance, works of classical antiquity alongside those of the early modern, modern, and contemporary worlds. As such, the module equips you to draw connections between periods studied separately at different points of your degree and between disparate forms, e.g. drama and the novel. Over the course of this module we will consider questions such as: what is genre, and why is it important? How does genre reflect or respond to historical change? Is there any such thing as a 'pure' genre or is hybridization a defining feature of genre itself? We will answer these questions by reading texts by authors such as Angela Carter, Noel Coward, Plautus, Shakespeare, Sophocles, and Michaela Coel.

20 credits

Wonders, Warriors, and Werewolves: Intro to Medieval Literature and Language

This module is of particular interest to anyone who wants to know more about the first c.900 years of English literature and language. We will analyse a wide range of the earliest English literary texts (c. 600-1500), including the oldest known English poem and the first autobiographical work by a woman, covering texts that are well known (e.g. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales) and texts that you will probably never encounter elsewhere. You will look at Old English texts (in translation) and Middle English texts (in translation or in the original with notes and glosses as appropriate).

We will open up discussions around issues that preoccupied the English of the time, from glorious monster-slaying to the first expressions of love and desire, from religious devotion to comedy, from the power of insults to the status of English in a multilingual society. You will investigate medieval English literature in an international context, explore medieval worldviews and how they might differ from modern ones, query what it means when we say something is medieval, and explore some medieval afterlives.

You will be introduced to a variety of techniques and methodologies - literary, linguistic, cultural-historical - to analyse medieval texts and topics in the lectures and seminars; you can engage with these different scholarly approaches in assessments as you prefer. No prior knowledge of Old or Middle English is required; students will be given the opportunity to examine texts in the original language but where necessary translations will be provided. Two additional sessions will be held to help you develop your skills and confidence to read Middle English.

In short, this module aims to give you an overview of early English literature, language, and cultural history (c. 600-1500); to develop your skills and confidence in reading and analysing medieval English texts; to give you the opportunity to engage critically and creatively with both primary and secondary works from perspectives of your choice; and to encourage you to reflect on why and how the medieval is used in modern culture.

20 credits

Reading Theatre and Film

This core module explores the development of theatre and film from 1900 to the present, tracking that journey through a series of canonical and counter-canonical examples from each medium. These two art forms have much that connects them as representational, performance-based and commercial cultural practices, but also much that separates them as human, technical and technological spectacles. The module offers a practical introduction to theatre and film criticism, theory and interpretation that will help to interrogate such medial distinctions as well as their common ground. By means of weekly lectures and seminar-workshops, you will encounter a wide range of plays and films, located in their original historical, ideological and aesthetic contexts but equally considered for their afterlife, relevance and currency today.

20 credits

Myth, Scripture and Story: Biblical and Classical Sources in English Literature

The Bible, Greek and Roman mythology, represent some of the central sources for European literary imaginations. In this module you will explore the range of literature indebted to biblical and classical literature, themes, and characters. Featuring a range of lecturers from across the School of English, the module will help you learn to think critically about biblical and classical themes such as divine destruction, love, gender, homecoming, colonialism, nostalgia, and empire, and read a variety of authors, from Amelia Lanyer and Shakespeare to Derek Walcott and Margaret Atwood. When we understand the ways in which biblical and classical writers shaped their narratives, and how creative authors revised, resisted or radicalised their themes, we have several important keys to unlock crucial facets of English literary tradition.

20 credits

Introduction to Creative Writing

The aim of this unit is to help you to develop your expressive and technical skills in writing poetry and prose and to improve your abilities as an editor and critic of your own and other people's writing. You will be guided in the production of new work and encouraged to develop an analytical awareness of both the craft elements and the wider cultural and theoretical contexts of writing. This module explores poetic and prose techniques for creating new poems and narrative techniques for generating some prose work through the critical study of published examples, imaginative exercises, discussion and feedback on your own writing. This exploration will help you develop your own creative work while sharpening critical appreciation of published poetry and modern and contemporary fiction. The course is designed to give you the experience of being workshopped as well as to establish basic creative writing techniques at Level 1 in preparation for the challenges of Creative Writing Level 2 and/or 3.

20 credits

Darwin, Marx, Freud

This course is structured around the writings of Darwin, Marx, Freud. We will consider selections from all three philosophers' writings, such as, for example, Darwin's The Origin of Species; cover key concepts from Marx's work—commodity fetishism; alienation—and investigate Freud's philosophy of the subject through selected readings from his writings. We will dismantle cultural prejudice and engage with, and in, revolutionary thinking. This course will prepare you for modules like Critical and Literary Thought but, most importantly, it will help you become critical, potentially revolutionary, thinkers.

20 credits

Optional Modern Languages and Cultures modules (choose up to 20 credits):

Euro-Visions: Imagining and Questioning Europe

What is 'Europe'? What does it mean to be European?   The module interrogates the idea of Europe for those who live within and outside its borders. It examines different ways in which Europe has been imagined and critiqued, through case studies that focus on, for example, language, culture, politics, or art. It considers different aspects of the emergence of a distinct pan-European identity and specific peoples within that general identity.  Europe, along with its component empires and nations, has always been defined against 'others' a) beyond its borders and b) those who reside within but are held not truly to belong (eg. Jews, Roma, Muslims). The module considers the history of such 'othering' and how it persists.

This module will explore how the idea of Europe has been formulated and discussed in literary texts, language policies, and other socio-cultural practices.  It examines social, political and cultural dynamics to explore how the idea of Europe is inextricably tied up with historical factors such as geopolitical conflicts, colonialism and unfree labour. Students will critically evaluate existing discourses, including former or official policies, and communicate their findings to academic and non-academic audiences through discussions and written evaluations.

20 credits

Language at Work

This module provides the basis for understanding the often-underestimated role of language in our everyday lives, with a specific focus on multilingual and intercultural settings in the broader context of global relationships between countries, cultures and individuals. 

Through lectures, seminars and small practical projects, students will examine their own language skills and enhance their knowledge of their chosen languages(s) through experimenting with different linguistic research methods. 

Students will gain critical understanding of their individual language repertoires and communication practices, learn different methods of scientific enquiry, and develop expertise in the exploration of language, communication and real-life interaction as a means of enhancing their foreign language learning, deepening their cultural understanding, and acquiring cultural agility. Finally, students will develop the ability to effectively communicate their academic insights to non-specialist audiences through innovative digital media.



 After completing this module, students will 



- know the basic properties of language and communication and their relation to culture; 

- be able to characterise the global and local relationships between English and their other languages; 

- be able to describe the differences between communication in monolingual and linguistically/culturally diverse contexts; 

- be able to differentiate between communication involving native speakers of a language and communication involving foreign language speakers of a language and derive implications for intercultural communication and foreign language learning; 

- use systematic methods to carry out investigations of language, communication and culture; 

- use digital technology to communicate their academic work to non-specialist audiences.

20 credits

The Soviet Union and the world

The module examines the formation, development and collapse of the USSR and key aspects of its international impact. Covers historiographic problems in analysing primary materials, ideological issues in dealing with the revolutionary movement and subsequent developments, debates over the nature and trajectory of the USSR and their global influence.  

20 credits

You will also have the option to select 20 credits of Languages for All modules in your chosen language.

Core modules:

Romanticism to Modernism

Arts of Persuasion

The ability to analyse strategies and techniques of persuasion is essential to understanding the world we inhabit. We encounter persuasion all the time: in everyday communication, when we read, speak, and interpret what we see and hear;  pamphlets and speeches; advertising; social media; literature and film; activism; and political campaigns and propaganda. As one scholar puts it, 'An awareness of rhetorical technique helps people to assess the validity of arguments and to avoid being misled by plausible but flawed appeals. It can also provide tools that will help counter them'.

This module enables students to develop the knowledge and critical acuity to examine persuasive strategies in a variety of narrative and visual forms, evaluate their likely effectiveness, and create their own persuasive artefact in their target language.

Organisation of the module: Lectures are topic-based and introduce broad principles of rhetoric and persuasion across history, incorporating examples from different cultures. Language-specific seminars focus on case studies from those countries and territories where the various target languages - Spanish, German, French, et cetera - are spoken. By the end of the module, students will be able to recognise and critique 'persuasive' culture, and apply this knowledge in a practical setting that aligns with their chosen language (one language only).

Assessment: 1 x individual written portfolio; 1 x collaborative persuasive artefact.

20 credits

Core Languages modules, you will take one from the list below:

French Higher Advanced

This module aims to consolidate the full linguistic and cultural preparation of learners wishing to undertake an extended professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and to consolidate the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively in most situations encountered when engaging with native speakers (CEF level C1).

20 credits

French Intermediate Intensive

This unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively and accurately in all essential communicative situations encountered when interacting orally or in writing with native speakers during, for instance, a short stay abroad (CEF level B1-).

20 credits

German Higher Advanced

This module aims to consolidate the full linguistic and cultural preparation of learners wishing to undertake an extended professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and to consolidate the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively in most situations encountered when engaging with native speakers (CEF level C1).

20 credits

German Intermediate Intensive

This unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively and accurately in all essential communicative situations encountered when interacting orally or in writing with native speakers during, for instance, a short stay abroad (CEF level B1-).

20 credits

Dutch Intermediate

Delivered through small-group interactive seminars and tutorials , this unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills required to start interacting and socializing in a fairly authentic and spontaneous way with native speakers in a range of advanced but usually predictable situations which would be encountered during, for instance, a short stay or placement abroad (CEF level B1+).

20 credits

Russian Higher Advanced

This module aims to consolidate the full linguistic and cultural preparation of learners wishing to undertake an extended professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and to consolidate the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively in most situations encountered when engaging with native speakers (CEF level C1).

20 credits

Russian Intermediate

This unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills to start interacting and socializing in a fairly authentic and spontaneous way with native speakers in a range of advanced but usually predictable situations which would be encountered during, for instance, a short stay or placement abroad (CEF level B1-).

20 credits

Czech Intermediate

Delivered through small-group interactive seminars and tutorials , this unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills required to start interacting and socializing in a fairly authentic and spontaneous way with native speakers in a range of advanced but usually predictable situations which would be encountered during, for instance, a short stay or placement abroad (CEF level B1+).

20 credits

Spanish Higher Advanced

This module aims to consolidate the full linguistic and cultural preparation of learners wishing to undertake an extended professional, academic or recreational stay in a country where the language is spoken and to consolidate the full range of linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively in most situations encountered when engaging with native speakers (CEF level C1).

20 credits

Spanish Intermediate Intensive

This unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills to start interacting and socializing in a fairly authentic and spontaneous way with native speakers in a range of advanced but usually predictable situations which would be encountered during, for instance, a short stay or placement abroad (CEF level B1+).

20 credits

Catalan Intermediate

Delivered through small-group interactive seminars and tutorials, this unit aims to consolidate linguistic and cultural skills, to start interacting and socializing in a fairly authentic and spontaneous way with native speakers in a range of advanced but usually predictable situations which would be encountered during, for instance, a short stay or placement abroad (CEF level B1+).

20 credits

Portuguese Intermediate

Assuming a good GCSE level in the language or equivalent, this unit aims to provide the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate effectively and accurately in all essential communicative situations encountered when interacting orally or in writing with native speakers during, for instance, a short stay abroad (CEF level B1+).

20 credits

Optional Modules:

Translation

Literature and Critical Theory (a)

This course introduces writers, concepts and approaches fundamental to contemporary literary theory, and explores their application to diverse relevant texts. You will engage in a transhistorical study of the formal, literary and cultural functions of genre (e.g. in the forms of comedy and tragedy). You will also encounter theorists such as Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Ferdinand de Saussure, Mikhail Bakhtin, Roland Barthes, Michael Foucault, Julia Kristeva, Jacques Lacan and Jean Baudrillard. Lectures will introduce and explain this material, and seminars will discuss and apply it to the study of literature. This module helps you develop your academic writing, critical thinking and research skills while studying the work of major theorists.

40 credits

English Works: Foundations

Students taking this module will connect their academic studies to future careers. Teaching from experts across the School's different subject areas - linguistics, language, literature, screen studies and creative practice - will challenge students to think deeply (critically, creatively, reflectively) about the meanings and practices of work and education. Sessions dedicated to career-decision planning (e.g. applications and interviews; online profiles and networking) will enable students to reflect on their values, motivations and career aspirations in addition to providing practical guidance and support. This module provides opportunities to gain career insights and access to work-related learning (e.g. workplace visits; virtual internships and projects). Together, through a series of interactive workshops, students will think about their future careers while making novel connections between English studies and the worlds of education and work.

20 credits

Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer is not only the most famous medieval English writer, he is also one of the most varied, controversial, and gritty writers at the time. This course aims to introduce you to a wide range of Chaucer's writings, including the Canterbury Tales, while situating Chaucerian writing in its medieval context. We will explore literary, linguistic, material, cultural, religious, and political aspects of his fascinatingly rich body of texts to gauge Chaucer's status as a medieval poet, and interrogate questions of society, gender, and philosophy that his work continues to inspire.

20 credits

Shakespeare

This unit introduces students to the plays and poetry of William Shakespeare. Students will read a wide range of his works and will analyse them in the context of the cultural and historical energies of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England. We will consider the range of dramatic styles and genres that he engages, alongside the conditions of performance, kinds of publication, and the characteristics of the language in which he worked. We shall also relate the texts to critical methods that help illuminate the relationships between drama and the culture, politics, and religion of the period.

20 credits

Good Books: Intertextual Approaches to Literature and the Bible

Literature, film and television constantly return to the Bible as a source of narrative, character and image. Biblical texts are translated, rewritten, transposed and radically challenged by literature from the medieval period to the present day and so intertextual readings of the Bible and literature provide insight into the ways authors engage with politics, philosophy, and tradition. In this module you will explore a range of intertextual relationships, from the ancient texts describing Lilith to Zora Neale Hurston's literature of the Harlem Renaissance through to recent cinematic approaches to the Bible, including a range of genres and approaches. You will learn to critically analyse film, TV and visual media as well as literary forms, to explore the ways in which creative writers interpret and re-imagine biblical narratives and tropes.

20 credits

Hollywood Cinema

This module introduces you to the study of Hollywood's films, methods, meanings and creative figures, and the history and significance of American filmmaking in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. You will examine key examples of films and filmmakers from the period of silent cinema up to the present day. You will learn about the characteristics of Hollywood style and narrative, the evolution of film genres such as the Western, the Musical and the Horror film, the progression of the cinema's treatment of subjects such as race, gender, politics and war, and developments in business and technology which have underpinned the international dominance of Hollywood film. As well learning to analyse the details of film form, and gaining understanding of aspects such as editing, lighting and shot composition, you will also engage with the political and cultural readings of popular entertainment cinema, and the history of film theory and criticism. Watching and discussing film texts from different eras will equip you with the analytical and communication skills to debate controversial subjects, to understand the contexts of diverse representations, balance and evaluate differing opinions on challenging subjects, and appreciate the importance of popular cinema.

20 credits

The Art and Politics of Hip Hop

This module will introduce you to Hip Hop as a musical, cultural and (especially) literary phenomenon. Both extremely popular and at times highly controversial, we will explore various forms of the art of Hip Hop from its early developments to the present.The module is organised around two principal ideas. The first is that Hip Hop is poetical; the second is that Hip Hop is political.Working mainly in a North American context, over the course of the module, we will reflect upon the various ways in which Hip Hop fuses manner and matter, combining aesthetic innovation and different kinds of social commentary.Each week, we will focus on a specific artist or group, and attend principally to one album. Expect to study some 'mainstream' work (e.g., Fugees or Cardi B, but definitely NOT Vanilla Ice). You will also encounter underground, 'conscious' and alternative artists.Seminars are complemented by 'listening sessions' wherein we gather to collectively experience albums (i.e., 'sound works') in a specially-dedicated space in Western Bank Library, using a specially-dedicated collection of vinyl recordings.Throughout, we consider how radical forms of rhetoric, prosody, intertextuality, performance relate to explicit expressions of power, hope, marginalisation, identity, community. Our aim is to start understanding Hip Hop in its troubling and ingenious complexities.

20 credits

'That is not my (hi)story'. Shaping the future of our inherited past

'That is (not) my story'. Shaping the future of our inherited past We live in times  concerned with sameness and difference, with (national) identity, with the present and the future of the past. No wonder that the 'national narrative', or the self-image of the nation, is in flux when some celebrate past beliefs, achievements and power structures and others plead for reparative justice. 

In this module we will look at how narratives, in particular national narratives, are shaped; how ideas of difference and sameness are articulated; and how the 'cultural archive' of different nations is affected by and represented in, for example, texts, political speeches and party manifestos, in museum exhibitions, in films, in monuments and traditions etc. We will look at Europe (including Britain), Latin America and Africa to consider how point of view impacts on how you perceive the past, present and future.  

This is a complicated way of saying: how is the story 'we know' about the history of the nation told? Who gets to tell the tale? How do we come to believe in a collective history, a national history, a national character? And how is this shifting? 

We will look at two broad topics across the various nations and languages: 

- Representation of imperial past and its legacies- Conflict and commemoration culture

We will broadly address three questions:

- History in public spaces: What/who do we remember here and who steers this memory?- History and commemoration/celebration - History and me - what about my sense of the nation? 

20 credits

Language and the Self

This module explores the complex relationship between language, identity, and sociocultural groups, encouraging you to critically engage with your chosen language(s) in personal, social, and political contexts. Through an interdisciplinary approach, you will examine what it means to be a 'legitimate' speaker, how language operates within diverse cultural groups (e.g. gender identity), and the role of cultural practices and artefacts in shaping identities. The module integrates technology as a tool for multilingual engagement and self-reflection and fosters online enquiry, communication and research skills, including in ethnography. This module encourages you to see yourselves as active participants in multilingual societies, equipping you with the critical tools, intercultural competence, linguistic confidence, and digital literacy to navigate diverse linguistic and cultural landscapes during  the Year Abroad and beyond.

20 credits

Languages of Gender and Sexuality

Gender and sexuality have always been diverse, and have been conceived in different ways over time and in specific (sub)cultural contexts or counterpublics.  Throughout history and around the world, languages change to represent gender and sexual non-conformity. Gender and sexuality are themselves acts of translation, and parts of grammar: of language, and of social relations. This module examines theories past and present, surprising and paradoxical timelines of women's suffrage, early examples of queer activism, and cultural representations - all in your languages of study (French, German, or Spanish). You shall explore texts by writers who travelled abroad, and wrote in a foreign language, to express their authentic selves. Love that dared to speak its name needed multilingual dictionaries

20 credits

Revolutions and Revolutionary Trends

Students will examine the continuities and transformations in the political development of diverse revolutionary trends by looking at a series of global case studies. Through a combination of interactive lectures, flipped learning, and student-led discussions, students will analyse and account for the rise of diverse forms of political organisation and explore their social and cultural ramifications. This approach will enable students to critically evaluate how these movements are constructed, articulated, and occasionally interrelated, and how they reflect or shape broader social, political, and cultural dynamics. Through this process, students will deepen their comprehension of the complexities inherent in specific resistance and revolutionary movements and ideologies.

20 credits

You will also have the option to select 20 credits of Languages for All modules in your chosen language.

Autumn semester:

French Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub.

Germanic Studies Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub.

Hispanic Studies Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub.

Russian and Slavonic Studies Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub.

Luxembourg Studies Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub

Spring semester:

French Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub.

Germanic Studies Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub.

Hispanic Studies Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub.

Russian and Slavonic Studies Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub

Luxembourg Studies Year Abroad

All students studying on a Modern Languages degree in the School of Languages, Arts and Societies will spend their third year either studying and/or working abroad. The year abroad enables you to immerse yourself in the language, culture and society of the language or languages you study. As our languages are spoken both in Europe and worldwide, you have the opportunity to choose destinations not only in Europe but beyond. You will be required to spend a specific amount of time abroad.

The assessment for this module is on a Pass/Fail basis and it will vary depending on how you spend your year abroad (at University, on a work placement, on a British Council placement). Full details of the assessment you are required to do, and the residency requirements, will be provided in the Student Hub

Core modules:

Research Project 1

You will also take one of the below core language modules:

French Proficient

This unit aims to perfect the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate as a near-native speaker in the target country, whether for professional, academic or recreational purposes, and to consolidate the strategies and techniques to become a fully autonomous, life-long learner of the language and culture (CEF level C2).

20 credits

German Proficient

This unit aims to perfect the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate as a near-native speaker in the target country, whether for professional, academic or recreational purposes, and to consolidate the strategies and techniques to become a fully autonomous, life-long learner of the language and culture (CEF level C2).

20 credits

Dutch Proficient

This unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate as a near-native speaker in the target country, whether for professional, academic or recreational purposes, and to develop strategies and techniques to become a fully autonomous, life-long learner of the language and culture. Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to: perform at Level C1 of the CEFR understand television programmes and films without too much effort, and extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly understand fairly long and complex factual or literary texts, including specialised articles, appreciating distinctions of style and genre express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions, using language flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes, formulating complex ideas and opinions with precision, and relating their contribution skilfully to those of other speakers write about fairly complex academic, professional or personal subjects in a letter, essay or report, expressing their points of view at some length within a logical structure and in a style appropriate to the reader in mind demonstrate a critical understanding of cultural and social trends and associated behaviours in areas where the language is spoken so as to engage efficiently with native speakers in most communicative situations, including academic or professional ones demonstrate a strategic ability to study the language by themselves for specific purposes, assessing their long-term language needs and cultural interests, setting themselves goals in relation to these, and using specialist tools as well as experimenting with a range of resources and techniques to achieve these goals with maximum efficiency demonstrate advanced competence in a number of transferable skills such as IT skills, researching, presenting and analysing information, defending an argument and negotiating, intercultural and language awareness, autonomous learning, social media communication, etc.

20 credits

Russian Proficient

This unit aims to perfect the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate as a near-native speaker in the target country, whether for professional, academic or recreational purposes, and to consolidate the strategies and techniques to become a fully autonomous, life-long learner of the language and culture.

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to: perform at Level C2 of the CEFR', understand without any difficulty any kind of spoken language, whether live or broadcast, even when delivered at fast native speed, provided they have some time to get familiar with the accent read with ease virtually all forms of the written language, including abstract, structurally or linguistically complex texts such as manuals, specialised articles and literary works take part effortlessly in any conversation, discussion or presentation, expressing themselves fluently and idiomatically according to the context, developing an effective logical structure if necessary and conveying finer shades of meaning precisely produce a variety of professional texts (letters, reports, articles, etc.), presenting complex ideas and finer shades of meaning within an effective logical structure and with an excellent command of the appropriate style demonstrate an extended critical understanding of cultural, social and professional trends and associated behaviours in areas where the language is spoken so as to engage efficiently with native speakers in complex or conflictual communicative situations, whether academic, professional, or other study the language and culture fully independently for a variety of purposes, maintaining and enhancing their level of proficiency beyond the institutional framework through a personal routine of exposure to, and practise of, the languag demonstrate proficiency in a number of transferable skills such as IT skills, researching, presenting and analysing information, defending an argument and negotiating, intercultural and language awareness, autonomous learning, social media communication, etc.

20 credits

Czech Proficient

Delivered through small-group interactive seminars and tutorials, this unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills to start interacting and socializing in a fairly authentic and spontaneous way with native speakers in a range of advanced but usually predictable situations which would be encountered during, for instance, a short stay or placement abroad (CEF level B1+).

20 credits

Spanish Proficient

This unit aims to perfect the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate as a near-native speaker in the target country, whether for professional, academic or recreational purposes, and to consolidate the strategies and techniques to become a fully autonomous, life-long learner of the language and culture (CEF level C2).

20 credits

Catalan Proficient

This unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate as a near-native speaker in the target country, whether for professional, academic or recreational purposes, and to develop strategies and techniques to become a fully autonomous, life-long learner of the language and culture. Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to: perform at Level C1 of the CEFR understand television programmes and films without too much effort, and extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly understand fairly long and complex factual or literary texts, including specialised articles, appreciating distinctions of style and genre express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions, using language flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes, formulating complex ideas and opinions with precision, and relating their contribution skilfully to those of other speakers write about fairly complex academic, professional or personal subjects in a letter, essay or report, expressing their points of view at some length within a logical structure and in a style appropriate to the reader in mind demonstrate a critical understanding of cultural and social trends and associated behaviours in areas where the language is spoken so as to engage efficiently with native speakers in most communicative situations, including academic or professional ones demonstrate a strategic ability to study the language by themselves for specific purposes, assessing their long-term language needs and cultural interests, setting themselves goals in relation to these, and using specialist tools as well as experimenting with a range of resources and techniques to achieve these goals with maximum efficiency demonstrate advanced competence in a number of transferable skills such as IT skills, researching, presenting and analysing information, defending an argument and negotiating, intercultural and language awareness, autonomous learning, social media communication, etc.

20 credits

Portuguese Proficient

This unit aims to consolidate the linguistic and cultural skills required to operate as a near-native speaker in the target country, whether for professional, academic or recreational purposes, and to develop strategies and techniques to become a fully autonomous, life-long learner of the language and culture. Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to: perform at Level C1 of the CEFR understand television programmes and films without too much effort, and extended speech even when it is not clearly structured and when relationships are only implied and not signalled explicitly understand fairly long and complex factual or literary texts, including specialised articles, appreciating distinctions of style and genre express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions, using language flexibly and effectively for social and professional purposes, formulating complex ideas and opinions with precision, and relating their contribution skilfully to those of other speakers write about fairly complex academic, professional or personal subjects in a letter, essay or report, expressing their points of view at some length within a logical structure and in a style appropriate to the reader in mind demonstrate a critical understanding of cultural and social trends and associated behaviours in areas where the language is spoken so as to engage efficiently with native speakers in most communicative situations, including academic or professional ones demonstrate a strategic ability to study the language by themselves for specific purposes, assessing their long-term language needs and cultural interests, setting themselves goals in relation to these, and using specialist tools as well as experimenting with a range of resources and techniques to achieve these goals with maximum efficiency demonstrate advanced competence in a number of transferable skills such as IT skills, researching, presenting and analysing information, defending an argument and negotiating, intercultural and language awareness, autonomous learning, social media communication, etc.

20 credits

Optional Modules:

Research Project 2

The Invention of Romanticism

This module is about the birth and legacy of romantic-era writing. It studies famous figures such as William Wordsworth, John Keats and Emily Bronte alongside lesser-known writers such as Charlotte Smith, Charles Waterton and John Clare. It is taught by a team who use their research interests in fields such as environmental criticism, gender studies or colonial writing to think about how such authors inform our thinking about the world today. Over the year you'll write two essays and develop a proposal for an end-of-year module conference where, supported by your tutors, you can present your ideas and findings to the class. As well as helping you find your own critical voice and developing your academic writing and research skills, this module believes that the modern world and how we think of it was born and shaped by the literature of the Romantics and it encourages you to think critically about that legacy.

40 credits

Renaissance Literature, Modern Crisis

This module considers early modern and Renaissance literature in relation to some of the pressing concerns of the modern world, e.g. the climate emergency, decolonisation, and gender identity (topics may vary from year to year depending on staff expertise and current events). It will combine historicism (looking at texts in historical contexts) with presentism (thinking about how we read texts in our own historical context). You'll write a critical essay relating early modern literature to a modern priority, and then work on a project whose nature and scope you'll decide in dialogue with your tutor(s): for example, an edited collection of texts based around a shared theme; teaching materials; or a magazine-style article. As well as helping you hone your academic writing and your research and critical thinking skills, this module encourages you to think about how literary texts can speak to problems in the wider world.

40 credits

Research Topics in Theatre and Film

This module introduces you to significant research topics that cut across theatre and film studies, opening up the synergies and divergence between these art forms. Key themes such as Bodies, Identities, Memory, Site and Migration will focus our analysis of diverse historical and contemporary examples, positioned critically alongside notable remakings and sometimes radical adaptations. Research into these case studies will uncover important contexts of creation, production and reception that serve to deepen and problematise their meanings. You will also explore current approaches in theory and criticism that reframe theatre and film in exciting and challenging ways. The module's year-long structure allows substantial time to pursue individual research interests, guided by your tutors and inspired by and extending beyond work we undertake as a group. Reflecting the creative mediums we focus on, this module includes supported assessment options for video essays and project pitches, building skills in editing and audiovisual presentation, as alternatives to the traditional essay. Whether or not you choose to experiment with these formats, you will acquire sophisticated knowledge of film and theatre, deepen your understanding of cinematic and performance languages, and gain valuable skills in creative thinking and expression beyond the written word.

40 credits

Mod Cons: Exploring the Long 20th Century

This module introduces you to current research in the study of literary and related forms of cultural text and practice, focusing on the modern and contemporary periods from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. With a curriculum adapted each year in response to the current research interests of academic staff, the module focuses on the ways in which literary and related works can be understood in terms of important aesthetic, cultural and socio-political concerns in the period. During this module you will be given the opportunity to develop your critical thinking and your writing and analytical skills through an in-depth engagement with a variety of text from the modern and contemporary periods.

40 credits

Middlemarch

Virginia Woolf famously described Middlemarch as 'one of the few English novels written for grown-up people.' Spanning eight books, it is widely regarded as George Eliot's masterpiece. Eliot described and defied her society; she scrutinised her Victorian moment. She lived and worked at odds with nineteenth-century religious institutions: for more than twenty years, she was the partner of George Henry Lewes, a married man, and in her writing she sought to portray life 'as it was', to represent and celebrate everyday life, to resist its injustices. She is also one of the few pseudonymous women to retain their pen name in posterity. This module focuses on Middlemarch's eight books, exploring a range of historical and thematic issues including: serialisation; gender and marriage; class, religion and politics; Victorian science; art and ethics.

20 credits

Creative Writing Prose Fiction 2

This module offers a practical and theoretical exploration of the contemporary Anglophone short story. There will be a particular focus on the ways in which writers experiment with form, genre and language as a means of exploring philosophical, political and personal concerns. You will read and discuss work by writers such as Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Carmen Maria Machado, Jon McGregor and Lydia Davis. In seminars, you will critically analyse these texts and engage in generative writing exercises. In workshops, you will exchange constructively critical feedback on work-in-progress with your peers. You will write and edit your own stories which respond to and play with the techniques, approaches and conventions of the texts studied in class.

20 credits

Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer is not only the most famous medieval English writer, he is also one of the most varied, controversial, and gritty writers at the time. This course aims to introduce you to a wide range of Chaucer's writings, including the Canterbury Tales, while situating Chaucerian writing in its medieval context. We will explore literary, linguistic, material, cultural, religious, and political aspects of his fascinatingly rich body of texts to gauge Chaucer's status as a medieval poet, and interrogate questions of society, gender, and philosophy that his work continues to inspire.

20 credits

The Idea of America

From the time of the earliest settlers, the New World was as much a conceptual as a topographical location, a land whose identity was structured on preconception and assumption as well as through actual discovery. This was reflected in the writings of travellers, immigrants, and, later, Americal nationals, all of whose responses to the country where characterised by dichotomy or ambivalence - a simultaneous awareness of America as the 'Dream' and America as the site of disillusionment and failed promise. This course will look at a variety of texts from the 18th century to the present, examining the ways in which the idea of America was negotiated and the extent to which early expectations were modified in accordance with changing conditions.

20 credits

Life After Death? Romantic Poets and Writing the Afterlife

Kant's Critique of Pure Reason held that there were only two real questions: Is there a God and is there eternal life? Poets and philosophers (and for Coleridge, 'no man was ever yet a great poet, without being at the same time a profound philosopher') have sought to imagine, conjure, or deny the idea of a life after death. This module will explore the versions of eternity written by Romantic poets. From Keats's denial of eternity, Byron's questioning, Shelley's agnostic yearning, and Hemans's feminist redress of the issue, we will consider the idea of life after death in poetry. Starting with a grounding in key philosophical ideas from Plato's assertion of the soul's immortality and Lucretius' denial of any life after death, this module will look at the hell, purgatory, heaven, and nothingness of life after death as written by Romantic poets.

20 credits

Crime and Transgression in Romantic Literature

This module explores the themes of crime and transgression in the literature of the Romantic period across a range of Romantic texts, including fiction, drama, poetry and short essays. We will explore why, precisely, the literature of the Romantic period reflects crime and transgression so persistently, investigating that through a variety of texts. We will look, for example, at marriage laws through Mary Wollstonecraft's posthumously published The Wrongs of Woman, or Maria, at transgressive forms of literature through Charlotte Dacre's sexually-charged Gothic romance Zofloya, or the Moor, at the depiction of hatred and vengeance in Joanna Baillie's drama De Monfort, and at the themes of sexual transgression in Coleridge's ballad Christabel, and in John Keats's The Eve of St Agnes. In addition to these exciting texts, we'll also look at Thomas De Quincey's superbly disturbing essay 'On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts', before concluding the module by looking at Scottish author James Hogg's Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. The course will be assessed through means of a portfolio of three shorter pieces, responses of 500 words apiece on individual texts (1500 words in total) and by a final summative comparative essay. Through developing your portfolio in consultation with the tutor and seminar discussions, you will emerge with a stronger contextual and literary understanding of the Romantic period across different literary forms.

20 credits

Reading Animals

Contemporary literature is filled with stories about animals, and told by animals, which provide astonishing perspectives on animals' experiences—their ideas and feelings, needs and desires; their sense of place, of past and future; their sense of community, loneliness, freedom or danger, or solidarity with humans. In literature, animals tell us what it is like to live in family homes or factories; to go on adventures or to go extinct; to be wild or captive, domestic or feral; to lose their home; to be owned, watched, admired, hunted, worshipped, medically treated, and more. This module looks at literary texts in which nonhuman animals' lives are the central concern. We will study works by writers such as NoViolet Bulawayo, George Saunders, Sabrina Imbler, George Orwell, Yoko Tawada, and Ceridwen Dovey. We will ask: in what ways have authors given voice to animals' experience? What are the most effective literary strategies for representing animals (both portraying and speaking for them)? How have writers re-imagined the fable and other genres in which animals conventionally appear? How are portrayals altered in authors of different race, nation, or gender? And, perhaps most topically, how does literary writing help us rethink animals' importance in an age of extinction and industrial-scale consumption?

20 credits

Murderers and Degenerates: Contextualising the fin de siècle Gothic

The module explores three related case histories which help to establish how the literary Gothic shaped particular fin de siècle anxieties. To that end the module examines accounts of Joseph Merrick (aka The Elephant Man), newspaper reports of the Whitechapel murders of 1888, and the trials of Oscar Wilde. It is by exploring how the Gothic infiltrated medical, criminological, and legal discourses that we can see how a narrative which centred on the pathologisation of masculinity was elaborated at the time. These case histories will be read alongside Jekyll and Hyde (1886), The Great God Pan (1894) and Dracula (1897) as three of the key literary texts which also examine medicine, the law, and crucially the urban and gender contexts which in turn shape the three case histories.

30 credits

Privilege and Subversion in Early Modern Drama, 1580-1700

This module surveys the theatre of early modern England, a cultural phenomenon that ranged from the scandalous and iconoclastic drama of Christopher Marlowe to the bawdy, urbane comedy of William Wycherley. We will interrogate the manifold ways in which the privileges and hierarchies of the period (relating, for example, to knowledge, power, gender, politics, sexuality and social class) were interrogated, subverted or upheld by dramatists such as Aphra Behn, John Dryden, Thomas Middleton and John Ford. We will read plays in a variety of genres and will analyse them in the context of landmark cultural and historical changes of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England, such as religious conflict, colonial expansion, and the growth of London as a centre of pleasure and consumption.The module considers the changing conditions of performance in pre- and post-civil-war theatre, the kinds of publication that dramatists used, and the characteristics of the language with which dramatists worked. It also relates the texts to critical methods that help illuminate the relationships between theatre and the explosive cultural, political, and religious differences of the period.

20 credits

You will also have the option to select 20 credits of Languages for All modules in your chosen language.