Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Cultural Studies (MA / MRes) - 2012/2013 entry

This programme offers the possibility of following advanced study in the histories of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American cultures in the light of contemporary theoretical developments in the fields of literature, cultural studies, cultural geography, film and the history of art and media. You may specialise in either Spain and Portugal or Latin America, as well as in different historical periods and media, or combine interests.

If you already have a comfortable grounding in Iberian and/or Latin American cultural history and critique, the MRes provides a more structured and progressive research training programme, which is particularly tailored for doctoral study or a research career in the public sector.

Find out more about studying at Birkbeck and what our students say about us.

• Can be taken as a first step to doctoral research, to enhance your career prospects or simply for interest.
• We maintained our status as one of the best departments of Iberian and Latin American Studies in the country in the latest Research Assessment Exercise.
• Our work is distinguished by its innovative character, its engagement with other disciplines, and its challenge to received ideas.

MA

Two theory modules (15 credits each): Cultural History/Visual Culture; and Cultural Critique.

Three option modules (30 credits each) from a range including:

• Cities and Cultures
• The Latin American Neo-Baroque
• Literature and Dictatorship in Latin America
• Contemporary Latin American Fiction
• Power and Control in Spanish Golden Age Painting
• Anatomy, Dissection and Art in Early Modern Spain
• Childhood Culture in Modern Spain
• Questions of Representation in Modern Spanish Culture
• Portuguese Modernism: Fernando Pessoa and Beyond
• Crisis in Portuguese Cinema
• Latin American Cinema 
• Latin Americanism, Empire and Cultural Studies
• Spanish Pragmatics.

If you wish, one of your options may be chosen from another relevant MA programme at Birkbeck or replaced by a module of directed reading.

Research Skills module (0 credits) and a dissertation (60 credits).

MRes

Two theory modules (15 credits each): Cultural History/Visual Culture and Cultural Critique.

Research Skills module (15 credits), Dissertation Workshop (15 credits) and a dissertation (120 credits).

Find out more in our departmental handbook.

The department hosts the Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies (CILAVS), offering a unique environment in which to undertake collaborative, cross-disciplinary and comparative research on visual subjects in the Hispanic and Lusophone world, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The department has achieved notable success in obtaining external funding for research. In addition we have an excellent team of research students (just over 20 at present), several of whom attend MA modules out of interest, ensuring a high level of intellectual discussion and allowing you to benefit from being part of a lively postgraduate community. As about a third of our students come from Spain, Portugal or Latin America, you also have easy access to native-speakers of Spanish and Portuguese, socially as well as academically. Postgraduate research seminars are held throughout the year, offering a stimulating forum for discussion among our research students, MA/MRes students, staff and invited speakers.

Birkbeck offers a lively student experience, as well as student support and facilities.

If you are interested in further research, we offer a PhD/MPhil in Iberian and Latin American Studies.

Graduates go on to careers in international organisations or businesses, in translation or teaching, and as researchers or journalists.

Learning objectives

On successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

• outline the current issues and debates in cultural theory and history, including Spanish and/or Latin American cultural studies, with special attention given to visual culture
• communicate practical knowledge and understanding of a key concern in Spanish and/or Latin American cultural history through research and dissertation
• define different fields and contexts, particularly those related to the production, reproduction and circulation of visual cultures
• understand and process cultural materials across a wide range of societies and media, particularly visual media, existing in Spain and Latin America.

About the department

The Department of Iberian and Latin American Studies enjoys a reputation as one of the best units of its kind in the world. Our work is distinguished by its innovative character, its engagement with other disciplines and its challenge to received ideas. We are committed to a continual rethinking of the fields we research and the subjects we teach, creatively and critically.

The department has achieved notable success in obtaining external funding for research. We host the Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies, offering a unique environment in which to undertake collaborative, cross-disciplinary and comparative research on visual subjects in the Hispanic and Lusophone world, Latin America and the Caribbean.

We are also known for our unique student population, including a high number of Spanish and Latin American undergraduates and postgraduates. This brings a particular richness and variety of experience and knowledge to our courses and seminars.

Our international staff specialise in diverse aspects of cultural history and critique, with a strong emphasis not only on the literary and linguistic but also the audiovisual expression of the Latin America and Iberian peninsula past and present.

• Applications from March to second week of September.
• Interviews March–September.