Modern Languages: French Studies (MA / MRes / Postgraduate Diploma / Postgraduate Certificate) - 2013/2014 entry
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Overview
This programme aims to enable you to pursue French studies at an advanced level and from a comparative perspective. It will help you develop your understanding of multiple dimensions of French-speaking cultures, including political and social history, literature, film and the visual arts, mainly of the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Because the core course is shared with students studying a variety of European cultures, you will also learn to understand French culture within the broader framework of developments within other cultural contexts.
All modules aim to give you the opportunity to develop and practise the interpretational skills required for the advanced study of literature, film and history and to develop your abilities to think analytically and work independently.
Find out more about studying French at Birkbeck.
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Why study this course at Birkbeck?
- Ideal if you have a professional interest in France or would simply like a deeper knowledge of modern French culture and society within the context of broader developments in European cultures.
- Interdisciplinary nature means you can study social and political history, thought, literature, film and visual culture, and explore the interactions between these various fields.
- Develop the interpretive skills appropriate to the study of these different disciplines, as well as independent study, time management, oral and written presentation, and group discussion skills.
- The MA provides a recognised stand-alone qualification or acts as an excellent stepping stone to further research.
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Course structure
- MA: core module; three option modules; research training course (10 weeks); dissertation (15,000 words).
- MRes: core module; one option module; research training course; dissertation (30,000 words).
- Postgraduate Diploma: core module; three option modules; research training course.
- Postgraduate Certificate: core module; one option module; research training course.
Core module
A 20-week module focusing mainly on the cultures of the French- and German-speaking nations in the twentieth century. It is structured around four key dates, each of which represents a moment of political, social and cultural upheaval. It aims to allow you to:
- investigate the cultural significance of these dates in France, Germany and beyond within the broader context of historical developments in the twentieth century
- examine cultural artefacts which relate to these dates, exploring the connections between political and social context and cultural production
- explore aspects of French and German history and culture from a number of interdisciplinary perspectives
- gain knowledge of, and practical experience in, using a variety of theories and approaches to French and German culture and history
- gain knowledge of, and practical experience in, the critical analysis of a variety of different textual types (such as film, literature and historical documents).
Option modules
The 10-week option modules allow for a specialised focus on French-speaking cultures, although some will also allow you to study these from a comparative perspective. They will be chosen from a list which includes:
- Adapting the Eighteenth-Century French Novel: Text, Illustration, Film
- Algeria: From Colony to Post-Colony
- Comparative Decolonisation: The End of the European Colonial Empires
- Evil in Nineteenth-Century French Thought and Literature
- Exhibiting the Pain of Others: Museums, Violence and Memory
- Film, Melodrama and the Novel
- France from Popular Front to Liberation
- French Documentary Cinema
- The French Fantastic in Literature and Film
- Histoires du Cinema
- Negotiating Gender
- Notions of the Public Intellectual in France
- Representations of ‘Race’ and Racism in French and Francophone Culture
- Reinventing the Family in Contemporary French Film
- Sex and Sexualities in Modern French Literature and Film
- Time, Memory and the Novel
- Urban Spaces in Modern Cultures.
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Study resources
The Department of European Cultures and Languages runs a series of research events for its postgraduates, which MA students are encouraged to attend.
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Further study opportunities
If you are interested in further research, we offer a PhD/MPhil in French.
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Careers information
Graduates go on to careers in international organisations or businesses, in translating or teaching, and as researchers or journalists.
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Apply now
- How to apply
In addition to the online application, you will need to complete and submit a written exercise. - Application deadlines and interviews
- We encourage you to apply as early as possible. Enrolment is possible from May.
- Interviews, by arrangement, are held throughout the academic year.
- Candidates are normally asked to complete an admissions test.
- Online application
You can apply online from the link below.- Modern Languages (French Studies) (MA) (Part-time)
- Modern Languages (French Studies) (MA) (Full-time)
- Modern Languages (French Studies) (MRes) (Part-time)
- Modern Languages (French Studies) (MRes) (Full-time)
- Modern Languages (French Studies) (Postgraduate Certificate) (Part-time)
- Modern Languages (French Studies) (Postgraduate Diploma) (Part-time)
- Modern Languages (French Studies) (Postgraduate Diploma) (Full-time)
- How to apply