Modern Languages: German Studies (MA / MRes / Postgraduate Diploma / Postgraduate Certificate) - 2013/2014 entry
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Overview
This programme aims to enable you to pursue German studies at an advanced level and from a comparative perspective. It will help you develop your understanding of German political and social history and culture, including 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 German 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 German at Birkbeck.
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Why study this course at Birkbeck?
- Promotes an independent approach to the study of the culture of the German-speaking nations within the broader context of 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.
- Multidisciplinary research expertise provides a flexible choice of dissertation topic.
- 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 German, although some will also allow you to study German culture from a comparative perspective. They will be chosen from a list which includes:
- Autocracy and Democracy in Nineteenth and Twentieth-Century German History
- The City in German Literature
- Crisis and Disorientation in the Post-War German Novel
- Exhibiting the Pain of Others: Museums, Violence and Memory
- Film, Melodrama and the Family
- Forty Years of a Divided Germany
- The German Bildungsroman
- German Thought since 1848
- Ideology and Innovation in Post-war German Cinema
- Negotiating Gender
- Nostalgia in the Museum
- Time, Memory and the Novel
- Transgression in German Expressionist Cinema
- Urban Spaces in Modern Cultures
- Word and Image: Questions of Intermediality in Modern German Culture.
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Study resources
You will have access to outstanding specialist libraries, including the collection of the Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies at Senate House and the German Historical Institute.
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 German.
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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 (German Studies) (MA) (Part-time)
- Modern Languages (German Studies) (MA) (Full-time)
- Modern Languages (German Studies) (MRes) (Part-time)
- Modern Languages (German Studies) (MRes) (Full-time)
- Modern Languages (German Studies) Postgraduate Certificate (Part-time)
- Modern Languages (German Studies) (Postgraduate Diploma) (Part-time)
- Modern Languages (German Studies) (Postgraduate Diploma) (Full-time)
- How to apply