Year One
Modern German Language 1
You will develop your translation grammatical and speaking skills in German and in doing so broaden your vocabulary and range of idiom expression and awareness of various stylistic registers You will work in a pair or group on a media project under the supervision of a tutor which will contribute to your end-of-year mark in spoken German
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or
Modern German Language for Beginners
As a beginner in the acquisition of the German language you will cover the main linguistic skills in speaking listening writing and reading You will focus on gaining grammatical accuracy as well and communicative fluency and competence By the end of the you will be expected to be able to sustain everyday conversations in German read authentic texts such as newspaper articles follow the gist of TV extracts and be able to write an intermediate range of texts in German You will also work on basic translations to and from German as a means of consolidating your knowledge
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Modes of Reading
What is a reader? How is our understanding and perception of a text formed? What does it mean to think critically when we read? This module allows you to explore these questions by putting a spotlight on the question of critical thinking in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries By studying a series of literary texts in relation to some of the most influential literary and cultural theorists of the last hundred you will take your own position on everything from Marxism queer and feminist theory to ecocriticism and postcolonial critique
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One option in German Studies
The Changing Face of Germany in Film and Text
In your study of the intellectual history of post-war Germany you will consider the rise of the mass media and the role played by writers and intellectuals Through your analysis of diverse literary and filmic texts you will build your understanding of major landmarks in German history including post-WWII political reconstruction the development of the press in the Federal Republic unification and military reintegration the opposition to rearmament and student movements and migration and settlement The work of intellectuals such as Heinrich Böll Peter Weiss Bernhard Schlink Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Paul Verhoeven will inform your studies
Read more about The Changing Face of Germany in Film and Text moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022 23 of study)
or
Power and Passion The Making of Modern German Culture
Starting with the study of the society of late 18th century Germany you will consider the cultural and intellectual changes of this period and in particular the rise of the middle classes in the Age of Enlightenment You will engage with the work of the globally significant writers of this period including Goethe and Schiller and study the light they cast on the emerging middle-class consciousness just prior to the cataclysmic changes of the French Revolution of 1789
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One option in English
Epic into Novel
Tracking the transition from the epics of the ancient world to their incarnation as texts of modernity this module introduces you to some of the most influential and formative works of world literature You will study central texts of the classical world such as Gilgamesh Homer’s Iliad Virgil’s Aeneid and Catullus; ancient epics from India and Africa; Milton’s Paradise Lost; as well as responses to ancient epic by Tennyson Margaret Atwood Seamus Heaney and Maria Dahvana Headley Reading across history and cultures between languages and genres you will develop the skills to analyse narrative character and style
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or
Medieval and Early Modern Literature
Taking you from the mythical court of King Arthur to the real world of ambition intrigue and danger in the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I this module introduces you to early literature written in a range of genres (romance epic fabliau) and poetic forms You will study texts like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales Thomas More’s Utopia Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene and Shakespeare’s sonnets to explore some of the period’s highest ideals—‘trawthe’ or integrity—as well as some of humanity’s darkest impulses greed deception revenge and desire
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or
Modern World Literatures
This module introduces you to the defining concerns styles and contexts of modern world literature from 1789 to the present You will encounter concepts like Romanticism modernity gothic and postcolonialism through novels short stories poetry and drama from revolutionary France to Meiji era Japan industrial Britain to the decolonizing Caribbean Your reading might include Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein Lu Xun’s story of China in transition 'Diary of a Madman' or Clarice Lispector’s haunting meditation on life in Rio de Janeiro The Hour of the Star
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Intermediate Year
Modern German Language 2
In this second-year module you will increase your general and specialised vocabulary in German through translation into English and German essay-writing in German spoken and listening comprehension and work on business-related materials In pursuit of these aims you will learn to identify and rectify grammatical problems and gain increased sensitivity towards language in general and an awareness of register semantics and style in particular You will also gain important research skills including correct use of dictionaries
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or
Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)
You will increase the range of your general and specialised vocabulary in German improve your speaking listening and comprehension skills and develop your ability to translate from German including through a sound knowledge of grammar register semantic nuances and style There will be opportunities to write in German and to work on business-related materials
Read more about the Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners) moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022 23 of study)
A selection of optional modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (30 credits) and in English and Comparative Literary Studies (60 credits)
Final Year
Modern German Language 3
In this third-year module you will use vocabulary of increasing sophistication in both general and specialised fields and improve your skills in spoken and written German and translation You will improve your listening and reading comprehension skills and learn to identify and rectify grammatical problems An important aim of the course is to cultivate sensitivity towards language in general and an awareness of register semantics and style in particular
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A selection of optional modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures and in English and Comparative Literary Studies
Optional modules
See the optional modules for German Studies
See the optional modules for English Literature
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