| Unit name | Cultural Encounters |
|---|---|
| Unit code | MODLM0002 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Tomlinson |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | School of Modern Languages |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit introduces students to the practices and methods that are fundamental to the study of modern languages at postgraduate level and, in particular, to the range of skills that are essential to make the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study. It approaches the discipline in its broadest sense, covering the literary, cultural, linguistic, and historical.
The unit provides a historical perspective on the concept and practice of literature, an introduction to methods and conceptual frameworks essential to the study of cultures, and turns from the literary and cultural to the linguistic in incorporating a sub-unit on translation theory and practice. The Unit will consist of three parts, as follows: - Reading Cultures: The Theory and Practice of Literature from the Renaissance to Modernity (4 weeks) - Understanding Cultures: Method and Theory (3-4 weeks) - Translating Cultures: Theory and Practice (4 weeks)
Students will be able: (1) to define and summarize key principles framing the study of diverse cultures, (2) to critically interpret relevant theoretical approaches to the study of literature and culture, organising a range of concepts into a meaningful whole for oral and written presentation, (3) to appraise the value of theoretical principles in the formulation of a research methodology, (4) to apply theory and methodology to a complex problem in the discipline, (5) to critically evaluate a key concept in Modern Languages, in theory and in practice.
Seminars, to include assessed student presentations
Summative assessment will be split between an assessed presentation (33%: learning outcomes 1-2) and an essay (66%: learning outcomes 3-5). The former will include the submission of a 1000-word abstract/summary which should present the argument of the presentation on the model of an abstract of a scholarly journal article. This will form part of the assessment. The essay will be submitted at the end of the unit to allow maximum benefit to be drawn from the accumulative design of the unit.
The Unit will be divided into three sections (as above). Precise set reading for each section of the unit will depend on the staff specialisms of those teaching it each year. But example titles for reading lists for each section could include, respectively, key essays from: The Cambridge History of Literary Criticism (Cambridge, 1989-); Quentin Skinner, Visions of Politics: Volume I - Regarding Method (Cambridge, 2002); Lawrence Venuti, The Translator's Invisibility (London, 1995)
