Modern Languages and History of Art and Visual Culture

This Joint Honours course you will deepen your understanding of the visual arts, and give you the opportunity to gain fluency in the language of your choice - French, German, Italian or Spanish.

Whether you start at beginners’, advanced or native-speaker level, you will study the core language components for the language you have chosen, gaining skills in writing, reading, speaking and listening. All our teaching is led by native speakers.

The remainder of your modern languages study will give you an opportunity to explore the literature, art, culture and history of the language area you are studying, from seventeenth-century French theatre to representations of childhood and youth in German culture, and from Italian fashion and design to visual arts from all the corners of the Spanish-speaking world. As a modern linguist, you will develop excellent communication and research skills, and combine proficiency in multiple languages with cross-cultural perspectives.

In your third year you will have the opportunity to spend a year working, teaching or studying abroad, where you will immerse yourself in another language and culture, truly broadening your horizons in the process.

• On graduation you will have language and analytical skills in a modern language together with additional knowledge of culture, society and history, culture and society that will give you a valuable competitive edge in an increasingly globalised world.

• Our research staff are engaged in research at the highest level internationally; we are in the top 10 of UK Modern Language departments for research quality and the top in London (Research Assessment Exercise 2014).

History of Art and Visual Culture will give you the skills to read, interpret and analyse images and artefacts across cultures. You will benefit from the research expertise of staff in the School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, engaging in the key phases in the development of the history of art and visual culture of Europe and Latin America, equipping you with the skills You can take courses on key historical skills and take options that combine the study of art history with that of photography, film and other media, ranging from medieval times to contemporary visual culture.

• Make use of Royal Holloway’s exceptional collection of Victorian Art housed in the Founder’s Picture Gallery

• Choose options in Visual Culture from across the School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, we will commit to providing 2019 and 2020 entry students with a subsidy equivalent to current Erasmus+ funding (where this would have previously been funded by the Erasmus+ scheme). To find out more visit the Erasmus+ page.

• Choose beginners’, advanced or native-speaker level French, German, Spanish or Italian.

• Spend a year abroad working, studying or teaching.

• Make use of our renowned Founder’s Picture Gallery and new Exhibition Space.

• Options in art history, photography and film.

• Interpret and analyse images, artefacts and media.

Course Modules

Core Modules

Year 1

Depending on which languages you have studied prior to starting at Royal Holloway, you may choose to study up to three from French, German, Italian and/or Spanish.

All languages we teach have a beginners' and a post-A Level pathway in Year 1, allowing you to study one language ab initio (intensively, from scratch). From Year 2 onwards all students take the same language modules, regardless of your Year 1 pathway.

• International Film 1: Contexts and Practices

• Visual Arts 1: Artists and their Materials

• The Birth of Film

• Critical Analysis for Linguists

• All modules are optional

• French Ab Initio Written I

• French Ab Initio Oral I

• French Advanced Written I

• French Advanced Oral I

• German Ab Initio Written I

• German Ab Initio Oral I

• German Advanced Written I

• German Advanced Oral I

• Italian Ab Initio Written I

• Italian Ab Initio Oral I

• Italian Advanced Written I

• Italian Advanced Oral I

• Spanish Ab Initio Written I

• Spanish Ab Initio Oral I

• Spanish Advanced Written I

• Spanish Advanced Oral I

Year 2

• International Film 2: Readings and Representations

• Visual Arts II: Genre and Movements

• All modules are optional

• French Language II

• German Language II

• Italian Language II

• Spanish Language II

Year 3

• Year Abroad Placement: Intercultural Competency and Professional Skills

Year 4

• Transnationalism, Diaspora and Globalisation in Contemporary Film

• Visual Arts Dissertation

• Pratique du Français III

• German Language III

• Advanced Italian III

• Spanish III

Optional Modules

For more information on optional modules available, please see the list here: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/languages-literatures-and-cultures/modern-languages/

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/studying-here/undergraduate/languages-literatures-and-cultures/modern-languages-and-history-of-art-and-visual-culture/

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminar groups, and tutorials, in which you will be able to try out new ideas by giving presentations and participating in lively discussions in a supportive environment. Small group tutorials taught by native speakers are key to developing your language skills. Independent study and preparation are essential parts of every course, and you will have access to many online resources and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle, which provides a variety of supporting materials.

We use a range of assessment models to suit different learning styles, including online comprehension tests, language exercises, translations, and individual and group presentations, as well as coursework-based assignments such as essays, critical commentaries, blogposts and reviews, and end-of-year written and oral examinations. Oral presentations and computer-based tests are used in some Modern Languages modules to assess grammar and comprehension skills.

When you begin you will be allocated your own Personal Advisor, a member of academic staff who will support you academically. In your first year you also take a study skills course designed to equip you with and enhance the skills you will need to be successful in your degree. This course does not count towards your final degree award, but you are required to pass it to progress to your second year.