Cultural Studies study guide 2023/24

Cultural Studies at Bristol

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. We specialise in French, Spanish, Latin American, Italian, German, and Russian culture in particular, with units that engage with Lusophone, Czech, North African, and Islamic culture as well. We cover a diverse range of cultural topics, from fairy tales to visual culture, feminism and queer studies to post-colonialism, the Renaissance to the Cold War. Several of these units fit within the discipline of Comparative Literature. We also teach the languages that shape these cultures – see the Languages and Linguistics study guide for details.

The School of Modern Languages is recognised for its friendly, close-knit community, with a long-established reputation for innovative teaching and excellent research. Learning extends well beyond the classroom, through cultural weeks, seminars and extra-curricular activities. Combined with access to cutting-edge facilities such as the Multimedia Centre, these features make the School of Modern Languages one of the leading centres for language and culture studies in the UK.

Unit structure

The school offers many classes that are based in a single semester, and can therefore accept unit requests from Study Abroad students who want to join Bristol for just the autumn or spring semester.

Unit levels

The school offers units across all undergraduate levels of study – Year 1 (Level C/4), Year 2 (Level I/5), and Year 3 (Level H/6) – and selected postgraduate units (Level M/7). Level M/7 units are normally taken by students who have studied the subject for at least 3 years beforehand and are at an appropriate level of study to take postgraduate units.

Unit codes

For more information about each unit, check the University's unit catalogue for 2023/24. Applicants on all study abroad programmes must review the unit details on the catalogue before listing unit choices on their application form. This includes checking the format of assessment for each unit. The unit catalogue for 2023/24 is expected to be updated by the end of April 2023.

Your unit choices cannot be guaranteed. Some units may not have capacity to accommodate all of the unit requests we receive. Registration on a unit also depends on whether you meet the pre-requisite conditions through prior study at your home university.

Study Abroad (Subject pathway)

If you have been nominated to Bristol on one of the School of Modern Languages subject pathways, you can take units from this guide as part of your programme.

Units available on the study abroad programme in 2023/24

The following units are open to inbound Study Abroad students:

Year 1 (level C/4)

TB1

Comparative Literature: What is it and how can we practise it? (TB1) – MODL10016
Contemporary European Cinema (TB1) – MODL10009
French Cultures in Context (TB1) – FREN10030
German Literature and Film: Genres, Texts, Contexts (TB1) – GERM10035
Key Moments in Lusophone History and Culture (TB1) – HISP10015
Medieval and Renaissance Italy (TB1) – ITAL10034
The Making of the Hispanic World, from 1492 to the present day (TB1) – HISP10014
Understanding Russia: Literature & Visual Culture (TB1) – RUSS10042

TB2

City Futures: Migration, Citizenship, and Planetary Change (TB2) – UNIV10005
Classics of European Cinema (TB2) – MODL10010
Critical Concepts in the Study of the Hispanic World (TB2) – HISP10010
Introduction to Visual Cultures (TB2) – MODL10018
Modern German Thought and Thinkers (TB2) – GERM10038
Representations of Francophone Cultures (TB2) – FREN10013
Understanding Russia: History & Identity (TB2) – RUSS10041

Year 2 (level I/5)

TB1

Germany and Austria in Motion: Film, Society, and Identity (TB1) – GERM20054
Italian Fascism (TB1) – ITAL20045
Migrations of Culture (TB1) - MODL20024
Revolutionary Russia, 1881-1917 (TB1) – RUSS20066
Russian Orthodox Culture (TB1) – RUSS20044
Transforming the Tragic Hero(ine): 1770-1840 (TB1) – GERM20044
Women and Nation (TB1) – MODL23017
World Cinema: from national to transnational (TB1) - MODL23016

TB2

Fairy Tales Across Borders (TB2) – MODL20029
From Judgement to Trial: Selected Works by Franz Kafka (TB2) – GERM20049
Introduction to Francophone African Literature (TB2) – FREN20069
Introduction to Latin American Cinema (TB2) – HISP20114
Italian Cinema: Genre and Social Change (TB2) – ITAL29007
Popular Representation and Institutions of Culture (TB2) - MODL20026
Renaissance Italy (TB2) – ITAL20046
The Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel (TB2) – RUSS20069

Year 3 (level H/6)

TB1

Boccaccio's Decameron (TB1) – ITAL30063
Communism in Europe (TB1) – MODL30001
Dress and Identity in Russia through the Ages (TB1) - RUSS3NEW - this is a new unit. Code to be confirmed soon.
Theatre and Theatricality in Russian Society (TB1) – RUSS30085

TB2

Dante: Purgatorio and Paradiso (TB2) – ITAL30059
Decadence, Decay and Rebirth: Russian & Czech Literature (TB2) – RUSS30084
Dostoevsky (TB2) – RUSS30073
Intermedia Encounters in Poetry (TB2) – HISP30104
Propaganda, Politics, and the Islamic Other: Literary Responses to the Crusades (TB2) – FREN30117
Studying and Making Early Printed Books (TB2) – MODL30040
Transnational Narrative in pre-modern cultures (TB2) – MODL30041
Visibility Matters: Identity, Diversity, and Power in the Cultural Marketplace (TB2) – GERM30081

Year 4 (level M/7)

These are postgraduate level units and unsuitable for undergraduate students without three years of experience in a relevant discipline. You are most welcome to apply to be considered for enrolment if you have a strong background in the discipline. Requests for this level of unit will be assessed by the school on a case-by-case basis, and students can take a maximum of one per semester:

TB1

Institutions of Culture (TB1) – MODLM0022
Space, Comparison, and Empire (TB1) – MODLM0051
The Rise of the Novel in Nineteenth-Century Europe (TB1) – MODLM2035
Theorizing Violence: Colonial Encounters and Anti Colonial Reactions (TB1) – MODLM0025

TB2

Contemporary Global Chinese Literature and Visual Arts (TB2) – MODLM0050
Cultural Encounters (TB2) – MODLM0002
Pan-Africanism: ideas and archives (TB2) – MODLM0045
Queer Lives (TB2) – MODLM0070
Research Skills (TB2) – MODLM0021
Tradition and Experimentation in C20th European Fiction (TB2) – MODLM2034

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

Auditing

Students cannot audit units. Study abroad students are fully registered on units for credit purposes and must attend teaching only for classes that they are registered on.