Modern Languages 2026/27
The School of Modern Languages (SML) is an interdisciplinary school, meaning you can study so much more than languages here.
You can find units on:
- literature and poetry
- cinema and visual culture
- history and politics
- linguistics
- cultural studies (e.g. gender, sexuality, postcolonialism)
- and European & Asian languages
Many of the units are comparative (MODL units), enabling you to study more than one culture at a time. While we focus largely on Continental Europe and Latin America, we also have units engaging with the Caribbean, Africa, North America, and Britain.
As an SML Subject Pathway student, you will choose a minimum of 40 credits per semester from this study guide. Most of the units are available in English, but some require knowledge of another language, as indicated below.
Pre-requisites
- Year 1 – units are suitable for all students.
- Year 2 – for students with some university study in a relevant discipline, for example literature, cinema, history, linguistics.
- Year 3 – for students with a strong background of study in a relevant discipline and some familiarity with the region, for example France, Russia, Latin America.
Units taught in English:
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
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
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
Teaching Block 1
- General Linguistics - MODL20016
- Liaison Interpreting - MODL30006. This unit runs in either semester. This semester's class is offered to students with B2 level in any of the following languages: German, Italian and Russian.
- Translating in a Professional Context - MODL30010
Teaching Block 2
- Liaison Interpreting - MODL30006. This unit runs in either semester. This semester's class is offered to students with B2 level in any of the following languages: French and Spanish.
- Sociolinguistics: Language Variation and Change - MODL30015
- Theoretical Approaches to Language Teaching - MODL30036. This unit is for students at an Advanced Level (C1 or C2) and who are studying languages/linguistics at their home university.
Teaching Block 4 (full year)
If you will be with us for a full year starting in September then you can begin a new language from scratch, or continue on to intermediate or advanced level if you’ve already begun.
Beginners:
- Arabic – Beginners Modern Standard - UWLP10008
- Chinese – Beginners Mandarin - UWLP10013
- French – Beginners - UWLP10001
- German – Beginners - UWLP10004
- Italian – Beginners - UWLP10014
- Japanese – Beginners - UWLP10012
- Korean - Beginners - UWLP10018
- Russian - Beginners - UWLP10016
- Spanish - Beginners - UWLP10009
Pre-Intermediate or Follow-on:
- Arabic - Follow-on Modern Standard - UWLP20018
- Chinese - Pre-intermediate Mandarin - UWLP20009
- French – Post-Beginners - UWLP10002. Also available on a Year 2 code: UWLP20001.
- German - Post-Beginners - UWLP10005. Also available on a Year 2 code: UWLP20003.
- Italian - Post-Beginners - UWLP10015. Also available on a Year 2 code: UWLP20010.
- Japanese - Pre-intermediate - UWLP20008
- Korean - Follow-on - UWLP20017
- Russian - Post-Beginners - UWLP20011
- Spanish - Post-Beginners - UWLP10010. Also available on a Year 2 code: UWLP20005.
Intermediate:
- Chinese - Intermediate Mandarin - UWLP30002
- French - Intermediate - UWLP10003. Also available on a Year 2 code: UWLP20013.
- German - Intermediate - UWLP10006. Also available on a Year 2 code: UWLP20015.
- Japanese - Intermediate - UWLP30001
- Spanish - Intermediate - UWLP10011. Also available on a Year 2 code: UWLP20014.
Advanced: