Language, Culture and History: German History MA/PG Dip/PG Cert

The MA offers students the opportunity to explore a range of aspects of German history, and gives students a grounding in one of the principal areas of modern history, essential for an understanding of contemporary Europe and its past. Text-based language teaching is available for students wishing to develop their linguistic skills.

Students undertake modules to the value of 180 credits. The programme offers two pathways: taught and research.

Taught: one core cross-language module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits), and a dissertation (60 credits). Research: one core cross-language module (30 credits), two taught modules (60 credits), and a research dissertation (90 credits).

A Postgraduate Diploma, one core module (30 credits), three optional modules (90 credits), full-time nine months or part-time two years, is offered.

A Postgraduate Certificate, one core module (30 credits), one optional module (30 credits), full-time three months, part-time six months, is offered.

The core Language, Culture and History module permits research into two areas of major contemporary interest, such as:

• Language, Culture and History. This core module permits research into two areas of major contemporary interest; recent modules available have included Trauma, Visual Culture, Comedy, Que(e)rying Sexuality.

Students choose from a range of optional modules on topics such as the following:

• Theoretical Issues in History and Literature
• Parzival
• Reading Modern Novels
• Staging the Past: German Historical Drama since 1770
• Writing and Rewriting Marchen and other Fantastic Tales
• Language, Power and Ideology
• Translation From and into German Language; Advanced Translation
• Discussion and Essay in German Language; Intensive Essay Writing
• German Literature and Psychology

All MA students undertake an independent research project which culminates in a dissertation of12,000 words (taught pathway) or 18,000 words (research pathway).

The programme is delivered through a combination of lectures, seminars and tutorials. Formal teaching occurs in the first two terms and the third term is devoted to revision sessions, examinations and detailed supervision of the dissertation project. Student performance is assessed through coursework essays, a dissertation, and unseen written examinations.