Cultural Studies Study Guide 2026/27
What you can study
The study of human cultures has never been as crucial as it is today, in our globalised and networked world. At the School of Modern Languages, we are passionate about the study of culture – particularly the literature, film, societies and shifting worldviews of the non-Anglophone Western world and its cultural relationship with the Global South.
You can find units on:
- literature and poetry
- cinema and visual culture
- gender, sexuality, and queer studies
- postcolonialism
Many of the units are comparative (MODL units), enabling you to study more than one culture at a time.
Pre-requisites
At UK universities, students specialise from their first year and rarely take units outside their degree subject. This means that:
- Year 1 units are suitable for all students.
- Year 2 units require some university study in a relevant discipline.
- Year 3 units require a strong background in a relevant discipline.
- Masters-level units require three years of study in the discipline.
Feature units
- Contemporary European Cinema - MODL10009 (TB1)Comparative British & Continental European cinema, exploring diverse topics from the low-budget Cornish thriller, to Asian-British comedy and the James Bond blockbuster in IMAX.
- Introduction to Visual Cultures: from Bristol to the World - MODL10019 (TB2)Get to know the city of Bristol through weekly guided and self-guided field trips around the city to see visual culture and theory in action.
- Comparative Literature: What is it and how can we practise it? - MODL10016 (TB1)Join us for a tour around the globe as we learn how to engage with the world through literature!
Year 1
Pre-requisites: suitable for all students
Teaching Block 1
- Approaches to Poetry - ENGL10026
- Comparative Literature: What is it and how can we practise it? – MODL10016
- Critical Issues - ENGL10017
- Medieval and Renaissance Italy – ITAL10034
- Understanding Russia: History & Identity – RUSS10041
Teaching Block 2
- Histories of Britain - AFAC10021
- Introduction to Visual Cultures: from Bristol to the World – MODL10019
- Language and Power: Introductions to German History - GERM10039
- Understanding Russia: Literature & Visual Culture – RUSS10042
Year 2
Pre-requisites: some university study in a relevant discipline (including History, Literature etc).
Teaching Block 1
- Barcelona: Culture and Representations - HISP20117
- Dante’s Inferno - ITAL20047. This unit involves a language requirement (post A-Level Italian or equivalent).
- Latin America in the Twentieth Century: A People’s History - HISP20119
- Russian Orthodox Culture - RUSS20044
- The Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel - RUSS20069
Teaching Block 2
- Contemporary Latin(x) American Poetry - HISP20115
- Fairy Tales Across Borders – MODL20029
- Republic, War and Dictatorship in Spain, 1931- 1975 - HISP20076
- Talking to Tyrants: Politics, Thought and Drama in Germany - GERM20030. The Unit Catalogue entry will be published by late spring.
Pre-requisites: strong background of study in a relevant discipline and familiarity with the region for non-MODL units (e.g. France, Italy, Russia etc).
Teaching Block 1
- Decadence, Decay and Rebirth: Russian & Czech Literature - RUSS30084. The Unit Catalogue entry will be published by late spring.
- Les Misérables: Readings and Receptions - FREN30030
- Me, Myself, and I: The Essais of Michel de Montaigne - FREN30114
- Translating in a Professional Context - MODL30010
Teaching Block 2
- Communities in Contact: Identities in Modern and Contemporary Europe - MODL30043
- Dante: Purgatorio and Paradiso - ITAL30059
- Dostoevsky - RUSS30073
- Institutions and Anti-Institutions in Italy in the 1960s and 1970s - ITAL30055
- Intermedia Encounters in 20th Century American Art - HISP30110
- Remembering Italian Colonialism - ITAL30065
- Russian and the World, 1991-present - RUSS30083
- Sociolinguistics: Language Variation and Change - MODL30015
- Theoretical Approaches to Language Teaching - MODL30036
- Visibility Matters: Identity, Diversity, and Power in the Cultural Marketplace - GERM30081
Year 1
Pre-requisites: suitable for all students.
Teaching Block 1
Teaching Block 2
- Classics of European Cinema – MODL10010
- Introduction to Visual Cultures: from Bristol to the World – MODL10019
- Understanding Russia: Literature & Visual Culture – RUSS10042
Year 2
Pre-requisites: suitable for all students.
Teaching Block 1
Teaching Block 2
Application queries
Contact the Centre for Study Abroad inbound team if you have any queries about the application process for the study abroad programmes:
Phone: +44 117 39 40207
Email: cfsa-inbound@bristol.ac.uk