English Language & Communication with Mandarin BA (Hons)

About the course

English Language & Communication

Where language comes from and how people use it is one of the big debates of our time. This subject looks at how the English language works, how we use it to communicate, how we acquire it in the first place, and how it varies according to social factors. The modules make extensive use of web based resources such as interactive exercises. In the first year you explore language in use, in face-to-face communication and in the media, as well as looking at the role of English in the world. You will develop skills of grammatical analysis and explore questions like: Are humans the only species to use language? What does the language of stroke patients tell us about language and the brain? Does the way we speak influence the way we think?

Mandarin Chinese

The academic study of a foreign language is concerned with the acquisition and development of competence in a language and with the analysis and understanding of another culture through the medium of the target language. The intercultural nature of the subject encourages you to reflect upon aspects of your own culture and promotes an awareness of the differences from and similarities with the United Kingdom. Your language proficiency can be particularly enhanced by a period of study abroad during your Degree programme. A major feature of language study is your active involvement in taught sessions, the development of interpersonal skills and the ability to work with others. You will also develop critical self-awareness and sensitivity to the points of view of others.

Why choose this course?

English Language & Communication focuses on the English language itself, on how it is used to communicate, and on how we can teach it as a foreign language.

Study routes

• Sandwich, 4 Years
• Sandwich,
• Full Time,

Locations

• University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Careers

This programme gives you flexibility in your studies at university resulting in flexibility in your choice of career at the end of your course. You will acquire a much broader base of knowledge and experience that could really widen your employment opportunities. Graduates have found employment in diverse roles such as computer programmers, design engineers, management development specialists, accountants and project managers. Over 72% of our graduates had entered employment six months after graduation, and a further 17% had gone on to further study or training.

Teaching methods

The precise method of teaching varies according to each module. Most are taught via weekly lectures and weekly seminars. You may be asked to work with fellow students and produce some group work together. Sometimes you will have to present the findings of your research to your fellow students in the seminars. You will be expected to contribute to on-line discussions and to download and read lecture notes from StudyNet, our virtual learning environment.

Work Placement

You can choose to study for a year in North America or Europe through the SOCRATES-ERASMUS exchange programme during the second or third year of the degree. In some cases, you may be able to graduate with a degree from your partner university as well as from Hertfordshire. You may be eligible for a grant if you meet certain conditions.

Structure

Year 2

Core Modules

• Graduate and Information Skills 2

  This module has a series of lectures on graduate skills and employability combined with a series of short on-line tutorials that equip students with the key information retrieval skills required at levels 5 and 6, together with knowledge of the core information databases and internet gateways for Humanities. It covers topics such as: effective reading strategies; presentational skills; refining research techniques; researching your career; effective CVs and application forms; information search strategies; critical evaluation of information sources and effective searching of key bibliographic and full text information databases and Internet gateways. It additionally covers requesting items not held in UH collections and making use of other academic libraries.

Optional

• A Culture of Print: Popular Literature in Early Modern England

  The profound importance of the cultural changes wrought upon English literature by the rapid and enormous expansion of print, from the seventeenth century onwards, cannot be overestimated. This module will explore the scope of those changes through close reading of a range of literary genres which developed from the time of the English Civil War onwards. Students will consider firsthand the cultural interface between a burgeoning print market and the changing appetites of a growing, increasingly vociferous, and increasingly diverse, reading public. By doing so, they will better understand the origins and cultural implications of the complex and interdependent relationship which continues to exist between readers and the printed word.

• Acting: Stage V Screen

  You will study plays that have made the transition from theatre to cinema. Initially, the work will focus on the play text, by analysing of the distinctive theatrical properties of the stage text through practical workshop and seminar. Students will then examine the change in form and meaning inevitable in the adaption of a play text to screenplay. You will engage in a series of workshops adapting texts from the stage to the screen learning to modulate your performance from the stage to screen. You will address the different ways an actor uses voice and body for both forms. You will build on the skills learnt in level 4, creating your character using Stanislavskian techniques; you will then explore how acting techniques incorporating Strasburg’s Method can be applied to screen acting. The work will focus on classic and contemporary texts.

• American Literature to 1900

  This module will trace the development of American literature from the colonial period through to 1900, examining texts from multiple genres (autobiography, captivity narrative, political propaganda, novel, poetry, short story). It will examine how writers responded to the American environment and sociopolitical events to create a distinctively American literary tradition. Attention will be paid to issues such as New England Puritanism; the treatment of Native Americans; slavery; the War of Independence; Americas relationship with England; Manifest Destiny, expansionism and the frontier; transcendentalism; the Civil War; industrialization and the growth of the city; gender and sexuality. Authors who may be studied include: Mary Rowlandson, Phylis Wheatley, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Brockden Brown, Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Edgar Allen Poe, Harriet Jacobs, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Henry James, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Stephen Crane, Sarah Orne Jewett.

• Applied Acting Skills: Role Play and the Uses of Drama

• Design for Print

  We are surrounded by well-designed printed material and we make judgments about the message being communicated, and the audience it is directed at. The aim of this module is to make the design process transparent. Students are required to analysis examples of printed material from CDs and books looking the way documents have been designed, and how they targets particular audiences. Secondly, students are asked to put into practice the design skills necessary to create a document, (children's book, CD booklet and DVD cover etc.), using a desktop publishing package and graphics software. This module encourages students to take on real life publishing projects and enables students to develop a range of commercially desirable skills from technical mastery of a DTP package to information design. By the end of this module students will have developed a portfolio of work they could show to a potential employer.

• Digital Story Telling

  This is a practical module and requires you to be creative. In small groups you will be making digital stories a short, personal tale, a "multimedia sonnet" produced to broadcast quality and output to DVD or up-loaded to the web. This video will be no more than 3 minutes long. You will learn to work collaboratively and develop stories suitable for video. For the first 6 weeks you will attend one lecture and one practical workshop. Throughout the module we will be looking at the documentary film genre and storytelling using images, sound. You will be encouraged to be professional in your approach to film making and be aware of copyright and libel laws as they apply to vide. Camera equipment will be provided and you will be taught how to use a simple video editing package. Away from the classroom you will be expected to gather your multimedia assets including images, music/sound, prepare drafts of your script, and keep a reflective blog of your progress.

• Employability and Careers Planning

  This module will enable you to develop your employability and careers. You will develop your occupational awareness to enable you to compete more effectively in the employment market. At the end of this module you will be able to produce an improved CV and/or job application and have been given the opportunity to develop and reflect upon your personal and developmental career goals.

• English Grammar

  This module examines what grammar is and is not, and presents a detailed description of the grammar of English. It looks at the different word categories, constituent structure of sentences, grammatical functions and the structure of complex sentences and different sentence types. It aims at providing you with the knowledge necessary to conduct grammatical analyses. This module is a prerequisite for study of English Language & Communication at Level 3.

• European Cinema: Nation and Performance

• Film Production

  The module aims to familiarise students with theoretical and technical skills necessary to make a short (2-3 minute) film on a given topic. Students build on knowledge and understanding acquired at Level One. Training will be given in the use of video cameras at introductory and intermediate levels. Students are introduced to techniques of storyboarding and will explore the relationship between the storyboard and the final work. Working in small groups, students are asked to apply ideas acquired at Level One. They will consider ideas of audience consumption, undertake background research, film a storyboard and use a video-editing package to make a short film. The module culminates in a film showing.

• French Route A - 5a

  This module broadens and consolidates the students’ competence in French. Students will learn to talk about student life and travel, carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including, for example, video clips, blogs and magazine websites.

• French Route A - 5b

  This module will extend the students’ competence in French through the introduction of more advanced language structures. Students will learn to discuss work and future plans, studying and living abroad. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• French Route B - 5a

  This module further improves the students’ competence and confidence from study at level 4 in understanding and responding to more advanced written and spoken French Students develop skills which will be of value both professionally and socially and will be exposed to a wider variety of contexts and language registers. The module will enable students to participate more fully in discussions and develop logical argument. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• French Route B - 5b

  This module further improves the students’ competence and confidence from study at level 4 in understanding and responding to more advanced written and spoken French Students develop skills which will be of value both professionally and socially and will be exposed to a wider variety of contexts and language registers. The module will enable students to participate more fully in discussions and develop logical argument. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• French Route C - 5a

  Emphasis will continue to be placed on improving the students' linguistic ability and knowledge through the indepth study of selected cultural, linguistic and economic topics on the French regions. The module will be based on materials taken from written and audiovisual materials compiled from a variety of sources such as online newspapers, magazines. Students will be expected to research their own materials and present their findings in class discussions.

• French Route C - 5b

  Emphasis will continue to be placed on improving the student’s linguistic ability and knowledge so as to equip them with the skills necessary to study and work in France and give them an understanding of demographic trends in Europe and France. The module will be based on materials taken from written and audiovisual materials compiled from a variety of sources such as online newspapers, magazines and company websites. Students will research their own materials to be analysed and presented in class discussions.

• Genre Writing: Building Worlds

  Building compelling and convincing worlds is important in all fiction, but it is particularly crucial in writing genre fiction. When writing genre (or popular) fiction, writers must be critically aware of both the history of the genre and current trends in publishing in order to make their own narratives distinctive and ultimately sell-able. This module will examine two popular genres (such as fantasy, crime, sci-fi or romance). Key questions of craft and motivation will be asked: how do contemporary writers play against the classics (such as Chandler or Hammett for crime)? How do you write a piece that fits in a genre and yet avoids cliché? What steps can be taken to build a complex world for your piece? How is plotting for genre fiction different than plotting for literary fiction? Authors studied may include Jonathan Letham, Raymond Chandler, Robin McKinley, Justin Cronin, Charlaine Harris and China Miéville.

• German Route A - 5a

  This module broadens and consolidates the students’ competence in German. Students will learn to talk about student life and travel, carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including, for example, video clips, blogs and magazine websites.

• German Route A - 5b

  This module will extend the students’ competence in German through the introduction of more advanced language structures. Students will learn to discuss work and future plans, studying and living abroad. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• German Route B - 5a

  This module further improves the students’ competence and confidence from study at level 4 in understanding and responding to more advanced written and spoken German. Students develop skills which will be of value both professionally and socially and will be exposed to a wider variety of contexts and language registers. The module will enable students to participate more fully in discussions and develop logical argument. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• German Route B - 5b

  This module enables students to improve further their competence and confidence from the previous semester in understanding and responding to more advanced German. Students continue to develop skills which will be of value both professionally and socially. The module will enable students to play a more active and spontaneous part in discussions and to use a wider range of phrases which express different shades of opinion in speaking and writing. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line news reports, blogs and magazine websites.

• German Route C - 5a

  Emphasis will continue to be placed on improving the students' linguistic ability and knowledge through the indepth study of selected political, cultural, linguistic and economic topics relating to German speaking countries. The module will be based on materials taken from written and audiovisual materials compiled from a variety of sources such as online newspapers, magazines. Students will be expected to research their own materials and present their findings in class discussions.

• German Route C - 5b

  Emphasis will continue to be placed on improving the student’s linguistic ability and knowledge so as to equip them with the skills necessary to study and work in a German speaking country. The module will be based on materials taken from written and audiovisual materials compiled from a variety of sources such as online newspapers, magazines and company websites. Students will research their own materials to be analysed and presented in class discussions.

• Germany 1871-1933 B

  This module aims to provide students with a knowledge of selected political, economic, social and cultural developments in Germany from the beginning of the Second Empire until the beginning of the Third Reich and with an understanding of the interpretations of German history over this time-span. The module will begin with an overview of the key historiographical debates before examining aspects of Bismarck's Germany, such as the 'enemies within' and foreign policy, Wilhelmine Germany and the rise of Weltpolitik, the impact of the First World War on Germany and the collapse of the Second Empire in 1918, and the political and economic causes for the instability of Weimar democracy. The module will also explore the history of socialism and feminism in Germany as well as Germany's cultural contribution to the world.

• Historical Writing

  This module will examine the different definitions of the term 'history' and the various aims and purposes that have been attributed to it as an academic discipline, form of knowledge and forms of writing about the past. An analysis of the traditional approaches to the study and writing of history up to the mid 20th century will be contrasted with the new forms of historical investigation, research techniques and approaches developed since the 1960s and the impact of more radical approaches such as gender history and the 'new' cultural history. The impact of other disciplines and the implications of ideas such as 'post modernism' will be analysed and the implications for history investigated. These will be linked to the practical issues of researching and writing history in the 21st century when faced with the implications of new technology, globalisation and the growing relativity of human values.

• Historical Writing Workshop

  This module aims to provide students with a first hand experience of undertaking a research project containing some element of original research. The topics covered by the course may change with staff availability, but the purpose of the course is to provide an opportunity for students to take the first steps in historical research under close supervision before moving on to the 10,000 word dissertation at Level Three. In the last four weeks of the course, students will prepare a detailed research brief on the topic they intend to pursue for their Dissertation at Level Three.

• History and Heritage in Practice

  This module will provide you with the practical and conceptual skills required when undertaking history and heritage projects. Teaching will be organised around five themes which may be drawn from the following list: Heritage Interpretation; Heritage Site Management; Conservation Practice; Oral History; History and Communities; Public Engagement; History in Policy; History in Education; Funding Matters. Through a focus on live issues and practical matters, you will explore the many ways in which national and local organisations project, create and use history. You will investigate the processes and priorities that determine the content and form of historical displays; the obligations that shape heritage organisations; and the rationale underlying public engagement. As well as looking behind the scenes, you will study some of the key techniques and skills that underpin successful ventures in using historical material, whether in heritage or other public contexts.

• History of South Africa: Race, Power and Apartheid

  The purpose of this module is to serve as a survey of the history of Southern Africa, from its pre-colonial origins until the end of apartheid in the twentieth century. This period saw the establishment of the Cape Colony, territorial expansion and the great Boer Treks, the Boer War and the rise of the system of apartheid. The module also covers the African response to European colonization, the resistance of the Zulu and great African leaders such as Moshoeshoe and Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid demonstrations in the townships that contributed to the fall of apartheid. Many European powers were involved in the colonization of Southern Africa, but Great Britain took a leading role in the events and development of the state of South Africa. This module will have a special emphasis on the country of South Africa, but will encompass aspects of history that involve neighboring countries as well.

• Independent Work Experience

  This module provides students with an opportunity to reflect on the experience they have gained in undertaking paid or voluntary employment outside their studies, to analyse the personal and key skills that work experience has helped develop and to articulate the ways in which it has enhanced their career development. Suitable work experience would include: student ambassadors, UH mentoring schemes and any part-time work. Students will compile a portfolio of evidence, which will include: evidence of the work undertaken, e.g. a letter from the company, the student's role within the company and the nature of the tasks undertaken, a reflective evaluation on the ways in which the work experience has enhanced the student's employability, and a current curriculum vitae.

• Italian Route A - 5a

  This module broadens and consolidates the students’ competence in Italian. Students will learn to talk about student life and travel, carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including, for example, video clips, blogs and magazine websites.

• Italian Route A - 5b

  This module will extend the students’ competence in Italian through the introduction of more advanced language structures. Students will learn to discuss work and future plans, studying and living abroad. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• Italian Route B - 5a

  This module further improves the students’ competence and confidence from study at levels 4 and 5 in understanding and responding to more advanced written and spoken Italian. Students develop skills which will be of value both professionally and socially and will be exposed to a wider variety of contexts and language registers. The module will enable students to participate more fully in discussions and develop logical argument. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• Italian Route B - 5b

  This module enables students to improve further their competence and confidence from the previous semester in understanding and responding to more advanced Italian. Students continue to develop skills which will be of value both professionally and socially. The module will enable students to play a more active and spontaneous part in discussions and to use a wider range of phrases which express different shades of opinion in speaking and writing. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line news reports, blogs and magazine websites.

• Japanese Route A - 5a

  This module broadens and consolidates the students’ competence in Japanese. Students will learn to talk about student life and travel, carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including, for example, video clips, blogs and magazine websites.

• Japanese Route A - 5b

  This module will extend the students’ competence in Japanese through the introduction of more advanced language structures. Students will learn to discuss work and future plans, studying and living abroad. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• Journalism Skills: Features, Markets and Styles

  In this module students will be introduced to researching and reporting techniques for writing features and will be developing and extending the skills in writing acquired at Level 4. Workshop sessions will be enable students to gain hands-on practise of writing features in a simulated magazine or supplement environment.

• Journalism Skills: Print News, Markets and Styles

  In this module students will be introduced to researching and reporting techniques for news reports and will be developing and extending the skills in writing print news acquired at Level One. Workshop sessions will enable students to gain hands-on practice in writing news reports in a simulated newsroom environment. There will be an emphasis on the use of ICT to research stories and students will be encouraged to use the Associate Press feed and ICT-based information management techniques, including databases and e-journals, such as Infotrack and the British Journalism Review. Students will to write copy and produce a portfolio through which they explore in greater depth the key written and visual ingredients of news journalism.

• Knowledge and Discovery

  What kind of justification is required to be able to say not just that we believe something but that we know it? Must we be able to cite reasons for believing something before we can be said to know it, or is it enough for those beliefs to have been generated in a reliable way? Must knowledge rest on a foundation that is immune from error, or are beliefs justified by being part of a network of mutually supporting beliefs? We shall discuss the extent to which the particular observations we make give us reason to believe (or disbelieve) general claims about the world and, further, what counts as a good explanation for why that thing has happened. We shall consider not just beliefs about those things we can see with our own eyes but whether there is any reason to believe in those things which we cannot observe directly (e.g., the very small and the very distant).

• Language and Psycholinguistics: Methods for Research

  The aim of this module is to provide a broad overview of the theoretical and empirical issues involved in collecting, transcribing, coding and interpreting data collected on adults and children. You are introduced to the current research strategies used in psycholinguistics and develop the theoretical background and the skills (including IT skills) required in order to collect naturalistic and experimental data. Child language data archives and computer based analysis programs (CHILDES, SALT) as well as psycholinguistic experiments are explored. The module will assist students who are planning to undertake an experimental project during level 3, as well as give an overview to students who are planning to study the taught psycholinguistics modules at level 3.

• Language and Species

  Research into the evolution of human communication has been controversial. Shortly after the publication of Darwin's masterpiece in 1859, the topic was banned by the London Philological Society. Recent advances in genetics, anthropology and cognitive science, however, have together resulted in renewed interest and more rigorous investigation and the birth of a new field. Evolutionary Linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which draws upon linguistics, evolutionary theory, biology, anthrolopology, primatology and psychology in order to answer three key questions: Why do we communicate? When did language evolve? What are the origins of language? In this module, students are first introduced to the basics of evolutionary theory before focusing on the questions raised above. Additional questions addressed include: How do other species communicate? Could Neanderthals speak? Can chimpanzees lie?

• Language, Law and Politics

  This module is taught in two phases, both of which are concerned with real examples of language use in real-world situations. Specifically, we will address talk and text in prominent political (phase I) and legal (phase II) contexts. We will be working, then, within two emerging trends in applied linguistics: Political Linguistics and Forensic Linguistics. Political Linguistics is the application of linguistics in order to understand conversation in political contexts and uncover ideology, power and persuasion in political texts. Forensic Linguistics is the application of linguistics in order to understand conversation in legal contexts and establish authorship, authenticity and veracity in forensic texts. The talk and texts we will analyse will be taken from genres such as political interviews, parliamentary debate, political speeches, party manifestos, print news media, court proceedings, police interviews, witness statements, confessions, emergency calls, hate mail and suicide letters.

• Learning and Teaching Language 1

  This module is the first of two that look in some depth at issues in the learning and teaching of language, with special reference to English. In this module, more emphasis is laid on the learner, and this is reversed in the second module. The module examines both naturalistic methods of learning and classroom learning, distinguishing between the typical outcomes for the learner in each condition. It considers the work of contemporary theorists, and examines factors such as the role of error, the construction of the learner, the functions of literacy, and the patterns of interaction in the classroom. It examines classrooms as teaching environments, showing how underlying assumptions become articulated in classroom practice. It considers key variables affecting the learning and teaching processes.

• Learning and Teaching Language 2

  This module is the second of two that look in some depth at issues in the learning and teaching of language, with special reference to English. In this module, more emphasis is laid on teaching. The module takes a broadly historical approach to language learning and teaching. The starting-off point will be a resume of the state of EFL as a result of the professionalization of teaching at the end of the C19 and the effects of the Reform Movement. Thereafter there will be examination of such trends and approaches as the grammar / translation 'method', behaviourism, the audio-lingual approach, the communicative approach, Krashen's input hypothesis, the Lexical approach and the Intercultural approach. Connections will be made in each case with the key concepts relating to language learners discussed in the preceding module. A final session looks at classroom generated research and at what teachers can hope to learn from it.

• Logic and Language

  Should you study logic? Mephistopheles has no doubts: Make use of time, its course so soon is run,/[...]/I counsel you, dear friend, in sum,/That first you take collegium logicum [the logic class]. (Goethe, Faust). Logic can be a lot of fun, like chess, poker, cross-words or sudoku. It provides some conceptual tools that are very helpful in order to clarify your ideas and to develop convincing arguments. Logic is also crucial in order to understand much contemporary philosophy, which relies heavily on many of its technical notions. Mephistopheles is wrong, however, in one final respect: logic is really a defence against the dark arts. The course will teach you to fight vagueness, obscurity, imprecision, fallacies and those who rely on them to cast rhetorical spells.

• Making Histories: public history work experience

  This module allows students to include an element of practical experience in their undergraduate study of history. Students will participate in an approved programme of activities around the making and sharing of histories in non-academic settings: these may include engagement with one or more of the public history projects based at the University, the collection of oral histories, volunteer work in a local museum or with a community group. Through a series of tutorials/workshops, students will reflect on their experiences, explore related conceptual issues and develop a broader appreciation of the links between academic and public history. The module will be assessed at the end of Semester B on a portfolio of materials. This portfolio will normally be compiled over the course of the year to record activities undertaken and to analyse them from critical perspectives

• Mandarin Route A - 5a

  This module broadens and consolidates the students’ competence in Mandarin Chinese. Students will learn to talk about student life and travel, carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. Chinese characters will be introduced. The module will be delivered via on-line materials including video clips and Chinese websites.

• Mandarin Route A - 5b

  This module will extend the students’ competence in Mandarin Chinese through the introduction of more advanced language structures. Students will learn to discuss work and future plans, studying and living abroad. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be delivered via on-line materials including video clips and Chinese websites.

• Media in an International Context

  This module allows students to make a series of international comparisons with the media in England. It provides a series of case studies explaining how media institutions are distributed in a chosen country and indicating how this is linked to a specific history of media development and to the different political structures in the country being studied. This module places an emphasis on the relationships between media institutions or products and the socio-political construction of their different audiences.

• Metaphysics

  Metaphysics asks the most general questions about the most fundamental features of the world. How should we understand space, time and causation? Does time flow? Does the future already exist? Is space a substance? Is it possible for me to do something now so as to affect what happened in the past? What are things and what does it take for them to persist over time? What is it for things to have properties, such as being red? What are properties? Do they exist in the same way that the things that have them do? What else exists? Does reality extend beyond what is actual?

• Peace, Power and Prosperity. British Society 1789-1914 B

  This module will examine the social history of Great Britain between the Napoleonic Wars and the beginning of the First World War. The 125 years in question witnessed enormous changes, as the ideas and structures of authority associated with the old rural order of aristocracy and Church were superseded by the more egalitarian and secular structures of industrial society. Using the rich historiographical resources of the period the course will consider a range of issues relating to revolution, royalty, class, gender, Empire, education, urbanisation, health, science, leisure, religion and secularisation. Throughout the course, the experiences of the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish, both in the Celtic heartlands and beyond, will form a crucial element of this self-consciously British history of the long nineteenth-century.

• Philosophy of Art

  We go to museums, read novels, listen to music, talk about art. But what is art? In this module, we survey the main theories of art throughout history, observing as we go along, that while each theory has added to our understanding of art, it has not defined it once and for all. At the end of the survey, we shall ask whether a comprehensive definition is possible, or even necessary to our understanding of art. The survey will take us through passages from authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Tolstoy, Hume, Kant, Collingwood, Wittgenstein, Danto, Dickie and Wollheim. We will ask ourselves: Is art is a matter of personal taste or are there intersubjective criteria in the determination of art? Where is the boundary between art and craft? How is art related to morality? Is Tracy Emin's My Bed art; if so, is it good art? What makes anything art?

• Philosophy of Mind

  What are mental states? How do they relate to human actions? What is consciousness? Is there a real difference between the mental and the physical? This course explores philosophical approaches to understanding the nature of mind which range from dualism to strong forms of materialism. Students will be trained in the use of relevant terminology and will develop their skills in reading, assessing and advancing arguments. Students will be assessed on their knowledge and understanding of at least two approaches/issues in the philosophy of mind, their use of relevant terminology and their ability to produce structured arguments, which anticipate possible replies, in the form of essays.

• Propaganda in 20th century War and Politics A

  This broad survey module will encourage students to connect the development of mass communications with domestic and international politics in the twentieth century. Time will be spent on defining public opinion, censorship and propaganda; on examining propaganda channels and techniques; and, on analysing and measuring propaganda effects. Emphasis will be placed on Britain's pioneering role in the new world communications network via its empire, and on the importance attached to the First World War in changing the face of propaganda. A variety of sources, including film, will be used to assess the increasing sophistication of political persuasion thereafter. Particular attention will be paid to Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia and the international conflicts in Vietnam in the 1960s and the Middle East in the 1990s. Seminars will involve group work centred on core interpretative texts.

• Research Methods

  This module teaches you the basic principles of research in media and the means by which to devise research questions and select appropriate methodologies, as well as instruction on how to write a research report. Students will learn how to choose a research topic, conduct a literature review, and develop an appropriate research plan. It covers all the key aspects of media and communication, including analysis of media production, media texts, and audience studies. It further offers specific guidance and instruction on a systematic application of a range of research methods, and addresses methods of sampling and data collection, including interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions, as well as approaches to online research.

• Social and Political Philosophy

  We tackle fundamental questions concerning how our society should function and what implications this has for the individual. How should goods (e.g. property, services, rights, liberties, power) be distributed in society? On what basis can some people claim ownership of property? Should goods be distributed on the basis of desert, entitlement or some notion of equality? On what basis can someone 'in authority' tell me what (or what not) to do? And if I don't do as they say, on what basis can I be punished for it? What are rights? Do we have them naturally or are they all conferred on us by an institution? Do all humans have rights or are children and/or the mentally impaired to be excluded? Do future generations of people have rights? Can these notions extend to non-human animals or the environment in general? And what are our obligations in each of these cases?

• Sounds of English

  This module will offer you the chance to study the sounds of English at two levels: the surface level (phonetics) and the underlying mental level (phonology). We will start by looking at the physiological apparatus involved with the production of speech before examining in more detail how individual speech sounds are made (articulatory phonetics). We will also examine the physical properties of sound in speech (acoustic phonetics). We will then turn to the organisation of speech sounds at the underlying mental level. Here we will identify the distinct 'sound concepts' of English and explore the various ways they each may be realised phonetically. We will then move on to analysing syllables before considering stress and intonation in English. The module offers you an important descriptive tool for further language study as well as essential knowledge for careers in areas such as speech and language therapy. This module is a prerequisite for study of English Language and Communication at level 3.

• Sounds of English

  This module will offer you the chance to study the sounds of English at two levels: the surface level (phonetics) and the underlying mental level (phonology). We will start by looking at the physiological apparatus involved with the production of speech before examining in more detail how individual speech sounds are made (articulatory phonetics). We will then turn to the organisation of speech sounds at the underlying mental level. Here we will identify the distinct 'sound concepts' of English and explore the various ways they each may be realised phonetically. We will then move on to analysing syllables and stress. The module offers you an important descriptive tool for further language study as well as essential knowledge for careers in areas such as speech and language therapy. This module is a prerequisite for study of English Language and Communication at level 3.

• Spanish Route A - 5a

  This module broadens and consolidates the students’ competence in Spanish. Students will learn to talk about student life and travel, carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including, for example, video clips, blogs and magazine websites.

• Spanish Route A - 5b

  This module will extend the students’ competence in Spanish through the introduction of more advanced language structures. Students will learn to discuss work and future plans, studying and living abroad. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• Spanish Route B - 5a

  This module further improves the students’ competence and confidence from study at leves 4 in understanding and responding to more advanced written and spoken Spanish. Students develop skills which will be of value both professionally and socially and will be exposed to a wider variety of contexts and language registers. The module will enable students to participate more fully in discussions and develop logical argument. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line TV news items, blogs and magazine websites.

• Spanish Route B - 5b

  This module enables students to improve further their competence and confidence from the previous semester in understanding and responding to more advanced Spanish. Students continue to develop skills which will be of value both professionally and socially. The module will enable students to play a more active and spontaneous part in discussions and to use a wider range of phrases which express different shades of opinion in speaking and writing. They will carry out reading and listening tasks and write texts within the framework of the vocabulary and grammatical structures studied. The module will be largely course book based, supplemented by on-line materials including for example on-line news reports, blogs and magazine websites.

• Spanish Route C - 5a

  Emphasis will continue to be placed on improving the students' linguistic ability and knowledge through the indepth study of selected political, cultural, linguistic and economic topics of selected Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. The module will be based on materials taken from written and audiovisual materials compiled from a variety of sources such as online newspapers, magazines. Students will be expected to research their own materials and present their findings in class discussions.

• Spanish Route C - 5b

  Emphasis will continue to be placed on improving the student’s linguistic ability and knowledge so as to equip them with the skills necessary to study and work in Spain. The module will be based on materials taken from written and audiovisual materials compiled from a variety of sources such as online newspapers, magazines and company websites. Students will research their own materials to be analysed and presented in class discussions.

• Studies in English Literature: Renaissance to Enlightenment, 1550-1740

  This module focuses on a range of texts (plays, poetry, prose narratives) produced in Britain in the period 1550-1740. On one level the module is designed to build on the close-reading and analytical skills you developed at Level One but we will also explore the set texts in the context of a number of key issues and events in the turbulent history of the period. In particular we will consider the ways in which they can be seen to engage with important contemporary issues - about power and political authority, about national identity, about class hierarchies, about the business of literature, about gender and sexuality, and about religion. The texts to be studied will range from plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, to the love poetry of John Donne and Andrew Marvell; from bawdy, sexually aggressive, Restoration comedies, to the stinging satires of the early eighteenth century 'wits' such as Alexander Pope. As well as studying the work of writers whose works have often been seen to make up the 'canon' of 'great' English literature, we will also look at works by other writers of the period such as Mary Wroth, Margaret Cavendish and Aphra Behn, writers who have been excluded from literary histories until very recently. Please note: If you are taking 60 credits or more in Literature at Level 2, you are expected to include this module as part of your programme.

• Studies in Twentieth Century Literature, 1900-1945

  Building on the study of narrative begun at Level One this course will examine some key texts published in the period 1900 - 1945 and offer an historical and theoretical framework in which the set texts can be read. A central part of the course will be the attempt to explain the literary developments of the period by reference to a central concept in twentieth century cultural history: Modernism. The course will make clear that the chronological division indicated here does not imply that all texts of this period can be called `Modernist'. As students will be invited to consider, this is simply a convenient label whose meaning is itself a source of controversy and debate. Attention will also be given to such common thematic motifs such as urban ambience, the 'presence of the past', social class and sexual politics. The writers studied on the couse will vary from year to year but are likely to include such key figures as Joseph Conrad, Virginia Woolf, May Sinclair, Jean Rhys, James Joyce and T.S. Eliot.

• Syntax

  This module presents you with a recent generative syntactic theory. It deals in a detailed way with some of the overall goals of linguistic analysis, and examines the principles and mechanisms that are proposed to account for the grammatically well-formed sentences of English.

• The Age of the Cold War, 1945-1991 [B]

  This broad survey course will examine the origins, nature and end of the Cold War between 1945 and 1991. Initially, time is spent examining the meanings attached to the term 'Cold War', together with the peculiar features of the conflict compared with others in history. Analysis is then undertaken of the origins of the war, focusing on the break-up of the Grand Alliance between 1945 and 1949. The course then adopts a thematic approach, concentrating on the diplomatic, ideological, economic, political, military and cultural dimensions of the Cold War of the 1950s through to the 1980s. The final section will deal with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the People's Democracies in Eastern Europe following Gorbachev's ascent to power in the Kremlin in 1985. Students will trace the main contours of the Cold War historiographical landscape, from orthodoxy to post-post-revisionism.

• The Poem

  Building on previous work, this module will develop your knowledge and understanding of poetic craft and technique including voice, sound, patterns and shape, rhyme and rhythm, imagery and metaphor. You will be asked to practise reading and thinking about poems of many different styles and periods, for example, sonnets, free verse, Japanese haiku poetry, rap. We will also ask you to consider ways in which the material presentation of poetry is significant. Alongside this, you will be encouraged to develop your own creative writing through the use of independent exercises and the development of finished poems.

• The Right and The Good

  Is happiness the only thing of value? According to Utilitarianism, my moral duty is to promote happiness. What do we mean by "happiness"? If our moral duty is to promote happiness does this mean that we are justified in adopting any means, including killing, that might promote happiness? Kant is one philosopher who considers that we should value human beings in their own right and this introduces constraints on what we are morally justified in doing. We have duties to assist and also not to harm other human beings. We study these two theories by looking at Mill's ‘Utilitarianism’ and Kant's ‘Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals’. Application of these theories to moral dilemmas chosen by students will form the topic of the presentation. For example, is it ever morally right to use violence or terrorism in the pursuit of peace? Should we ever assist anyone to commit suicide?

• The Rise of the Novel : 1700 - 1800

  Building on the study of prose fiction begun at Level One, this module will introduce students to the history of the novel. It traces the rise of the novel from the late seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth century. In addition to focusing on such issues as story-telling, the role of the narrator and characterisation, the module will explore the ways in which different genres fed into the emerging novel (e.g. romance, journalism, spiritual autobiography, travel narrative). Students will also be invited to consider the set texts' engagement with such issues as gender and sexuality, colonialism, crime and class. Texts studied will vary from year to year but might include the following: Daniel Defoe, 'Robinson Crusoe'; Jonathan Swift, 'Gulliver's Travels'; Henry Fielding, 'Joseph Andrews'; Lawrence Sterne, ' A Sentimental Journey'; Anne Radcliffe, 'A Sicilian Romance' and Mary Wollstonecraft, 'Maria'.

• The Slave Trade, 1640-1840 A

  During the 18th the slave trade reached it peak, when some 6 million people were taken from the African continent. In this module, the rise and fall of the Atlantic Slave Trade between 1640 and 1840 will be considered. The course will examine the trade itself and assess its impact on the social and economic history of both Africa and Britain. Drawing on the rich scholarly literature of the subject, and using a range of primary materials, including the testimony of those held as slaves, the module will examine a range of topics including: indigenous slave systems in Africa, the slave trade in Africa, the economy of the European slave trade, the sugar plantations, the gender aspects of slavery, the economic aspects, the impact in Britain (notably on the principal cities, Liverpool, Bristol, Birmingham and London), the rise of evangelicalism and the challenge to the slave trade; and finally, the abolition of the trade in 1807, 1834 and 1838.

• Themes in Plato's Republic

  If you could get away with morally unjust behaviour, why should you act morally? What would an 'ideal society' be like? What is the relationship between justice in the individual, and justice in society? This course investigates several major themes in Plato's philosophy. After an introduction to the importance of Socrates and the nature of Socratic enquiry, we shall focus predominantly upon the Republic - one of the most important texts in the history of western thought - in which the above questions are central. The course will aim to show connections between Plato's metaphysics and theory of knowledge, and his ethics, political thought and philosophy of art and literature. Students will develop their skills in reading, assessing and advancing arguments.

• Twentieth Century North American Writing

  This module considers the diversity of twentieth-century North-American writing and the plurality of American culture and identity. It will consider some twentieth-century American writings about America as well as looking at theories of race, ethnicity and citizenship as explored in the selected texts. It will address the ways in which ideas about community and American citizenship and nationhood are historicized. The module will explore some of the repercussions and ramifications on recent American literature of such major American events and ideas such as: * the notion of 'The American Dream', * immigration over the twentieth century, * the 'annexing' of native American lands, * America's involvement in WWII, * the legacy of slavery, * capitalism and consumerism. The module will consider the ways in which these and other issues are explored by a close examination of the literary devices, conventions and techniques deployed to investigate and imagine American identities. The focus of the module may change from year to year, depending on the writers chosen for study.

• USA 1861 to 1969: From Civil War to Civil Rights A

  The module surveys American history from the end of the Civil War in 1865, to the social, political, and economic crises, which engulfed the United States during the 1960s. It concentrates on the major issues of American development: the emancipation of the slaves, the Civil War, and the process of Reconstruction; the rise of Jim Crow and Segregation in the South; the Wild West; Immigration and Industrialisation; Populism and Progressivism; the expansion of political democracy; the emergence of the regulatory state; America's rise to the status of a World Power; the depression of the 1930s; McCarthyism; Civil Rights; Vietnam and the Great Society. Students will be encourage to engage with two important issues: 1. How America transformed from a country made up of a collection of loose states to become a global superpower. 2. How the two principles 'All men are created equal' and racial segregation co-existed side by side.

• Vocabulary

  This module investigates different aspects of English vocabulary. This will involve looking in detail at different ways in which words are defined, how words are formed, what they mean, where they come from and how they change over time. In addition we will look at the use of corpora in the study of word meaning and word collocations, in particular the British National Corpus and Wordnet. The module will also address how dictionaries are assembled, with special reference to the Oxford English Dictionary.

• Ways of Reading: Literature and Theory

  Ways of Reading is an introduction to literary critical approaches which call into question apparently commonsense interpretative concepts such as 'intention', the 'author' and 'character'. The module will offer a survey of twentieth-century trends in critical thinking about literature, including Marxism, psychoanalysis and feminism, together with later developments such as deconstruction and Postmodernism. The emphasis will be on learning to apply concepts which are characteristic of these approaches within the context of your own critical writing about literature.

• World War I Literature and Culture

  This module covers a range of World War I writing (novels, short stories, autobiographies, letters, poetry, plays, films) produced by men and women both during and after the conflict. We will read the work of those who fought and also those who didn’t and their attempts to come to terms with the horror of the war. The module explores the challenges of representing the war-time experience in the years 1914-18 including images of heroism, loss, trauma, mourning, and memory. We will also look at work produced since 1918 and ways in which successive generations of writers and film-makers have re-interpreted the War for their own times. Works studied will typically include: poems by Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Edward Thomas; plays such as John Brandon’s melodrama The Pacifist (1918); Robert Graves’ autobiography Goodbye to All That (1929); Joan Littlewood’s Oh What a Lovely War! (play and film); and recent interpretations such as Michael Morpurgo’s/Steven Spielberg’s War Horse.

• Writing for the Stage and Screen

  Building on critical and practical skills developed at Level One, this module continues the study of genre but also investigates writing as a collaborative process. Focusing on stage and screen drama, we will analyze a selection of twentieth century and contemporary works. Theme-based workshops will explore character, dialogue, the world of the play/film, action, plot, narrative, and audience. We explore how the playwright/scriptwriter evokes the 'World of the Play/Film' through creation of the imaginary place, aspects of setting, music and props. Students will be expected to work collaboratively to workshop their own dramatic writing with a view to completing a short dramatic text and the final sessions will be spent in revising and preparing work for the final assessment.

• Writing in Britain Since 1945

  Drawing on a wide variety of writing produced since the Second World War, this module focuses on the changing situations of both writers and readers of British fiction. At the centre of the module will be an examination of realism in post-war writing through the texts of a wide range of authors. Students will be asked to consider the cultural representations of the period as they are evinced in both fiction and drama, including those of the late 1950s and early 1960s, a time of unprecedented change in British Society. The module provides examples of this writing by investigating such authors as for example: John Osborne, Pat Barker, Alan Sillitoe, Shelagh Delaney, Tony Harrison and Jeanette Winterson. As well as considering the ways in which the set texts deal with such issues as class antagonisms, constructed masculinity and femininity and differing sexualities, students will be invited to consider the extent to which the set texts can be seen to be representative of the post-war writing.

Fees & funding

Fees 2013

UK/EU Students

Full time: £8,500 for the 2013 academic year

International Students

Full time: £9,500 for the 2013 academic year

Discounts are available for International students if payment is made in full at registration

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Other financial support

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Living costs / accommodation

The University of Hertfordshire offers a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

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