Modern Languages and Comparative Literatures MRes

Our MA Modern Languages and Comparative Literatures is a highly flexible course offering you the chance to explore the languages and cultures of the French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Spanish and Latin American worlds. It also gives you a thorough grounding in theoretical approaches to comparative literary and cultural studies.<br/><br/><strong>Why choose this course?</strong><br/><br/><br/>• We will help you tailor a pathway through the course that reflects your interests, career ambitions and language knowledge.<br/><br/><br/><br/>• You will be taught by a team of renowned academic experts who bring their research experience and insights in comparative literature, cultural studies, history, thought and visual culture, from the Enlightenment to the twenty-first century.<br/><br/><br/><br/>• You can take a broadly comparative pathway through the degree or focus on particular strands within modules, and study texts in the original language or in English translation.<br/><br/><br/><br/><strong>What you will learn</strong><br/><br/>The core module provides frameworks for engaging with comparative literature and cultural theory and option modules allow you to explore the modern world across different cultures and texts.<br/><br/>Language modules are studied at advanced level, incorporating academic writing workshops and allowing you to perfect your language skills. <br/><br/>You will develop your research and writing skills through a series of workshops, culminating in a dissertation or research project.<br/><br/><strong>How you will learn</strong><br/><br/>This course is available full- or part-time <strong>with classes taking place in the evening</strong>. Our language-learning modules are taught on campus, but all of our other modules are offered as HyFlex, so you can study in person or online.<br/><br/>Our teaching is mainly interactive and seminar-based. Our research-skills workshops culminate in a mini-conference where you present your dissertation/research project to other students and staff.<br/><br/>If you require a Student visa to study in the UK, you will only be able to attend this course on campus. The online option will not be available to you because it may affect the conditions of your visa.<br/><br/><strong>MRes</strong><br/><br/>The MRes is ideal if you wish to pursue a more research-oriented pathway through this course, as it offers you specialist training in research skills. You can opt to write your dissertation on a specific language-speaking area/s and, if you also work with cultural artefacts in the original language/s, the title of your award will reflect this, e.g. MRes French Studies.<br/><br/><strong>Highlights</strong><br/><br/><br/>• You will be taught by specialists from our School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication.<br/><br/><br/><br/>• Our Centre for French, Francophone and Comparative Studies, Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies and Eighteenth-Century Research Group host multiple workshops, lectures and conferences.<br/><br/><br/><br/>• You could be studying in a building that was once home to Virginia Woolf and frequented by members of the Bloomsbury Group. The building houses our own creative hub which includes a gallery, cinema and theatre and performance space. <br/><br/><br/><br/>• We are surrounded by cultural institutes relevant to the study of languages and comparative literature, e.g. the Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies, the Goethe Institute, Institut Français, Instituto Cervantes and Japan House London.<br/><br/><br/><br/>• The school offers a number of bursaries for postgraduate students.<br/><br/><br/><br/><strong>Careers and employability</strong><br/><br/>On successfully graduating from this course, you will have gained an array of transferable skills, including:<br/><br/><br/>- a sophisticated use of written and spoken English<br/><br/><br/>- a critical ability in the use of theoretical perspectives<br/><br/><br/>- enhanced intercultural awareness<br/><br/><br/>- facility and precision in the use of analytical tools<br/><br/><br/>- strong skills and initiative in collecting and organising complex materials and writing up clear, well-presented reports.<br/><br/><br/>Graduates of this MA follow career paths in international organisations or businesses, translating, teaching, research, journalism, publishing, law and the civil service.