University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2022/23 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages > Comparative Literatures and Cultures and Spanish (BA) > Specification
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Programme code | 1MODL032U |
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Programme type | Joint Honours (UG) |
Programme director(s) |
Andreas Schonle
|
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | School of Modern Languages |
Second School/department | Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 4 years (full time) |
This section sets out why studying this programme is important, both in terms of inspiring you as an individual and in considering the challenges we face. It describes how this degree programme contributes to:
The joint-honours programme in Comparative Literatures and Cultures (CLC) and Spanish provides students with the opportunity to study two complementary disciplines, which will prepare them to become global citizens. They will gain a broad understanding of the culture(s) in Spanish, while developing interest in and knowledge and understanding of the ways in which cultures, broadly conceived, relate to one another and migrate between and across societies.
In the third year of the degree they will spend a mandatory year abroad in a Spanish speaking country to improve their language skills and deepen their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and political environment of that country. During this year, they may opt for study, an assistantship or a work placement. Upon return to Bristol for their final year, while continuing to expand their discipline-specific knowledge and to sharpen their transferable skills, they will be able to reflect on how their historical and theoretical understanding acquired in class and their experiential knowledge acquired abroad relate and hopefully enrich one another. The study of Spanish language and culture is enhanced and extended by the CLC component of the degree, at the heart of which is the activity of comparison, allowing practitioners of ‘CompLit’ to respond with agility to an increasingly interconnected world. The programme will develop the student’s understanding of how to analyse cultures in their various media, how cultures develop out of political, social and institutional contexts, and how cultures migrate across an increasingly globalised world. In developing novel comparative frameworks, the programme will draw on methodologies from translation, textual, cultural, and visual studies, as well as from philosophy and critical theory. Students’ studies in CLC will culminate in a research project that will harness their knowledge of experience of Spanish language and culture to their comparative skills.
The learning outcome statements shown below for your programme have been developed with reference to relevant national subject benchmarks (where they exist), national qualification descriptors (see the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) and professional body requirements.
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies are listed to show how you will be able to achieve and demonstrate the learning outcomes.
This programme provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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A combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and flipped learning, including student-centred methods and collaborative projects. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
In keeping with the Arts 2020 framework, methods of assessments will include, essays, commentaries, oral presentations, examinations, reflective narratives, posters, collaborative projects, reports, and a dissertation including forms of authentic assessment (such as an exhibition prospect, interview, set of teaching materials, etc.). |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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A combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and flipped learning, including student-centred methods and collaborative projects. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
In keeping with the Arts 2020 framework, methods of assessments will include, essays, commentaries, oral presentations, examinations, reflective narratives, posters, collaborative projects, reports, and a dissertation including forms of authentic assessment (such as an exhibition prospect, interview, set of teaching materials, etc.). |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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|
A combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and flipped learning, including student-centred methods and collaborative projects. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
In keeping with the Arts 2020 framework, methods of assessments will include, essays, commentaries, oral presentations, examinations, reflective narratives, posters, collaborative projects, reports, and a dissertation including forms of authentic assessment (such as an exhibition prospect, interview, set of teaching materials, etc.). |
This section describes what is expected from you at each level of your programme. This illustrates increasing intellectual standards as you progress through the programme. These levels are mapped against the national level descriptors published by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
By the end of their first student, students will have developed thorough familiarity with a select sample of world literatures and cultures and developed a basic understanding of critical methods and theories. They will have developed methods and skills to approach both literary and visual source materials. They will have developed basic skills of selection and synthesis of relevant source materials and acquired the ability to conduct independent research under guidance from their tutors. They will have developed written and oral presentational skills enabling them to convey with clarity the analyses of source materials at the level of understanding and complexity commensurate with level C/4. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
By the end of the second year, students will have developed an understanding of how literary and visual media are rooted in concrete political, social, and institutional frameworks. They will have a robust appreciation of the transnational entanglements of cultures and of the theoretical debates around the transnational study of cultures. They will have acquired sophisticated visual and textual analytical skills and will be able to incorporate a consideration of theoretical arguments into their analysis. They will have developed written and oral presentational skills allowing them to tackle issues of a higher complexity than at level C/4. They will also have developed appropriate skills of collaborative work. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
By the end of their third year, students will have developed a deep understanding of a specific aesthetic, social or political issue approached from a comparative or transnational perspective. They will be thoroughly familiar with the fundamental debates underpinning the discipline of CLC. They will have substantially broadened their understanding of samples of world literatures and cultures and will have an advanced understanding of the transnational entanglements of cultures. They will have developed skills of independent research and will have acquired the ability to design and conduct an extensive independent research project. |
The learning outcome statements shown below for your programme have been developed with reference to relevant national subject benchmarks (where they exist), national qualification descriptors (see the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) and professional body requirements.
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies are listed to show how you will be able to achieve and demonstrate the learning outcomes.
This programme provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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|
Knowledge and understanding are acquired through: lectures, seminars, tutorials, intensive language classes, directed reading, regular written coursework and practical language work (supported by the facilities of the Multimedia Centre), and a compulsory period of residence in the country or countries where the language is spoken. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
A range of essay writing skills (short and extended essays). Project work. Seminar presentations. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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Intellectual skills are developed through seminars, tutorials, oral presentations and essay writing. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
Essay writing and examinations test the students' ability to analyse information and present reasoned arguments. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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Seminars and tutorials are used to develop oral communication by requiring students to engage in class discussions and to give short introductory talks/presentations to initiate discussion. These oral skill are further developed in the language classes. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
All units are assessed through written coursework in the form of essays of varying lengths and requirements. These require a detailed and expansive handling of literature and extensive reading in support of their conclusions. |
This section describes what is expected from you at each level of your programme. This illustrates increasing intellectual standards as you progress through the programme. These levels are mapped against the national level descriptors published by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
Year 1 of the course has been expressly designed to lay the foundations which will allow students to fulfil the course's aims and objectives. Core units in language are geared to lead the student in the development of their language skills. Foundation units introduce students to the literature, society, culture, politics and history of Spanish-speaking countries from the medieval period through to the present day. The expectation is that their work may require considerable direction from members of staff at this stage. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
In Year 2 students are expected to be able to demonstrate that they have expanded the range and depth of their knowledge in various areas of the discipline and their capacity to evaluate their work. The themes and language readings will be of greater depth and substance. Students will develop their analytical skills, their ability to structure their work and present it fluently. They will be encouraged in group work skills through active participation in seminars and oral language classes. They will be developing a capacity for self-directed learning (for example, through the researching and writing of essays and projects). The grammatical and lexical knowledge of the Spanish language will be tested, as will their specialist knowledge of specific periods/topics within the language, literature, society, culture, politics, history of the Spanish-speaking world. In Year 3, students will develop their command of spoken and written Spanish during the mandatory period of residence abroad when they either follow a formal programme of instruction at an academic institution in a Spanish-speaking country or take up an approved placement in a business or administrative organisation in a Spanish-speaking country. Their linguistic, critical, research and presentational skills will also be enhanced through the writing of a dissertation in Spanish during the year. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
Students are expected to have expanded the breadth of their knowledge through the study of optional units, which are more closely linked to staff research interests and which aim to develop conceptual and methodological approaches in more complexity.Students will be expected to develop further their ability to gather and assimilate information, to synthesise these in an appropriate way, to engage in sophisticated evaluation of texts. The students' ability to assimilate and synthesise material, organise their ideas, weigh conflicting interpretations, marshal arguments, form judgements and present their thoughts in written and verbal forms with precision and clarity will be further developed. There will be an emphasis on independent learning, self-directed study and research skills. The grammatical and lexical knowledge of the Spanish language will be tested, as will their specialist knowledge of specific periods/topics within the language, literature, society, culture, politics and history of the Spanish- speaking world. |
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
UG Workload Statement
Success as an undergraduate student depends on you being able to make the transition to self-motivated, independent learning. Programmes are designed to assist you in this development, in many cases by starting with units in which timetabled teaching, such as lectures and practical classes, provides the foundations of knowledge and skills in a subject, moving on to individual research-based work. Over time you will be expected to take increasing responsibility for your own learning, guided by the feedback on your work that you will receive. At the heart of your studies at every level there must be regular and disciplined individual reading, reflection and writing and it is this skill of independent studies, above all others, that will serve you best when you leave the University.
Most programmes use credits and a 20 credit unit broadly equates to about 200 hours of student input. This includes all activities related to the teaching, learning and assessment of taught units.
A component of this is the time that you spend in class, in contact with the teaching staff, which includes activities such as lectures, laboratories, tutorials and fieldwork. Some of this activity may be online and could consist of activity that is synchronous (using real-time environments such as Blackboard Collaborate) or asynchronous (using tools such as tutor moderated discussion forums, blogs or wikis).
In some programmes there are field courses and/or placements that will take place in concentrated periods of time.
Outside scheduled activities you are expected to pursue your own independent learning to build your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. Such independent activities include, reviewing lecture material, reading textbooks, working on examples sheets, completing coursework, writing up laboratory notes, preparing for in-class progress tests and revising for examinations.
We recognise that many students undertake paid employment. To achieve a sensible balance between work and study, you are advised to undertake paid work for no more than 15 hours per week in term-time.
Professional Programmes
Many undergraduates in the Faculty of Health Sciences will be following the professional programmes of:
For these professional programmes, full time attendance is compulsory unless absence is formally approved. Academic activities are timetabled throughout the 5-day week and student workload is around 40 hours per week on average. Where possible, students in the early years are permitted Wednesday afternoons for sport and extra-curriculum activities. This may not be available in later years of professional programmes as when a student progresses through the curricula there is an increasing exposure to clinical and professional activities. Students in clinic or on placements may need to stay later than core times of 08.00 – 18.00 or even overnight to observe out-of-hours activities. This increasing exposure to clinical activities means that students on these professional programmes often have longer term dates than the University standard. Individual years within programmes are likely to vary in length (for example because of the timings of placements) and further information on this will be found in individual programme regulations. Another important point to note is that many of the assessments sit outside of the standard University examination timetable and are likely to be more frequent meaning that students will more oftentimes be engaged in revision activities and self-directed learning.
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty Assessment and Feedback Statement for Undergraduate Students. University of Bristol access only.
The School also offers single honours programmes in French, German Spanish and Hispanic Studies (Spanish with Portuguese or Catalan) Italian and Russian along side our joint programmes with one of the following: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Czech; English, Film, History, History of Art, International Business Management, Philosophy Politics and Theatre.
Mandatory Unit Spanish Language HISP10001 Post A Level or HISP10116 ab initio is must pass. For the definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms from Annex 1 to the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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List A: In addition to the mandatory MODL unit, you should choose the appropriate level Spanish unit | |||||
Spanish Language (Ab-initio) | HISP10116 | 40 | Optional | A | TB-4 |
Spanish Language (Post A level) | HISP10001 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Comparative Literature: What is it and how can we practise it? | MODL10016 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
List B: If you select HISP10001 you choose 60CP optional units from lists B, D, E or if you select HISP10116 you choose 40CP optional units from lists B, D, E, (max. of 20 credits from any one list). | |||||
Medieval and Renaissance Italy | ITAL10034 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Understanding Russia: History & Identity | RUSS10041 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Shaping France | FREN10032 | 20 | Optional | B | TB-1 |
The Making of the Hispanic World, from 1492 to the present day | HISP10014 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
List C: | |||||
Introduction to Visual Cultures | MODL10018 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
List D: | |||||
Living Religions East | THRS10065 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Modern German Thought and Thinkers | GERM10038 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List E: | |||||
Representations of Francophone Cultures | FREN10013 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Language and Power: Introductions to German History | GERM10039 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Understanding Russia: Literature & Visual Culture | RUSS10042 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Critical Concepts in the Study of the Hispanic World | HISP10010 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
Mandatory Unit Spanish Language HISP20101 is must pass. For the definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms from Annex 1 to the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Students must take at least 40cps of HISP-coded units: these will include the mandatory language requirement | |||||
List A | |||||
Spanish Language | HISP20101 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Migrations of Culture | MODL20024 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
List B: Choose 20 CP from either list B or list E | |||||
Women's Writing and Filmmaking in Latin America | HISP20108 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Latin America in the Twentieth Century: A People's History | HISP20119 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Women's Writing in Post-War Spain | HISP21309 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Introduction to French Cinema | FREN20056 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Italian Cinema: Genre and Social Change | ITAL29007 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
General Linguistics | MODL20016 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Woman and Nation | MODL23017 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Russian Orthodox Culture | RUSS20044 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel | RUSS20069 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List C: Take 20 CP from this list | |||||
Republic, War and Dictatorship in Spain, 1931 - 1975 | HISP20076 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Barcelona: Culture and Representations | HISP20117 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Queer Writing and Film in the Hispanic World | HISP20118 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Italian Cinema: Genre and Social Change | ITAL29007 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Russian Orthodox Culture | RUSS20044 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel | RUSS20069 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List D: Choose the Mandatory unit | |||||
Introduction to Latin American Cinema | HISP20114 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Structures and Varieties of Spanish | HISP20123 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
French Fiction: from Realism to the 21st Century | FREN20048 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Introduction to French Cinema | FREN20056 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
From Judgement to Trial: Selected Works by Franz Kafka | GERM20049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Historical Linguistics | MODL20017 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Engineers of the Human Soul: Soviet Culture and Politics 1917 - 1941 | RUSS20060 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Popular Representation and Institutions of Culture | MODL20026 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
List E: Choose 20 CP from either list E or list B | |||||
Contemporary Latin(x) American Poetry | HISP20115 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Introduction to Spanish Peninsular literature since 1850 | HISP20121 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Colonial Worlds: Latin America and the Caribbean, 1400-1900 | HISP20122 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
French Fiction: from Realism to the 21st Century | FREN20048 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Engineers of the Human Soul: Soviet Culture and Politics 1917 - 1941 | RUSS20060 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List F: Select one additional optional unit, which can either be taken from one of Lists B, C, D, and E above, or from the list below for the University-Wide Language Programme (UWLP). You must NOT select the same option more than once. | |||||
Beginners German | UWLP10004 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Post-Beginners German | UWLP10005 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Intermediate German | UWLP10006 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Beginners Modern Standard Arabic | UWLP10008 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Beginners Spanish | UWLP10009 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Post-Beginners Spanish | UWLP10010 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Intermediate Spanish | UWLP10011 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Beginners Japanese | UWLP10012 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Beginners Mandarin Chinese | UWLP10013 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Beginners Italian | UWLP10014 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Post-Beginners Italian | UWLP10015 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Beginners Russian | UWLP10016 | 20 | Optional | F | TB-4 |
Beginners Czech | UWLP10017 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Beginners Korean | UWLP10018 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Beginners Catalan | UWLP10025 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Beginners Portuguese | UWLP10026 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Follow-on German | UWLP20003 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Advanced German | UWLP20004 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Follow-on Spanish | UWLP20005 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Advanced Spanish | UWLP20006 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Pre-intermediate Japanese | UWLP20008 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Pre-intermediate Mandarin Chinese | UWLP20009 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Follow-on Italian | UWLP20010 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Post-Beginners Russian | UWLP20011 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Intermediate Spanish for second and final year | UWLP20014 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Intermediate German for second and final year | UWLP20015 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Follow-on Portuguese | UWLP20016 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Follow-on Korean | UWLP20017 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Follow-on Modern Standard Arabic | UWLP20018 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Diploma of Higher Education | 120 |
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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