MA European Languages and Cultures: The University of Manchester

Course description

The MA in European Languages and Cultures (MA ELC) is a suite of 13 advanced taught MA programmes in European literary and cultural studies. Roughly half of these are language-specific, the other half reflecting areas of interdisciplinary specialism across the languages. They all have a similar structure, consisting of compulsory core course units (30 or 60 credits) and optional course units (totalling 60 or 90 credits). Students enrolled in a language-based MA (French, German, Italian or Spanish) must take at least 30 credits of optional course units dealing with materials in the language of their study. The dissertation (60 credits) will normally arise from one or more of the taught course units taken, and it will normally be supervised by an appropriate member of staff within the School/subject area.

For students who wish to take a free choice of course units in more than one language, the generic course is the MA in European Languages and Cultures.

Students wishing to specialise in a specific language may choose:

• MA French Studies
• MA German Studies
• MA Italian Studies
• MA Russian and East European Cultures and Societies
• MA Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American Studies

These include the core course units and a free choice of ALL course units in the relevant language. NB: students may also take up to 30 credits worth of optional course units offered on another pathway, subject to the agreement of the Course Director.

Students who wish to structure their MA studies along thematic lines may choose one of the following six interdisciplinary programmes:

• MA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies
• MA in Literature and Ideas in the 18 th and 19 th Centuries
• MA in Sexuality and Gender Studies
• MA in Cultures of Migration, Diaspora and Exile
• MA in Culture and Dictatorship
• MA in Holocaust Studies
• MA in Visual Cultures of the French-speaking World

Module details

The MA comprises:

• Research Methods I and II (30 credits)
• Optional course units (90 credits)
• a dissertation (60 credits)

Optional course units typically include:

• Critical Concepts
• French Theatre in the 18 th Century: Theory and Practice
• Diderot
• Woman at the Crossroads: Sor Juana and Nueva España
• The Medieval Saint: Iberia, 600-1500
• Bodies of Mystery and Imagination: Representations of Gender and Sexuality in Medieval and Renaissance France
• German Literature and Ideas in the 18th Century
• Border Crossings: Comparative Cultures of Diaspora
• Sex, Lies and Rhetoric: the Book of Celestina
• Portuguese Women's Writing pre and post Revolution
• Television and the Mass Media in Post-Soviet Russia

Entry requirements

Academic entry qualification overview: The normal requirement for admission to the MA is an Upper Second class Honours degree, or higher, or its overseas equivalent, in a suitable Humanities discipline.

English language: Students whose first language is not English require an overall IELTS score of 7.0 with 7.0 in the writing component or TOEFL 600 (paper-based test), 250 (computer-based test) or 100 (internet-based test).