Modern Languages and Cultures (with Year Abroad) - BA (Hons)

Durham University

Develop advanced language skills and in-depth cultural awareness as you delve into a range of modern languages. A degree in modern languages is your passport to exciting international career opportunities. This BA offers you the opportunity to combine the development of high-level language skills with in-depth critical engagement with other cultures through studying literature, art, film and visual culture, history, and politics. Courses are available in Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish. If you already have an A level (or equivalent) in French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish, we offer advanced courses in those languages. You will also have the choice to study beginner courses in the above languages or Arabic. Whether you are a beginner or a post-A level student in your chosen languages, you will also study cultural modules together, and the beginner and advanced streams fully merge in the final year. In Year 1 you can study up to three languages, focusing on the key skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening. You will also explore aspects of the literature, film, art, history and politics of the cultures you are studying. In Year 2 you will be able to study one or two languages, building on your skills and allowing you to begin to specialise in areas that interest you. You will then spend Year 3 abroad, either as an English assistant in a school or university, as a student, or on a work placement. You will divide your time between countries whose languages you will study in your final year. This is a time of enormous linguistic and personal development, when you should gain fluency in your language and enjoy a unique opportunity to make new friends, appreciate other cultures, and learn to work and study in new ways. You can also apply to add a placement year to your degree, increasing the course from four years to five. In Year 4 you will develop your advanced skills in one or two chosen languages. You will also continue your cultural studies, focusing on your areas of interest (such as the work of a particular writer or the culture of a particular period).Course structureYear 1 modulesCore modules:Languages Arabic (Beginner)French (Beginner or Advanced)German (Beginner or Advanced)Hispanic Studies (Beginner or Advanced)Italian (Beginner or Advanced)Russian (Beginner or Advanced). Optional modules:In recent years, optional modules have included: Introduction to Middle Eastern CulturesIslam Observed: Ethnographic Accounts of Muslim PracticeReading French Literature (Beginner or Advanced)Society and its Outsiders in Modern FranceThe Invention of FrancePicturing the Past of the German-Speaking CountriesReading German CultureItaly and the ArtsUnderstanding Russian: Arts and Ideologies. Year 2 modulesCore modules:Languages Arabic (double module) FrenchGermanHispanic StudiesItalianRussian Optional modules:In recent years, optional modules have included: Arabic LiteraturePersianModernity and Disenchantment: 19th and 20th Century French Literature and CultureSex and Identity in Germanic CulturesCatalan (Beginners)Latin American TextsNarratives of Fascist and Post War ItalyThe Languages of ItalyRussian and Soviet Cinema. Year 3 modulesCore modules:Study abroad The third year is spent abroad as an English assistant in a school, as a student in a university or in employment of some kind. During the year abroad you complete a summative Year Abroad assignment with guidance from Durham staff.Year 4 modulesCore modules:Extended Dissertation or a Dissertation You will produce an Extended Dissertation or a Dissertation depending on the number of languages studied.Languages Arabic (double module)FrenchGermanHispanic StudiesItalianRussian.