Year One
Modern Italian Language for Beginners
Would you like the challenge of learning a new language at university? This foundation module for absolute beginners combines the acquisition of core language skills with knowledge of broader aspects of Italian culture equipping you with the tools to engage with a wide range of relevant contemporary topics in Italian Opportunities to practise your Italian vary from role play to quizzes working both individually and in your group Successful completion will mean you are able to hold a conversation in Italian read newspapers and get the gist of TV and radio programmes in Italian

Read more about the Modern Italian Language for Beginners moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2021 22 of study)

or

Modern Italian Language 1 (Intermediate)
Do you need to consolidate and expand your competence in Italian while enjoying talking about culture and society? If so this is the module for you You’ll be given opportunities to revise fundamental grammar and vocabulary before acquiring more complex grammatical constructions including through translation We will integrate cultural topics with your linguistic studies so you have the chance to explore areas such as tourism the arts the environment and Italian traditions You will have opportunities for individual and group presentations and to engage in activities that integrate the skills of listening reading writing and speaking By the end of your course you’ll be expected to be able to write competently in several registers using appropriate styles and terminology and to converse in Italian to a good standard

Read more about the Modern Italian Language 1 (Intermediate) moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2021 22 of study)

or

Modern Italian Language 1 (Advanced)
Would you like to use your Italian A level (or equivalent) language skills creatively? This module will develop your linguistic and intercultural competence in Italian by means of advanced activities including creative writing translation debates presentations and drama You will explore linguistic structures using resources in a variety of media and engage with authentic and sophisticated texts to compare cultural systems and express your opinion critically and creatively In translation you will experiment with different genres registers and styles to enhance your cultural appreciation of Italian Finally you will have opportunities to explore cultural subjects and lead group discussions

Read more about the Modern Italian Language 1 (Advanced) moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2021 22 of study)

An Italian cultural module

The History of Modern Italy
You will chart the course of cultural political and social change in Italy over the past century studying key moments in its history including the rise of fascism World War II the economic boom of the late 1950s and political extremism of the 1970s through to contemporary issues such as immigration and recent economic and political crises You will study these events through the lens of literary and cinematic works and gain an understanding of how they have contributed to the nature and identity of contemporary Italy in order to prepare you for your abroad and further study of Italian culture You will also build your competence in textual analysis independent research and essay-writing

Read more about the The History of Modern Italy moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2021 22 of study)

or

Introduction to Italian Culture
How should we ‘read’ a literary or visual text? What are the considerations of form audience and context that enable us to make sense of a cultural product? In what ways should a performance be understood differently from something fixed on the page? You will address these questions by considering four representative avenues of expression in Italian culture namely cinema short stories lyric poetry and theatre-writing You will refine your skills of analysis and have the opportunity to sample different periods of Italian culture from the Renaissance through to intellectuals such as Italo Calvino Primo Levi and the poet Giacomo Leopardi representative of the Romantic tradition You will end your course equipped with the appropriate technical vocabulary to discuss different art forms fluently and in an informed manner

English module

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

Read more about the Modes of Reading moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022 23 of study)

One further 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

Read more about the Epic into Novel moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022 23 of study)

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

Read more about the Medieval and Early Modern Literature moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022 23 of study)

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

Read more about the Modern World Literatures moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2022 23 of study)

Intermediate Year
Modern Italian Language 2
This module will extend and refine your competence in Italian With an emphasis on the key skills of reading listening speaking and writing you will consolidate your proficiency in both new and familiar grammatical and linguistic structures and expand the range and sophistication of your vocabulary and use of register in spoken and written discourse In addition to classroom exercises advanced discursive written work and oral projects you will also be directed to appropriate activities for self-study

Read more about the Modern Italian Language 2 moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2021 22 of study)

or

Modern Italian Language 3
On this module you will develop your translation writing and oral communication skills to advanced level You will engage in translation as a practical skill working to produce translations of literary journalistic and academic texts with a focus on conveying nuances of meaning and culturally specific terms You will develop greater fluency in different writing styles and genres Oral sessions will increase your familiarity with more sophisticated registers of spoken Italian and raise your awareness of recent developments in Italian society so that you can discuss aspects of contemporary Italy in relation to your personal experiences

Read more about the Modern Italian Language 3 moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2021 22 of study)

A selection of optional modules in Italian Studies or across the School of Modern Languages and Cultures

Optional modules in English and Comparative Literary Studies (60 credits)

Final Year
Modern Italian Language 4
Building on Intermediate language you will deepen your writing speaking and translation skills paying particular attention to register and style and learning some of the underpinning translation theory We approach translation not just as a linguistic exercise but as a practical skill so you will work to produce translations of literary journalistic and academic texts and explore techniques for conveying semantic nuances culturally specific terms and more sophisticated registers of spoken Italian Both the writing and oral components of the course will raise your awareness of recent developments in Italian society and enable you to discuss relevant aspects of contemporary Italy in relation to your personal experience

Read more about the Modern Italian Language 4 moduleLink opens in a new window including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2021 22 of study)

A selection of optional modules in Italian Studies or across the School of Modern Languages and Cultures

Optional modules in English and Comparative Literary Studies

Optional modules
See the optional modules for Italian Studies
See the optional modules for English Literature