French manadtory modules
Beginners' pathway
- French 1: Beginners
- France: History and Identity
- French Texts in Translation
Post-A level pathway
- French 1
- Introduction to French & Francophone Studies
University Park Campus, Nottingham, UK
Qualification | Entry Requirements | Start Date | UCAS code | Duration | Fees |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BA Jt Hons | ABB | September 2025 | RP19 | 4 years full-time (includes year abroad) | £9,250 per year |
Qualification | Entry Requirements | Start Date | UCAS code | Duration | Fees |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
BA Jt Hons | ABB | September 2025 | RP19 | 4 years full-time (includes year abroad) | £9,250 per year |
if taking then Higher Level 5 in French or Standard Level 6 in French
6.5 overall (with no less than 6.0 in any element)
As well as IELTS (listed above), we also accept other English language qualifications. This includes TOEFL iBT, Pearson PTE, GCSE, IB and O level English. Check our English language policies and equivalencies for further details.
For presessional English or one-year foundation courses, you must take IELTS for UKVI to meet visa regulations.
If you need support to meet the required level, you may be able to attend a Presessional English for Academic Purposes (PEAP) course. Our Centre for English Language Education is accredited by the British Council for the teaching of English in the UK.
If you successfully complete your presessional course to the required level, you can then progress to your degree course. This means that you won't need to retake IELTS or equivalent.
A level
B in French if applicable. No language qualification is required for the beginners pathway.
GCSE
English grade 4 (C)
All candidates are considered on an individual basis and we accept a broad range of qualifications. The entrance requirements below apply to 2024 entry.
Please note: Applicants whose backgrounds or personal circumstances have impacted their academic performance may receive a reduced offer. Please see our contextual admissions policy for more information.
We recognise that applicants have a wealth of different experiences and follow a variety of pathways into higher education.
Consequently we treat all applicants with alternative qualifications (besides A-levels and the International Baccalaureate) on an individual basis, and we gladly accept students with a whole range of less conventional qualifications including:
This list is not exhaustive. The entry requirements for alternative qualifications can be quite specific; for example you may need to take certain modules and achieve a specified grade in those modules. Please contact us to discuss the transferability of your qualification. Please see the alternative qualifications page for more information.
RQF BTEC Nationals
Access to HE Diploma
As well as IELTS (listed above), we also accept other English language qualifications. This includes TOEFL iBT, Pearson PTE, GCSE, IB and O level English. Check our English language policies and equivalencies for further details.
For presessional English or one-year foundation courses, you must take IELTS for UKVI to meet visa regulations.
If you need support to meet the required level, you may be able to attend a Presessional English for Academic Purposes (PEAP) course. Our Centre for English Language Education is accredited by the British Council for the teaching of English in the UK.
If you successfully complete your presessional course to the required level, you can then progress to your degree course. This means that you won't need to retake IELTS or equivalent.
International students must have valid UK immigration permissions for any courses or study period where teaching takes place in the UK. Student route visas can be issued for eligible students studying full-time courses. The University of Nottingham does not sponsor a student visa for students studying part-time courses. The Standard Visitor visa route is not appropriate in all cases. Please contact the university’s Visa and Immigration team if you need advice about your visa options.
A level
B in French if applicable. No language qualification is required for the beginners pathway.
GCSE
English grade 4 (C)
if taking then Higher Level 5 in French or Standard Level 6 in French
All candidates are considered on an individual basis and we accept a broad range of qualifications. The entrance requirements below apply to 2024 entry.
Please note: Applicants whose backgrounds or personal circumstances have impacted their academic performance may receive a reduced offer. Please see our contextual admissions policy for more information.
We recognise that applicants have a wealth of different experiences and follow a variety of pathways into higher education.
Consequently we treat all applicants with alternative qualifications (besides A-levels and the International Baccalaureate) on an individual basis, and we gladly accept students with a whole range of less conventional qualifications including:
This list is not exhaustive. The entry requirements for alternative qualifications can be quite specific; for example you may need to take certain modules and achieve a specified grade in those modules. Please contact us to discuss the transferability of your qualification. Please see the alternative qualifications page for more information.
RQF BTEC Nationals
Access to HE Diploma
We make contextual offers to students who may have experienced barriers that have restricted progress at school or college. Our standard contextual offer is usually one grade lower than the advertised entry requirements, and our enhanced contextual offer is usually two grades lower than the advertised entry requirements. To qualify for a contextual offer, you must have Home/UK fee status and meet specific criteria – check if you’re eligible.
You can also access this course through a Foundation Year. This may be suitable if you have faced educational barriers and are predicted BCC at A Level.
If you have already achieved your EPQ at Grade A you will automatically be offered one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject.
If you are still studying for your EPQ you will receive the standard course offer, with a condition of one grade lower in a non-mandatory A level subject if you achieve an A grade in your EPQ.
At the University of Nottingham, we have a valuable community of mature students and we appreciate their contribution to the wider student population. You can find lots of useful information on the mature students webpage.
On this course, subject to you meeting the relevant requirements, your third academic year will be spent in France or a Francophone country doing one of the following:
For more information, see your year abroad options.
Please note: In order to undertake a compulsory year abroad, you will need to achieve the relevant academic requirements as set by the University and meet the selection criteria of both the University and the partner institution. The partner institution is under no obligation to accept you even if you do meet the relevant criteria.
You could gain professional experience in film, television and other creative industries, create a network of contacts and boost your employability through our Creative Student Network internship scheme.
Please note: In order to undertake a placement or internship, you will need to achieve the relevant academic requirements as set by the University and meet any requirements specified by the placement host. There is no guarantee that you will be able to undertake a placement or internship as part of your course.
Please be aware that study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university’s control. Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.
On this course, subject to you meeting the relevant requirements, your third academic year will be spent in France or a Francophone country doing one of the following:
For more information, see your year abroad options.
Please note: In order to undertake a compulsory year abroad, you will need to achieve the relevant academic requirements as set by the University and meet the selection criteria of both the University and the partner institution. The partner institution is under no obligation to accept you even if you do meet the relevant criteria.
You could gain professional experience in film, television and other creative industries, create a network of contacts and boost your employability through our Creative Student Network internship scheme.
Please note: In order to undertake a placement or internship, you will need to achieve the relevant academic requirements as set by the University and meet any requirements specified by the placement host. There is no guarantee that you will be able to undertake a placement or internship as part of your course.
Please be aware that study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university’s control. Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.
*For full details including fees for part-time students and reduced fees during your time studying abroad or on placement (where applicable), see our fees page.
If you are a student from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, you may be asked to complete a fee status questionnaire and your answers will be assessed using guidance issued by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) .Additional costs
All students will need at least one device to approve security access requests via Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). We also recommend students have a suitable laptop to work both on and off-campus. For more information, please check the equipment advice.
Essential course materials are supplied.
You'll be able to access most of the books you’ll need through our libraries, though you may wish to buy your own copies of core texts.
A limited number of modules have compulsory texts which you are required to buy.
We recommend that you budget £100 per year for books, but this figure will vary according to which modules you take.
The Blackwell's bookshop on campus offers a year-round price match against any of the main retailers (for example Amazon, Waterstones, WH Smith). You can often buy second-hand copies of textbooks through them as students from previous years sell their copies back to the bookshop.
As a year abroad student, you will pay reduced fees. For students spending their year abroad in 2022 this was set at:
Costs incurred during the year abroad
These vary from country to country, but always include:
Depending on the country visited you may also have to pay for:
There are a number of sources of funding:
Your access to funding depends on:
You may be able to work or teach during your year abroad. This will be dependent on your course and country-specific regulations. Often students receive a small salary or stipend for these work placements. Working or teaching is not permitted in all countries. More information on your third year abroad.
For volunteering and placements, for example work experience and teaching in schools, you will need to pay for transport and refreshments.
Field trips allow you to engage with source materials on a personal level and to develop different perspectives. They are optional and costs to you vary according to the trip; some require you to arrange your own travel, refreshments and entry fees, while some are some are wholly subsidised.
Faculty of Arts Alumni Scholarships
Our Alumni Scholarships provide support with essential living costs to eligible students. Find out more about eligibility and how to apply.
The University offers a wide range of funds that can provide you with an additional source of non-repayable financial help. See our bursaries and scholarships page for what's available.
We offer a range of international undergraduate scholarships for high-achieving international scholars who can put their Nottingham degree to great use in their careers.
All students will need at least one device to approve security access requests via Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). We also recommend students have a suitable laptop to work both on and off-campus. For more information, please check the equipment advice.
Essential course materials are supplied.
You'll be able to access most of the books you’ll need through our libraries, though you may wish to buy your own copies of core texts.
A limited number of modules have compulsory texts which you are required to buy.
We recommend that you budget £100 per year for books, but this figure will vary according to which modules you take.
The Blackwell's bookshop on campus offers a year-round price match against any of the main retailers (for example Amazon, Waterstones, WH Smith). You can often buy second-hand copies of textbooks through them as students from previous years sell their copies back to the bookshop.
As a year abroad student, you will pay reduced fees. For students spending their year abroad in 2022 this was set at:
Costs incurred during the year abroad
These vary from country to country, but always include:
Depending on the country visited you may also have to pay for:
There are a number of sources of funding:
Your access to funding depends on:
You may be able to work or teach during your year abroad. This will be dependent on your course and country-specific regulations. Often students receive a small salary or stipend for these work placements. Working or teaching is not permitted in all countries. More information on your third year abroad.
For volunteering and placements, for example work experience and teaching in schools, you will need to pay for transport and refreshments.
Field trips allow you to engage with source materials on a personal level and to develop different perspectives. They are optional and costs to you vary according to the trip; some require you to arrange your own travel, refreshments and entry fees, while some are some are wholly subsidised.
Faculty of Arts Alumni Scholarships
Our Alumni Scholarships provide support with essential living costs to eligible students. Find out more about eligibility and how to apply.
University of Nottingham bursaries and scholarships
The University offers a wide range of funds that can provide you with an additional source of non-repayable financial help. See our bursaries and scholarships page for what's available.
Over one third of our UK students receive our means-tested core bursary, worth up to £1,000 a year. Full details can be found on our financial support pages.
* A 'home' student is one who meets certain UK residence criteria. These are the same criteria as apply to eligibility for home funding from Student Finance.
Communication defines us as human beings.
This degree gives you a chance to think critically about media and communication in your own society, globally and in a French-specific context.
Drawing on a range of approaches (such as sociology, communication theory, politics and cultural studies), you’ll explore areas such as:
With the focus being on media theory and cultural history you'll develop critical skills in:
You can start the degree with A-level French or as a beginner.
Whichever pathway you take you'll build your language skills to near-native competence by the end.
As well as building language skills you'll also get a full appreciation of the Francophone world through modules on:
You will have the opportunity to spend your third year abroad in a French-speaking country. This exciting experience develops your communication skills and really helps you stand out to future employers.
This course is perfect for a career in the creative industries. At Nottingham, you can gain valuable experience through internships, placements, and work opportunities. No more so though than with our prestigious Hollywood Internships programme, unique to Nottingham. Previous internships have involved:
Indicative partner organisations include A24, CAA, Disney, Warner, Paramount, Sony, Lionsgate, UTA, and WME.
Our partners, and the number and nature of the internships, change each year. Vacancies are advertised in the Autumn term for students in years two and above. These are highly competitive positions, and places are not guaranteed. Terms and conditions apply.
The internships are supported through the generosity of Peter Rice, Nottingham graduate and former Chair of Disney General Entertainment Content
The awards are competitive and open exclusively to our students.
This joint honours degree is a collaboration between two departments. Find out more about what it’s like to study in the:
"All of the concepts and theories that we unpacked and interrogated at university are real things that I have encountered throughout my career. Having those different perspectives, theory and knowledge helps me to be a better communications professional."
Tobi Ruth Adebekun, Communications Manager, International at Snapchat
Important Information
This online prospectus has been drafted in advance of the academic year to which it applies. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publishing, but changes (for example to course content) are likely to occur given the interval between publishing and commencement of the course. It is therefore very important to check this website for any updates before you apply for the course where there has been an interval between you reading this website and applying.
Mandatory
Year 1
Questioning Culture
Optional
Year 1
French 1: Beginners
Optional
Year 1
French 1
Optional
Year 1
French Texts in Translation
Optional
Year 1
Introduction to Modern French Poetry
Optional
Year 1
Introduction to French and Francophone Studies
Optional
Year 1
France: History and Identity
Optional
Year 1
Introduction to French Literature: Landmarks in Narrative
Optional
Year 1
Contemporary France
Optional
Year 1
Introduction to French Literature: Representations of Paris
Optional
Year 1
Communication and Culture
Optional
Year 1
Communication and Technology
Optional
Year 1
Media and Society
Optional
Year 1
Cultures of Everyday Life
Mandatory
Year 2
Researching Media and Culture
Optional
Year 2
French 2
Optional
Year 2
French 2 - Beginners
Optional
Year 2
Introduction to French and Francophone Studies
Optional
Year 2
Literature and Politics in Modern France
Optional
Year 2
Huit Tableaux: Art and Politics in Nineteenth-Century France (1799-1871)
Optional
Year 2
Enlightenment Literature: An Introduction
Optional
Year 2
Contemporary Francophone Cinema and Social Issues
Optional
Year 2
Contemporary Translation Studies
Optional
Year 2
French Cinema: The New Wave
Optional
Year 2
Nineteenth Century French Narrative
Optional
Year 2
On Location: Cinematic Explorations of Contemporary France
Optional
Year 2
Introduction to Contemporary Science Fiction
Optional
Year 2
French Cinema: The New Wave
Optional
Year 2
Nineteenth Century French Narrative
Optional
Year 2
On Location: Cinematic Explorations of Contemporary France
Optional
Year 2
Introduction to Contemporary Science Fiction
Optional
Year 2
After Empire: Colonisation and its Legacies
Optional
Year 2
La France en guerre: Memoires de la Premiere Guerre Mondiale
Optional
Year 2
Varieties of French
Optional
Year 2
Teaching English as a Foreign Language
Optional
Year 2
Introduction to French Literature: Landmarks in Narrative
Optional
Year 2
Understanding Cultural Industries
Optional
Year 2
Media Identities: Who We Are and How We Feel
Optional
Year 2
Political Communication, Public Relations and Propaganda
Optional
Year 2
New Media and Digital Culture
Optional
Year 2
The Sixties: Culture and Counterculture
Optional
Year 2
Black Art in a White Context: Display, Critique and The Other
Optional
Year 2
Film and Television in Social and Cultural Context
Optional
Year 2
Transnational Media
Optional
Year 2
Art and Architecture in Nottingham
Optional
Year 2
Memory, Media and Visual Culture
Optional
Year 2
Los Angeles Art and Architecture 1945-1980
Optional
Year 2
Work placement
Mandatory
Year 3
Year abroad
Mandatory
Year 4
French 3
Mandatory
Year 4
Dissertation in International Media and Communications Studies
Optional
Year 4
Communicating and Teaching Languages for Undergraduate Ambassadors
Optional
Year 4
Contemporary Representations of Travel
Optional
Year 4
French Documentary Cinema
Optional
Year 4
Subtitling and Dubbing from French into English
Optional
Year 4
Language Contact and French
Optional
Year 4
Citizenship, Ethnicity and National Identity in Post-War France
Optional
Year 4
Difficult Women
Optional
Year 4
Contemporary Francophone Cinema: The Personal and The Political
Optional
Year 4
Self, Sign and Society
Optional
Year 4
Mediating Disaster
Optional
Year 4
Global Cinema
Optional
Year 4
Working in the Cultural Industries
Optional
Year 4
Photographing America
Optional
Year 4
Teaching Film and Media Studies for Undergraduate Ambassadors
Optional
Year 4
Film and Television Genres
Optional
Year 4
Screen Encounters: Audiences and Engagement
Optional
Year 4
Auditory Cultures: Sound, Listening and Everyday Life in the Modern World
Optional
Year 4
Gender, Sexuality and Media
Optional
Year 4
Public Cultures: Protest, Participation and Power
Optional
Year 4
Media and the Ecological Crisis: Challenges and Opportunities
Optional
Year 4
Contested Bodies: Gender and Power in the Renaissance
Optional
Year 4
Performance Art
Optional
Year 4
American Magazine Culture: Journalism, Advertising and Fiction from Independence to the Internet Age
The above is a sample of the typical modules we offer, but is not intended to be construed or relied on as a definitive list of what might be available in any given year. This content was last updated on Thursday 3 October 2024. Due to timetabling availability, there may be restrictions on some module combinations.
French manadtory modules
Beginners' pathway
Post-A level pathway
French mandatory modules
Beginners' pathway
Post-A level pathway
Your third academic year is spent in France or a Francophone country doing one of the following:
For full details of possible destinations, finance and impact of Brexit see our dedicated Year Abroad page.
This module will support you in your first year as you make the transition into degree level work. You will gain a variety of skills in independent and collaborative learning with the aid of guided and self-directed learning tasks and individual and group research projects. All of which will prepare the ground for subsequent research training and your final year dissertation. This module is worth 20 credits.
Welcome to French at the University of Nottingham — this is where your journey to fluency shall begin!
Designed for students who have little or no prior knowledge of the language, this intensive study module will support you to develop in all the key areas of language acquisition: reading, writing, listening, speaking and grammatical competence.
We'll use a set text book, but to keep the classes engaging and interesting, we'll also use a variety of contemporary texts which may include literature, newspapers, websites and audio recordings.
You'll also become more culturally aware of the countries that make up the French-speaking world and get a better understanding of their varying current affairs and culture.
Welcome to French at the University of Nottingham — this is where your journey to fluency will really begin to take off!
Designed for students who have completed an A level (or equivalent) in the language, this module will support you to improve in all the key areas of language acquisition: reading, writing, listening and speaking.
We'll support you to continue growing your language abilities, improving your speaking, comprehension and grammar usage through a wide range of source materials and lively classroom conversations.
You'll also become more culturally aware of the countries that make up the Francophone world and get a better understanding of their varying current affairs and culture.
This module is designed as an introduction to some of the main skills required to study literature by looking at landmark French texts (novels and films) in English translation. By choosing texts with varied thematic and formal features the module will give an insight into the range of themes and issues which have preoccupied writers in France, as well as the fictional forms they have used to explore these themes. The module will raise your awareness of a range of literary styles and techniques and the ways in which these may influence the reader. This module is for students taking French 1 Beginners only.
This module provides an introduction to three major figures in modern French poetry (Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Apollinaire), and to the major formal developments in poetry in the period 1850-1914, including the prose poem and free verse. Students will learn to analyse, interpret and write commentaries on poetry, and individual poems will be considered in relation to broad themes such as the representations of self, and notions of modernism.
This is the starting point for your French Studies journey at Nottingham. Having studied French at A level you’ll already have a good command of the language but now it’s time to go deeper. Together we’ll explore a variety of topics to help you develop a fuller understanding of the history and cultures of France and the Francophone world. These topics may include linguistics, politics, history, thought, literature, media, visual culture and cinema.
You’ll study a range of different texts, images and film, through which we’ll help you develop the core study skills necessary for studying this subject at degree level, such as close reading, essay writing, commentary writing, bibliographical and referencing skills, and visual analysis.
This module aims to introduce you to the course of French history since the French Revolution through the study of a series of historical figures, including Olympe de Gouges, Toussaint Louverture, Napoleon Bonaparte, George Sand and Charles de Gaulle. You will look at the way in which their 'stories' have been written and woven into the fabric of 'le roman de la nation', and how they have been appropriated to serve a range of different ends. It will also introduce you to the iconography of the French historical landscape. This module is worth 10 credits.
This module aims to introduce you to the comparative study of literature and culture, focusing in particular on how the city of Paris is represented in a range of texts (poetic, narrative and filmic) in the modern period (post-1800).
You will learn reading techniques adapted to different genres and media, and representations of the city will be considered within their broader social, historical and political context.
On this module, you will focus on a selection of themes that explore the distinctive social and political landscape of contemporary France: French political institutions, with particular emphasis on the presidency; political parties in France; and immigration and questions of identity.
A close analysis of these themes will provide you with a general understanding of contemporary French society and institutions. In more specific terms, you will begin to explore the ways in which France is faced with the challenge of adapting its republican traditions to a changing world.
This module aims to introduce you to the comparative study of literature and culture, focusing in particular on how the city of Paris is represented in a range of texts (poetic, narrative and filmic) in the modern period (post-1800). You will learn reading techniques adapted to different genres and media, and representations of the city will be considered within their broader social, historical and political context.
We live in culture and we communicate with each other every day, online and offline. What is communication? How is it shaped by culture? In this module, you will learn theories on communication, media and culture. These theories include Marxism, structuralism, poststructuralism, feminism, queer theory, postcolonialism, critical race studies and digital media studies. They will enable you to look at society and culture with fresh eyes and use media and communication more self-consciously. You will be aware of how social structures and power relations shape media and communication practices, and what we can do as individuals and social groups to challenge these structures and relations. Eventually, you will use these theories to critically analyse a wide range of media and cultural texts and practices such as film, television, journalism, advertising, popular culture and social media. This module is worth 20 credits.
This module takes a detailed look at debates around the impact of new information and communications technologies such as the internet, digital TV, and mobile and wireless communications on processes of communication. The module emphasises the social, economic and political implications of information communication technology adoption, such as the ongoing 'digital divide' between the information-rich and -poor. It also investigates issues surrounding human-machine interaction, exploring the reshaping of communication forms and practices together with notions of posthumanism and cyberbodies.
In this module you will critically examine the social forces that have shaped different media, focussing on the press, broadcasting, the internet, and film & television. You will explore key debates surrounding the development, composition and function of these different media forms, and examine the social, political, economic and cultural conditions that shaped their evolution.
You will be introduced to a range of theoretical approaches to understanding the production, content and reception of media messages and representations, with a particular focus on the social and political role of the mass media.
This module is worth 20 credits.
Explore ‘everyday life’ from a range of 19th, 20th and 21st century cultural theories and representations.
While we might take the ‘everyday’ for granted, associating it with routine experiences, our everyday lives are simultaneously affected by the exceptional, the random and the disruptive. Cultural theorists have identified everyday life as a rich terrain for analysis and politicisation, finding in it a unique way to make sense of historical change and personal experience.
Traditional theoretical attempts to account for the everyday tend to overlook aspects of daily life that refuse system and order. This module emphasises the everyday world as problematic and fraught with difficulty in terms of seeing, theorising and representing. It looks at a wide range of attempts to register day-to-day existence, including photography, film, sound recording, and writing.
By the end of the module, you will have built:
This module is worth 20 credits.
For this year-long core research module you'll spend two hours a week in lectures and workshops to become familiar with different approaches to investigating research topics which interest you. This will include learning about and trying out first-hand a range of research methods and techniques commonly applied in ethnographic, historical and textual study, and determining their suitability for different projects. You’ll learn about the kinds of research that a range of industry professionals from diverse sectors within the media, creative, entertainment and heritage industries pursue, and have opportunities to reflect on how you could incorporate that learning into your own research. You'll also investigate the interdisciplinary nature of culture, film, media, the arts and critical digital studies and demonstrate this knowledge by choosing your own research project and methods. This module is worth is 20 credits.
This module will build on the French language and cultural skills you developed in year one and get you started on your exciting journey towards degree-level French. We're going to take your language skills to the next level and by the end of this module you'll be ready to spend time living in a French-speaking country.
We'll push you to improve your confidence in reading comprehension, listening comprehension and oral skills. In addition to this you'll get the opportunity to develop your French writing skills through a variety of tasks such as creative writing, summary writing and even resume writing. You'll also practice translation activities.
We'll keep your studies interesting and relevant by using a variety of contemporary texts including journalistic articles and audio-visual clips.
This module will build on the language and cultural skills developed in last year's beginners' classes. Over the year we'll take you to the next level so that by the end of the module you'll be ready to spend time living in a French-speaking country.
We'll further develop your reading, listening, summary, translation and communication skills, building your confidence so that you feel happy working or studying abroad during year three.
This is the starting point for your French Studies journey at Nottingham. Having studied French at A level you’ll already have a good command of the language but now it’s time to go deeper. Together we’ll explore a variety of topics to help you develop a fuller understanding of the history and cultures of France and the Francophone world. These topics may include linguistics, politics, history, thought, literature, media, visual culture and cinema.
You’ll study a range of different texts, images and film, through which we’ll help you develop the core study skills necessary for studying this subject at degree level, such as close reading, essay writing, commentary writing, bibliographical and referencing skills, and visual analysis.
What better way is there to truly understand a nation than by studying its literature and politics?
We’ll examine the various ways in which French writers have engaged with the political struggles of their time. By looking at ‘committed’ literature (which is literature that defends an ethical, political, religious or social view) produced by key authors you’ll learn how to unpick the tension between literature and politics that has shaped modern France.
You may wonder why 19th Century French art is relevant to a student wanting to better understand today’s Francophone communities. To answer this let us take you back to a time pre-internet, pre-television, pre-photography to when historical art was a key communication tool for any society.
Together, we’ll examine eight French paintings from the key historical period of the Consulate (1799) to the Paris Commune (1871). By discovering what French citizens gained from ‘reading’ these images you will better understand their relationship with national identity, religion and political culture. It is these historical ideologies that laid the foundation for contemporary French society and your understanding of this will help you form a more thorough and nuanced appreciation of contemporary France and the Francophone world.
Among the huit tableaux to be discussed are David's Sacre de Napoléon, Delacroix's La Liberté guidant le peuple, and Meissonier's Le Siège de Paris.
Incan princesses, tortured lovers, imprisoned nuns, social outcasts, hermits and shipwrecks: eighteenth-century fiction was rich in both its characters and its themes, and written in a time of great experimentation in both ideas and literature.
This module aims to introduce you to some of these developments through the study of three very different novels of the French Enlightenment: Françoise de Graffigny’s Lettres d’une Péruvienne (1747), Denis Diderot’s La Religieuse (1796) and Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint Pierre’s Paul et Virginie (1788).
Alongside an investigation of how fiction developed during this era, we'll be looking at some of the key questions that thinkers and writers grappled with:
This module engages in a detailed analysis of four recent Francophone films that deal with contemporary social issues and institutions: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, L’Enfant (2005); Jacques Audiard, Un prophète (2009); Thomas Lilti, Hippocrate (2014); Stéphane Brizé, La loi du marché (2015). It focuses on the way in which the films present characters in a social context. The module looks at the ways in which these characters are subject to economic forces, interact with institutions, and function as members of social groups. The films are analysed from a formal perspective, considering the ways in which they all draw on the resources of cinematic realism in order to provide a representation of contemporary life that is both compelling and challenging for viewers.
Explore possible career avenues and gain practical experience in this interesting module which will show you how to apply your language learning to translation.
You'll gain a good understanding of the key concepts of translation theory, including equivalence, text type and skopos alongside linguistic theories such as register and relevance.
With these theories under your belt, you'll be guided through their application to your own translations. We'll work on the translation of a variety of texts to help you strengthen and embed your new skills.
The module is designed to introduce you to this particular period of French cinema by offering a detailed study of the New Wave of the late 1950s and early 1960s, focusing in particular on the films of Godard, Truffaut, Resnais and Chabrol.
As the module will show, New Wave film-makers often employed a variety of new and challenging formal techniques in order to make films that reflected an emergent, modern, iconoclastic sensibility in post-war France. For these reasons, the module combines a contextual approach with introductory teaching in film analysis.
This module provides an introduction to short narrative in the nineteenth century. It invites students to consider how texts combine literary craftsmanship with an effort to represent, understand and engage with the political, cultural and physical world beyond the page. The module takes in a range of different short narrative genres and themes:
Through these texts, you will also be introduced to a range of reading techniques and critical theory relating to each of these textual forms, whilst exploring the ever-changing landscape of a nation shaken by ongoing revolution and social change.
This module offers students an opportunity to explore actual cultural, economic and social differences within modern France through its representations in contemporary filmmaking. Beyond narrative themes, students will gain an understanding of how filmmakers engage the formal resources of cinema, both fiction and documentary, to capture the specificities of diverse spaces and places and to invite reflection on larger questions of identity and community, nation and citizenship, mobility and belonging.
Focusing on texts ranging from the novels of Jules Verne through to Élisabeth Vonarburg, this module will engage with key themes in French science fiction writing. Whether it deals with the discoveries of new worlds or the confrontation with new technologies, science fiction as a genre expresses the anxieties and hopes specific to the contemporary era. Science fiction is political in that it deals with questions of power, ecology and science. It is also philosophical, since it calls into question boundaries between cultures, times, genres and species. Drawing on these political and philosophical dimensions, the module will look in particular at how science fiction explores the ways in which identity is constructed and reconfigured by material and technological forces.
The module is designed to introduce you to this particular period of French cinema by offering a detailed study of the New Wave of the late 1950s and early 1960s, focusing in particular on the films of Godard, Truffaut, Resnais and Chabrol.
As the module will show, New Wave film-makers often employed a variety of new and challenging formal techniques in order to make films that reflected an emergent, modern, iconoclastic sensibility in post-war France. For these reasons, the module combines a contextual approach with introductory teaching in film analysis.
This module provides an introduction to short narrative in the nineteenth century. It invites students to consider how texts combine literary craftsmanship with an effort to represent, understand and engage with the political, cultural and physical world beyond the page. The module takes in a range of different short narrative genres and themes:
Through these texts, you will also be introduced to a range of reading techniques and critical theory relating to each of these textual forms, whilst exploring the ever-changing landscape of a nation shaken by ongoing revolution and social change.
This module offers students an opportunity to explore actual cultural, economic and social differences within modern France through its representations in contemporary filmmaking. Beyond narrative themes, students will gain an understanding of how filmmakers engage the formal resources of cinema, both fiction and documentary, to capture the specificities of diverse spaces and places and to invite reflection on larger questions of identity and community, nation and citizenship, mobility and belonging.
Focusing on texts ranging from the novels of Jules Verne through to Élisabeth Vonarburg, this module will engage with key themes in French science fiction writing. Whether it deals with the discoveries of new worlds or the confrontation with new technologies, science fiction as a genre expresses the anxieties and hopes specific to the contemporary era. Science fiction is political in that it deals with questions of power, ecology and science. It is also philosophical, since it calls into question boundaries between cultures, times, genres and species. Drawing on these political and philosophical dimensions, the module will look in particular at how science fiction explores the ways in which identity is constructed and reconfigured by material and technological forces.
This module is divided into two parts, one per semester. Semester one addresses the colonial period from 1492 to 1945 (with some reference to the medieval era), and semester two focuses on independence and after.
The module examines all continents, including polar regions, and the key European colonising countries: France, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Britain, Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium. This unique module is delivered by people with both language and cultural competency from across those cultures, giving access to deep cultural knowledge, historical documents, critical perspectives and legacies.
The history of slavery and extractivist relations is at the module's core and is given its place as one of the defining forces of globalisation. You will study a range of materials (including diaries, novels, travel narratives, histories, ethnographic ideas, political speeches and broadcasts, films, audio recordings, artworks, and music) to develop the broad perspective of a multiple process of globalisation, often too hastily presented as monocultural. In addition, you will focus on particular cultural experiences, for example, the regions of Africa, or Central America.
The structure of the course will allow sections on landmark moments and documents from each cultural sphere of influence to build into a diverse yet identifiable model of hybrid global cultures. In line with current interest in decolonisation (long established as an idea outside of English-speaking cultures), this course both maintains knowledge of imperial histories and offers models for getting beyond them, to show how previously colonised countries are not bound by that history, even if often constrained by it to some extent.
This module builds on your knowledge of the French experience of the 1914-1918 conflict, including culture, society and ideology. Using primary historical sources, you will be introduced to the evolving ways in which French and Francophone men and women have represented and remembered the experiences of the First World War.
This module explores different levels of linguistic variation in French both inside and outside France, focusing in particular on geographical variation, variation between standard and non-standard forms; variation in register and style; variation according to topic; and variation between oral and written forms.
Linguistic and extra-linguistic reasons for this variation will be examined and the module will encourage students to evaluate the complex relationships between language, society, culture and power.
The module is designed to provide students with an understanding of the process of English Language Teaching (ELT) and of the theoretical underpinnings of this practice. In this module students will learn the principles behind the learning and teaching of key aspects and skills of English, including:
Students will also learn how to apply these theoretical principles to the development of teaching materials. This module will therefore be of interest to students who want to pursue a teaching career, and in particular to those interested in teaching English as a second or foreign language.
This module is worth 20 credits.
This module aims to introduce you to the comparative study of literature and culture, focusing in particular on how the city of Paris is represented in a range of texts (poetic, narrative and filmic) in the modern period (post-1800).
You will learn reading techniques adapted to different genres and media, and representations of the city will be considered within their broader social, historical and political context.
In this module you'll learn how show business is broken down into 'show' and 'business' in film, television and promotional industries and examine how creative decision-making, technology and legislation influence those industries. You'll also learn about how advertising and market research influence the design and production of media in certain regions and how film and television industries have developed in different contexts and periods. This module is worth 20 credits.
This module develops critical modes of attention to the mediation of identity. On our screens and in our headphones, we shape and reshape our selves. Media do not reflect identities but play an active role in bringing them into being. This module takes up the question of 'identity politics', enhancing students' knowledge and understanding of key identity categories that have been advanced and problematized by media scholars, such as gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, national, regional and local belonging, age, ability and disability, and more. The module also interrogates the mediated forms these identities take, considering the politics of looking and visual culture, the politics of hearing and auditory culture, and the politics of affect, emotions and embodiment. The module encourages historical as well as contemporary perspectives.
We're bombarded with political messages every day and in every way. They aim to influence our thinking and affect our behaviour. Some are blatant ("Hands. Face. Space.") some are more subtle ("A report launched by a thinktank today highlights..."). Some don't seem like deliberate messages at all ("Have you seen this Boris GIF. 😂").
We'll explore this world of political communication, public relations and propaganda in its widest form. In particular we'll look at:
Taking a global approach we'll explore specific practices from around the world.
And with a focus on current political communication, you'll be expected to maintain an interest in recent events and to be able to discuss up-to-date examples.
This module is worth 20 credits.
New media and digital culture are significantly transforming the ways in which our societies operate. This module critically explores the key issues behind this transformation. In doing so, the module provides a historical overview of the emergence of new media and digital culture and engages with issues and practices that have been said to differentiate new media from older forms of media and their associated forms of communication. The module equips students with core knowledge of the theoretical and practical foundations of new media and their relationship to contemporary digital culture and related communicative acts.
Lectures and seminars develop students' understanding of the cultural, political, economic, technical and regulatory contexts from which new media and digital culture have emerged and in which they continue to operate. In order to link the various conceptual frameworks learnt to real-life experiences and situations effectively, the module provides students with opportunities to explore the interactive forms and practices that result from the use of new media and related digital practices through a range of both individual and group activities and exercises.
Coursework assessment will replace all failed assessment components at the reassessment stage.
Described variously as an era of dissent, revolution and experiment, the 1960s offers a unique vantage point from which to explore a range of issues and topics pertinent to media and cultural studies. The art of the period brings into view a volatile world where distinctions between different media were becoming blurred (as in performance art, for instance) and where inherited ideas, hierarchies and values were contested, if not exploded. Notions such as the Establishment, the underground, celebrity, obscenity, mass culture, alongside those of personal identity (gender, race, class, sexuality) were all subject to radical questioning in an era where events, such as those of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, challenged the received order of things. This module critically evaluates the idea of the 1960s, starting with its status as a fabled decade that is said to cast its shadow today. Historiographical and geographical questions structure the module. When and, crucially, where were ‘the Sixties’? Was it primarily an Anglo-American phenomenon? Was it the 1950s until 1963? Did it end in the early 1970s, as some believe, with the Oz Trials? These and other questions will help us to demythologise the period and begin investigating it anew.
You will explore the works and practices of Black artists that have been displayed or produced in Europe and America from the nineteenth century to the present day. This includes how methods of display, tactics of critique and attitudes towards the 'Other' have defined and influenced how Black art is viewed and produced in the Western world.
Moving through time we'll:
To finish we'll consider the rise of contemporary African art within European and American art markets, and the related economic and political shifts that have occurred since the colonial era.
This module is worth 20 credits.
During this year-long module you'll:
Some of the specific questions we might look at together include:
This module is worth 20 credits.
In this module you'll learn about the concepts of ‘transnational’ and ‘postnational’ media, taking into account the movement and interactions of people, finance, technology and ideas around the world. The module addresses in particular global media interactions emerging from tensions between forces of cultural homogenisation and heterogenisation. You'll also develop a foundation of theoretical knowledge to be applied to case studies in global film, television and other screen and print media. This module is worth 20 credits.
A vital introduction to the first-hand study of art and architecture.
Through a series of weekly site visits you’ll explore:
We’ll examine how these change as a city develops and ask important questions about heritage and conservation.
The on-site study will be supported by archival material from Manuscripts and Special Collections. This might include architectural drawings, guide books, maps, newspapers, pamphlets, and photographs.
Media, TV, film and visual culture play a central role in forming our knowledge of the past. There is no memory without its representation in language or images. Using a range of case studies, you will explore how different forms of remembrance add weight to what they represent. Who remembers what, when, where, why and to what purpose? Why do screen and other media retell certain stories over and over again, and how is such remembrance linked to the erasure of other pasts? What is the relationship between national and transnational memories, when set against memories of enslavement and its visualisations? These, and other questions, will guide our approach to an interdisciplinary field of media, film and visual studies. The module will also encourage you to reflect critically on regimes of visibility and narration, and on the distinct ways that memories of certain events are communicated via different genres, institutions, and artefacts. This module is worth 20 credits.
This module introduces a number of artistic and architectural practices that emerged in Southern California after 1945. Exploring their cultural and historical context, we will consider the role of Los Angeles in the development of post-1945 American art and architecture, including mid-century modernism, Pop Art, Conceptual Art and Light & Space Art. Central to this module is the question of whether all art made in Los Angeles can be classified as “Los Angeles Art” – that is, the extent to which the art and architecture of the region necessarily reflected the geographical location, climate, and expansive urban layout of Los Angeles. To this end, we will consider the critical reception of art of this period, investigating, amongst other critical constructs, the notions of centre and periphery, regionalism and the cultural construction of the American west that shaped much writing on California during the period.
Combine our in-depth sector knowledge with the Careers and Employability Service skills development experience to get noticed when applying for jobs and during interviews.
From constructing an outstanding CV to practicing graduate level interview skills we'll build on your existing abilities.
You'll also get something concrete to talk about through a multi-week work placement. This will be tailored as far as possible to your subject and career aspirations.
This sort of attention to detail is what makes Nottingham graduates some of the most sought after in the job market.
This module is worth 20 credits.
Subject to you meeting the relevant requirements, your third year will be spent studying at one of our partner institutions.
Please note: In order to undertake a year abroad, you will need to achieve the relevant academic requirements as set by the university and meet the selection criteria of both the university and the partner institution. The partner institution is under no obligation to accept you even if you do meet the relevant criteria.
Important information
Please be aware that study abroad, compulsory year abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university’s control. Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.
Following your time spent living in a French-speaking country this advanced module will be your final step towards fluency. We'll help you continue to improve your oral and written skills using a wide variety of texts.
Your grammar expertise and vocabulary shall be deepened through the production of linguistic commentary and summaries. In addition, we'll help you develop translation skills. Your French writing skills will improve immeasurably as we translate into and out of French creative writing in different registers.
This module gives students the opportunity to work independently on a chosen subject area of their choice, with an appropriate supervisor.
In this module students learn to devise and develop projects and teaching methods appropriate to engage the age and ability group they are working with. The module enables students to gain confidence in communicating their subject, develop strong organisational and interpersonal skills, and to understand how to address the needs of individuals.
This module will study the different ways travel has been used and represented in contemporary French and Francophone texts, arts and films. From tourism to exploration, from exile to migration, from pilgrimage to business travel, we will question the tacit ideologies found in contemporary travel discourses. We will study more specifically how contemporary discourses of travel have been, or not, adapting themselves to a post-colonial awareness and how it has enabled travellers to represent travel differently. The importance of this field has been steadily growing in between disciplines that range from literary studies to ethnography. The module will use these cross-cultural influences to create an arena in which to develop connections between key disciplines and different forms of arts (literature, ethnography, films and photography).
This module aims to introduce you to key aspects of French documentary cinema by considering a range of documentary cinematic techniques, and by looking at the ways in which documentary form has developed over time. The module examines the work of a range of filmmakers and explores the theoretical, socio-cultural and ethical questions raised by documentary cinema.
You will develop analytical tools that can be used to understand the different ways in which documentaries attempt to engage audiences and deal in sophisticated and often challenging ways with a range of issues.
This module focuses on the theory and practice of two modes of audio-visual translation: subtitling and dubbing.
The linguistic, technical, and cultural theoretical underpinnings of subtitling and dubbing from French into English will be examined in detail, and students will be able to put the theory into practice using professional dedicated software.
This module looks at various issues relating to the field of language contact, including bilingualism, multilingualism and diglossia.
The module also explores the outcomes of such language contact:
These topics will be explored by using examples from several different languages, and by looking at the French language in contact with other languages in France and further afield.
The module will examine the range of social, political and philosophical questions raised by mass immigration to France in the post-war period. These questions will be tackled through historical analysis of patterns of migration and changing immigration policies, as well as through the study of relevant films, novels and theoretical texts which engage with questions of citizenship, identity and ethnicity.
This module invites students to critically engage with representations of apparently disruptive and transgressive French and Francophone women from determining moments in French history between 1789 and 1945, including individuals who were violent, who took up arms, were transgressive, broke laws, and were institutionalized, deported, and defamed in the press – all in the name of social justice. Examples include revolutionary Théroigne de Méricourt, who dressed as a man in order to fight for women’s revolutionary involvement and was institutionalised for madness, and Louise Michel, one of the women accused of setting devastating fires that gutted government and cultural institutions during the Semaine Sanglante of the Paris Commune.
Students will analyse case studies in the light of the dominant gender discourses of their time (during the 1789 Revolution, the Paris Commune, the Belle Epoque, and the First and Second World Wars), as manifest in cultural representation, such as press, literary and visual sources. Where possible, they will also study the voice of lived experience, via memoirs and works published by the women in question, in order to explore how their own perspectives interacted with representations of them.
Students will examine the case studies and work on a thematic research project in the second. For this, they will be invited to identify a theme pertinent to at least two of the case studies, in order to comment on the threads that link women’s militancy across centuries, but also to explore the extent to which ‘difficult’ women contributed to lasting change in women’s lives over time. Possible themes might include but are not limited to social class, gender and gender identity, (political) violence, mental ill health and perceptions of madness.
The module will give students the opportunity to consult digitized primary source material such as newspapers, books and imagery via archives such as the Bibliothèque Nationale de France’s collection, gallica.fr.
This module provides final-year students studying French as part of their degree with the opportunity to study in some depth eight contemporary French-language films that deal in different ways with the interaction between personal and political aspects of contemporary life.
The module will encourage students to engage with the films both thematically as texts that articulate important contemporary issues, and also formally as films that draw on specific cinematic techniques and make a series of aesthetic choices in order to engage with the personal and the political.
This module equips students you with the theoretical tools needed to explore how social identity is both asserted and challenged through the deployment of signs broadly conceived. 'Sign' is understood here primarily with reference to Saussurean linguistics, and the impact of the structuralist and then poststructuralist movements on disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychoanalysis, semiotics, postcolonial theory, cultural studies and visual culture.
This module will address these and other related questions by introducing students to the approaches of thinkers such as Freud and Lacan, Saussure and Greimas, Barthes and Baudrillard, Levi-Strauss and Geertz, Derrida and Bhabha, and Mirzoeff and Mitchell among others.
This module critically evaluates the roles that media play in scenarios of disaster. From war and famine to train crashes and natural disasters, the media play a central role in our understanding of, and imaginative engagement with, disaster. From the disaster movie to documentary photography and news coverage, a variety of media forms regularly link us to the real and imaginary landscapes of disaster, war, conflict and emergency, particularly with the technological expansion of the means of image-making in the 21st century. The module investigates the aesthetics and ethics of representation where disaster is concerned, introducing students to research in fields concerned with the mediatisation of disaster, conflict and emergency.
Almost every country has a cinema industry. Yet what’s shown, and why, varies wildly.
We’ll look at how films outside Hollywood are made, distributed and received globally, and how these reflect local, regional and international trends.
We’ll ask how these cinemas:
We will also try to untangle categories such as national cinema, transnational cinema and world cinema, as well as to make sense of different filmic traditions, genres and modes around the world. Who creates these categories and who do they serve?
With an entire global cinema to draw from, the focus will narrow in any year to particular regions, filmic genres or movements.
This module is worth 20 credits.
The cultural and creative industries are at the forefront of government strategies across the world for developing post-industrial economies, are seen as exciting places to work, and regularly feature at the top of graduate employment destinations.
We’ll examine the structure, organisation and working patterns in the creative and media industries alongside more practical exercises designed to help you to identify and evaluate your own skills and interests. This combination of industry knowledge and personal reflection is aimed to help you to find a rewarding and exciting career when you leave university.
You’ll also examine key aspects of contemporary work including:
There will be plenty of opportunity to discuss and build upon your own experiences and aspirations, and to conduct independent research on areas of creative and media work that interest you.
This module is worth 20 credits.
This module examines the development of photography in America from roughly 1945 onwards. The module breaks the period down into themes and considers:
1. the transformation of ‘documentary’ photograph;
2. the emergence and importance of colour photography;
3. experimental, conceptual and post-conceptual photography;
4. issues of serialism and seriality;
5. landscape photography;
6. the photobook
7. analogue/digital
The module will draw on the work of a diverse range of photographers, including Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Harry Callahan, Aaron Siskind, Ed Ruscha, Lewis Baltz, Robert Adams, Robert Heinecken, Stephen Shore, Todd Hido, William Eggleston and Doug Rickard.
This module is part of the nationwide Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme, which works with universities to provide academic modules that enable students to go into local schools to act as inspiring role models. You will split your time between the university-based seminar and your allocated school, where you will be placed in an appropriate department as a teaching assistant. You will design and deliver a teaching project aimed at improving pupil understanding of selected aspects of media studies. You will be supported by the module convenor, the education specialist on campus, and the school's contact teacher. The module typically includes fortnightly seminars and seven half-days spent in school. Placements are in secondary schools and Sixth Form or FE colleges.
Many films share common traits. Together they might be classed as “action”, “made for television” or “low budget”. But how does as film get assigned a genre? Who does the assigning? And what impact does this assigning have?
During the module we’ll delve deep into a particular genre. We’ll examine it’s:
Building on what you’ve learnt in years one and two you’ll also look at the genre in the context of production and consumption.
As well as knowledge of a specific genre you’ll also develop the skills to apply your learning to other genres.
This module is worth 20 credits.
Develop and expand your understanding of the relationship between screen media and their most important component – the audience.
We’ll explore widely across history including:
You’ll also consider the impact social and political factors, and changes in daily living, have on screen media’s relationship with its audience.
Alongside the theory you’ll also get practical experience by using questionnaires and focus groups to conduct your own audience research.
This module is worth 20 credits.
This module introduces students to the cultural and social role of sound and listening in everyday life. Scholars have argued that, since the Enlightenment, modern societies have privileged sight over the other senses in their desire to know and control the world. But what of hearing? Until recently, the role of sound in everyday life was a neglected field of study. Yet Jonathan Sterne argues that the emergence of new sound media technologies in the nineteenth century - from the stethoscope to the phonograph - amounted to an 'ensoniment' in modern culture in which listening took centre stage.
Beginning with an examination of the relationship between visual and auditory culture in everyday life, this module introduces a variety of cultural contexts in which sound played an important role, including:
We use a variety of sound sources, such as music and archival sound recordings, in order to understand the significance of sound in everyday life from the late eighteenth century to the present.
Examine how issues of gender and sexuality relate to media and popular culture.
Using the intersectional fields of feminism, queer theory, and media and cultural studies we'll ask some crucial questions such as:
This module is worth 20 credits.
Explore the relationship between public space, politics and technology using overlapping and interdisciplinary fields, including:
You will engage in debates about the changing nature and uses of public space, with an emphasis on urban environments and digital space.
A range of protest movements will also provide case-study material and offer a central focus for your theoretical and practical explorations of the role of new technologies in:
This module is worth 20 credits.
There is growing consensus that the climate and ecological crisis is the most pressing concern facing humanity today. In this module, we’ll examine the various ways in which the media impacts the climate crisis in terms of:
Every week, we will examine a challenge in its context, and debate and develop possible solutions. You’ll get to understand the role of the media in both exacerbating environmental issues, and potentially offering ways forward for a more sustainable society.
For your assessment, you will research and analyse an environmental case study, and reflect on your own use of the media to consider how you can be part of the change.
This module is worth 20 credits.
You'll start with an introduction to women's history in the period 1300-1600 in an Italian context. This will include women's domestic and political roles across ages, marital status and class.
We'll then then look at the role of the Renaissance (1400-1600) woman in art:
Classes will focus on:
We'll use methodologies from a variety of disciplines, such as history, art history and gender studies.
This module traces the development of performance art from the 1950s to the 1980s.
It considers the work of a number of artists in America and Europe in terms of:
Students will engage with a range of theories of:
Exploring performance art’s relationship with other visual art forms, including dance, experimental music, film and television, this module considers and evaluates the art historical genealogies of performance art and body art and examines the ways in which performance art has shifted the terms of art history.
In addition, it will consider the issues at stake in constructing a history of performance art, and in documenting, exhibiting, and writing about ephemeral, invisible, or indeterminate practices.
This module is worth 20 credits.
The magazine has been one of the most accessible and influential cultural forms in America since the mid-18th century. From the wide-ranging political and literary magazines of this founding period through the emergence of specialised and mass-market periodicals in the 19th century to the counter-cultural and consumerist magazines of the 20th century, this distinctive mode of publication has reflected the tensions and ideals of a rapidly developing society.
Using a broad range of representative magazines from different eras, this module will encourage students to get to grips with how American culture has shaped, and been shaped by, the periodical, and it will also introduce them to some of the unique literary and institutional qualities of the magazine. Primary sources covered on this module are likely to include The Dial (est. 1840), Harper's (est. 1850), The New Yorker (est. 1925), Life (est. 1936) and Rolling Stone (est. 1967).
Looked at in the context of their times, such sources show us how Americans have long engaged with and debated their own identity through the prism of print, as well as the ways in which this self-definition has changed across time. Moreover, alongside the magazine's regular testing of new political and cultural concepts we will be able to see how the periodical form itself embraced other emerging media, including illustration, photography, and popular music.
American Magazine Culture Journalism Advertising and Fiction from Independence to the Internet Age Year 4 OptionalThe main content-spine through each week will be a focus on changes in the nature of American journalism, the rise of modern advertising, and the development of the short story as a form, as well as the interactions between these three elements. In addition to the standard lecture/seminar set-up, the module will also incorporate a series of workshops focusing on hands-on study of hard copies of particular publications.
The majority of the language teaching you will experience on this degree will be led by native speakers.
Class sizes vary depending on topic and type. A weekly lecture on a core module may have 50-60 students attending while a specialised seminar may only contain 10 students.
Our staff know that learning languages can sometimes seem challenging (they've all been where you are!) and take pride in their teaching. Tutor's contributions to high quality teaching and learning are recognised through our annual Lord Dearing Awards. View the full list of recipients.
If you have worries about your work we won't wait for them to become problems. You will have a personal tutor from the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures who will review your academic progress and help find solutions to any issues.
The minimum weekly scheduled contact time you will have is:
Weekly tutorial support and the accredited Nottingham Advantage Award provide further optional learning activities, on top of these class contact hours. Your lecturers will also be available outside your scheduled contact time to help you study and develop. This can be in-person or online.
As well as your timetabled sessions you’ll carry out extensive independent study. This will include course reading, seminar preparation, completing assignments and groupwork with fellow students. A typical 20 credit module involves three to four hours of lectures and seminars per week.
Your lecturers will be members of our academic staff in Modern Languages and Cultural, Media and Visual Studies many of whom are internationally recognised in their fields.
Class sizes vary depending on topic and type. Typically,
You will have developed a critical understanding of the creative and cultural industries. This will allow you to explore multiple career pathways in those sectors.
Combined with your advanced language skills you'll be well placed to work internationally.
Your skills will be those in demand by most professional organisations:
These skills will make your career:
Find out more about skills gained and career destinations:
Graduate profiles
Key fact
Only 14% of employers state that specific degree subjects are a selection criterion. (Institute of Student Employers recruitment survey 2019)
78.8% of undergraduates from the Faculty of Arts secured graduate level employment or further study within 15 months of graduation. The average annual starting salary for these graduates was £23,974.
HESA Graduate Outcomes (2017 to 2021 cohorts). The Graduate Outcomes % is calculated using The Guardian University Guide methodology. The average annual salary is based on graduates working full-time within the UK.
Studying for a degree at the University of Nottingham will provide you with the type of skills and experiences that will prove invaluable in any career, whichever direction you decide to take.
Throughout your time with us, our Careers and Employability Service can work with you to improve your employability skills even further; assisting with job or course applications, searching for appropriate work experience placements and hosting events to bring you closer to a wide range of prospective employers.
Have a look at our careers page for an overview of all the employability support and opportunities that we provide to current students.
The University of Nottingham is consistently named as one of the most targeted universities by Britain’s leading graduate employers (Ranked in the top ten in The Graduate Market in 2013-2020, High Fliers Research).
University Park Campus covers 300 acres, with green spaces, wildlife, period buildings and modern facilities. It is one of the UK's most beautiful and sustainable campuses, winning a national Green Flag award every year since 2003.
University Park Campus covers 300 acres, with green spaces, wildlife, period buildings and modern facilities. It is one of the UK's most beautiful and sustainable campuses, winning a national Green Flag award every year since 2003.
Having another language is an incredibly helpful skill, especially when you’re working in a global organisation.
Tobi Ruth Adebekun
BA French and International media and Communications
Faculty of Arts
4 years full-time
Qualification
BA Hons
Entry requirements
ABB - including B in one of Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Russian or Spanish
UCAS code
R900
Faculty of Arts
3 years full-time (part-time option available)
Qualification
BA Hons
Entry requirements
ABB
UCAS code
P900
Faculty of Arts
3 or 4 years full-time depending on language or placement choices
Qualification
BA Hons
Entry requirements
AAA
UCAS code
Y002
Faculty of Arts
4 years full-time
Qualification
BA Hons
Entry requirements
BCC
UCAS code
Y14F
Faculty of Arts
4 years full-time
Qualification
BA Hons
Entry requirements
ABB
UCAS code
R120
If you’re looking for more information, please head to our help and support hub, where you can find frequently asked questions or details of how to make an enquiry.
If you’re looking for more information, please head to our help and support hub, where you can find frequently asked questions or details of how to make an enquiry.