Research

Research in the School is world-leading and was ranked fourth nationally in REF2021. It spans a number of languages (including Catalan, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Occitan, Portuguese, Russian, Scots, Slovak and Spanish) and extends from the Medieval period to the contemporary. Global in its perspective, it encompasses Eastern and Western Europe, Latin America, Africa (Francophone, Lusophone and Italian-colonial), and parts of Asia.

Our research explores a wealth of materials and adopts a variety of approaches reflecting the broad spectrum of Modern Languages in the 21st century. These include:

  • Transcultural encounters: within and beyond Europe; colonial, pre-colonial and postcolonial
  • Intermediality: word and image studies; film; auditory culture; theatre; video games; graphic novels; manga; art in galleries, street art and online; the media
  • Material and digital texts: from medieval manuscripts to contemporary photobooks
  • Translation, adaptation, and reception
  • Literary, cultural, social, and political histories: including gender and sexuality; race; mental health; the environment; sport; heritage; political parties; intellectuals; religion; and integration policy
  • Linguistics and language variation: sociolinguistic projects on local and transnational language varieties, with a focus on minority languages
  • Practice-cased approaches: exploring co-production with artists, industries and institutions

    Research Centres

    The School operates three Research Centres through which it conducts cutting-edge research and fosters new directions in the discipline:

    Centre for Worlding Languages

    Centre for Engaged Languages and Cultures

    Centre for Creative and Critical Media

    The School contributes to a number of interdisciplinary Faculty-wide research centres, including the Centre for Black Humanities, the Centre for Health, Humanities and Science and the Centre for Environmental Humanities, as well as University Research Institutes: Brigstow Institute, Cabot Institute, Migration Mobilities Bristol, and the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research. The School also plays a leading role in the Bristol Common Press.

    Colleagues also work across disciplinary boundaries through Faculty research clusters, exploring subjects including screen research, oceanic cultures, transnational theatre, transnational modernisms, decolonisation, and colonial and postcolonial societies.

    Collaborations

    We collaborate with a range of international partners to foster societal improvement. We respond to local and global challenges, through work on political reconciliation, exile and migration, cultural heritage, mental health, and environmental sustainability. See Departmental Research Pages for recent and ongoing collaborations.

    University of Bristol Institutes

    Researchers within the School play an active role within the following University of Bristol Research Institutes: