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Modern and

Contemporary History

V140 BA (three years)

UCAS points: 320

A-level: ABB with a B in history

IB: 34 points overall with 5 points in history Higher Level

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programme and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/V140

Queen Mary academics have been central to the creation of a distinctive mode of contemporary British history which grapples with the problems of writing about the very recent past. We specialise in the study of leadership and government, but emphasise the need to understand broader social and cultural contexts for policy-making. The Modern and Contemporary History programme has grown out of this specialism and offers a way for the politically minded to learn how to apply history to contemporary issues. The School of History’s experts place these issues in a range of different lights: biographical (De Gaulle, Kennedy and Mandela), national (with strengths in modern British, Russian, American and German history), and thematic (the histories of terrorism, strategic thought and political thought). Our proximity to the centres of politics, policy-making, the law and the City allows you to explore your interests through internships and informal contacts – the School is unique in boasting amongst its staff two legislators – Tristram Hunt, the MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central, and Peter Hennessy, who became a peer in

2010. This is the ideal degree for those interested in a career in the media, government or international relations.

History and Film Studies

VW16 BA (three years)

UCAS points: 320

A-level: ABB with a B in history

IB: 34 points overall with 5 points in history Higher Level and 5 points in a film/media or relevant subject at Higher Level

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programme and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/VW16

Since it captured the world’s imagination just over a century ago, cinema has probably had more impact than any other art form. It is a cultural, political and economic force, from Hollywood to Bollywood, with blockbusters and art-house films that are agents of globalisation. But film has also proved a key constituent of national and regional identity and the expression of individual and group struggles and aspirations. This programme provides an opportunity to study film as an historical phenomenon as well as an historical force. The large range of options available and the flexibility of the degree structure allow you to shape your module choices to suit your interests.

There are many opportunities to study the cinematic output of particular nations, or to explore genre, as well as aspects of production, consumption and representation. You will also be instructed in the skills of film criticism and analysis. There is not

profile student

Jaspreet Sangha

History

“I chose Queen Mary not only because it is one of the top universities in London but also because of the friendly atmosphere that the campus had. The university allows each individual to feel valued and respected through

its numerous societies and social events. The History course itself has some of the most renowned historians in the country that have a distinct passion for their field, and that passion is then absorbed by the students.

“The thing that I like the most about Queen Mary is the perfect balance of enhancing your academic ability and allowing you to have a fun social life through its societies and events on campus and in London itself. Queen Mary also helped me find part-time work within a prominent tuition school in London, which has allowed to me to gain the perfect experience I will need in the future for my career in teaching.”

History and Politics

LV21 BA (three years)

UCAS points: 320

A-level: ABB with a B in History

IB: 34 points overall with 5 points in history Higher Level

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programme and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/LV21

The study of power politics has always been at the heart of historical study from the moment when the ancients first sought to explain the past historically to the present day. This joint-honours programme allows you the opportunity of exploring approaches to these topics across the tremendous range of options offered by the School of Politics as well as the School of History. Several strands of study inter-connect thematically across the Schools, including the study

of international relations and the history of political thought – in which Queen Mary is a centre of excellence with a growing

international reputation. Our courses on African and Indian history, US foreign policy, Northern Ireland and the Middle East all offer crucial contextual understanding

for issues of vital contemporary relevance. Studying history and politics in London offers huge possibilities and the university hosts a rich programme of meetings at which it will be possible to hear and interrogate leading national and international figures. With Westminster, Whitehall, the City and the national media on our doorstep the opportunities for observing and acquiring the skills required to advance politically are immense.

Graduates of this degree have gone on to work in politics, research, the media, teaching and other related activities. Our established interest in understanding how policy is made has proved extremely useful to graduates, including not only those with political ambitions but also those looking for a career in the Civil Service.

History and Comparative

Literature

VQ12 BA (three years)

UCAS points: 280-300

A-level: BBB-BBC with a B in History and in another relevant subject

IB: 34 with 5 in Higher Level history and 5 in a relevant subject at Higher Level

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programme and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/VQ12

You will divide your time equally between the two subjects: comparative literature makes connections between literary texts of different times, places and traditions, and literature, film, music, the visual arts and popular culture. History complements the study of literature, enabling you to gain an understanding of the intellectual, political and social context in which literature is conceived. The history programme covers all the main themes in medieval, modern and contemporary history, ranging from British to European and American topics. Advanced options in the second and final years permit you to concentrate on the areas of literature and history that interest you most.

English and History

QV31 BA (three years)

UCAS points: 320-340

A-level: AAB-ABB with an A in English literature at A2 level and an B in History

IB: 34 points overall with 34 with 5 in Higher Level history and 6 in Higher Level English

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programme and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/QV31

This degree meets a growing demand from students for a programme that links the social and political history of a period with its literary texts, and provides theoretical and skills-based tools for understanding the relationship between two disciplinary approaches. `

History 71

profile student

Katie Choi-Yan Lo

“I chose Queen Mary because of its renowned History department, with its wide range of modules covering various periods and countries.

The location of the university is also advantageous, the East End being an area rich with history itself, and the university being close to Canary Wharf and the City.

“Queen Mary has offered me great flexibility in my degree, allowing me to study a broad range of topics and specialising in areas of interest to me. The course itself is wellstructured, yet diverse, with different methods of assessment, thus helping me to develop a range of key transferable skills. I have had the chance to join many clubs and societies, as well as participate in volunteering schemes, mentor and tutor local students, and complete various internships, exposing

me to a wide range of career opportunities. The tutors have been very supportive both in terms of my studies, but also in other endeavours, including their enthusiasm for the Queen Mary Undergraduate History Journal, for which I am currently the Managing Editor, and also in helping me to

obtain a training contract and place at law school after my degree.”

You might find yourself being asked to do some of the following on any given day:

•read challenging texts, literary and non-literary, in the target language

•visit Tate Modern to look at Cubist paintings

•attend a lecture on 1950s German cinema

•produce a group radio project

•take part in a linguistics class discussion – why do we have the accents that we have?

At Queen Mary, you can choose from four pathways:

•ideas – politics, philosophy

•visual arts and culture – paintings, film, music, TV, radio

•literature – novels, plays, poetry

•linguistics – how we learn languages.

So whether you are studying Surrealism one day, analysing a newspaper story the next, writing your own poem or reading a play the day after, you’ll certainly have plenty of variety.

Why study modern languages at Queen Mary?

We are one of the leading language departments in the UK and aim for excellence in both teaching and research. Queen Mary was ranked in the top 20 in the UK for modern languages in the most recent Research Assessment Exercise (RAE 2008). This means that you will learn from people who are at the forefront of their field.

In the last National Student Survey (NSS 2012), 85 per cent of our students of languages were very happy with the quality of the programme overall, and 98 per cent said that staff are great at explaining things.

With some programmes, you will spend a year abroad in the third year of your degree. This gives you an exceptional opportunity to

develop your language skills among native speakers. You have three main options for how to spend the year abroad: teaching English as a foreign language assistant; attending university abroad on an Erasmus exchange; or in the professional world on a work placement.

Our computing services make us one of the best-equipped languages departments in the UK. Advisers are on hand to help you take advantage of multilingual word-processing and to point you towards websites useful for language study. Our custom designed Multi-Media Resources Centre provides state-of-the-art language teaching and learning facilities. We also subscribe to many foreign newspapers and journals.

The Queen Mary library has extensive audio-visual facilities, a large collection of DVDs and is equipped for viewing foreign language satellite TV. You will also be able to enjoy lively language clubs and societies that organise film showings, outings, drama productions and social meetings, which give you the chance to practise your language and have fun.

Assessment

Assessment methods vary from module to module, and include a mixture of exams and coursework, coursework only, oral exams (including the production of a short radio programme), final-year dissertations and a range of more innovative methods, such as independent projects and creative journals.

Our teaching

Teaching typically involves a lecture per week for each module, followed up by a smaller seminar group session. You spend about 12 hours a week in classes. Of these, up to five hours are language classes – you will be taught in small groups of no more than 20 for classroom or language lab teaching, and fewer than ten for oral and aural work.

Admissions

Admission is by UCAS form. Transfer or mature applicants may be invited for an interview or asked to produce a piece of written work.

Academic enquiries

School of Languages, Linguistics and Film

Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8331 email: sllf-ug@qmul.ac.uk www.sllf.qmul.ac.uk

General enquiries

Enquiries Hotline (UK callers only): 0800 376 1800

Tel (international students): +44 (0)20 7882 5511

email: admissions@qmul.ac.uk

Why study modern languages? What can I do afterwards?

Put simply, studying a language makes you more employable. Hundreds of companies in the UK and abroad are desperate for language graduates. You will be able to speak another language (or even languages) really well, but it goes much deeper than that. You will:

•be excellent at all forms of communication

•be culturally adaptable from your time abroad

•have a range of research skills

•be able to process information – you will analyse texts, interpret a range of materials, think logically and have plenty of practice in writing concisely

•have excellent presentation skills

•be highly creative

•be a good team-worker

•know about current affairs and what is going on worldwide

•have developed your IT skills, from word-processing to computerassisted language learning.

What our graduates do next

Graduates from the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film go on to work in a wide variety of careers. Some apply their degree

knowledge directly, entering careers such as interpreting and teaching, while others transfer skills gained during study into areas such as marketing. Others go on to study on one of our range of highly regarded masters programmes, including our MA Anglo-German Cultural Relations, MA Comparative Literature and MA Linguistics.

Find out more at www.qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate

The National 2011 Destination Survey confirmed that 87 per cent of the School’s graduates were in employment and/or study six months after graduation with 73

per cent already working/studying at graduate level.

The broad range of skills gained through our language programmes, coupled with multiple opportunities for extra-curricular activities and work experience, has enabled students to move into careers such as:

•Teacher of Modern Foreign Languages (German with French) Latymer Upper School

•Global Technical Support Representation Bloomberg

•Assistant Tour Manager Sony

•Training Centre Co-ordinator ESI International

•International Product Analyst Meta-Pack

•Marketing Executive Mano

•Graduate Account Executive Hall & Partners

•Publishing Assistant Medikidz

•Journalist Self Employed

•Interpreter Self Employed

•English as a Foreign Language Teacher British Council

How we support you

Throughout your time at Queen Mary, you will have access to a careers programme to prepare you for internships and graduate-level work. This includes workshops on job hunting and job applications as well as employer events to facilitate networks and help you to explore your options. Recent careers events within the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film include a workshop for returning fourth year students ‘What a Difference a Year Abroad Makes’ and a speed meet event with alumni working in a variety of roles – ‘Make Languages Work for You’.

We also have a dedicated Year Abroad Manager whose job it is to ensure that your work and study abroad experiences are of the highest quality.

profile alumni

Vesela Gladicheva

Studied: BA English and French

Currently: I am a junior correspondent at Brussels-based media company MLex.

Why did you choose Queen Mary?

It was one of the few universities to offer a joint honours degree in English and French with a compulsory year in France.

What did you enjoy most about your time at Queen Mary? I really enjoyed my third year in France, which gave me the opportunity to study at a French university. Equally enjoyable was the inspirational presence of all my teachers and lecturers. They were professional, supportive and friendly.

How did Queen Mary prepare you for work?

My four years at QM gave me immense self-confidence and belief in my own abilities. It also taught me the importance of multi-tasking and prioritising workloads. Finally, it encouraged me to use my own initiative with minimal supervision.

What do you do in your current job?

I freelance for Nursery World, a London-based magazine covering the early years sector in the UK. It is aimed at professionals working with nursery-age children. My work involves writing news articles and features for the magazine and website.

Hispanic Studies

R451 BA (four years)

UCAS points: 300

A-level: BBB with a B in a language

IB: 32 points overall with 5 points in a HL foreign language

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programme and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/R451

Hispanic Studies covers both the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America and includes the study of Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. Language is the top priority and is compulsory in every year unless you are a native speaker, in which case you take only the final year advanced course. On this single honours programme you must also take at least one module relating to Portuguese or Catalan in your first year (though beginners in Spanish can not begin a second language until their second year). You are strongly encouraged to take further modules in Portuguese or Catalan in the course of your studies. The year abroad offers the possibility of work or study in Spain or Latin America.

Russian

R710 BA (four years)

UCAS points: 300

A-level: BBB with a B in a language

IB: 32 points overall with 5 points in a HL foreign language

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programme and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/R710

If you have little or no knowledge of Russian you can start this programme with a preliminary year of intensive language instruction, bringing you up to good A-level standard. You then progress to Year 1, and as the year abroad in Year 3 is optional, you can still finish in four years. If you already have an A-level in Russian or an equivalent qualification, you can go straight into the main degree. Each year you receive a large amount of language tuition designed to bring your competence in understanding and expressing yourself to as high a level as possible. You will take modules in Russian literature, thought and film to enrich your feel for the language. We also encourage you to take modules in history and other disciplines where there is a strong interest in Russia. You are also encouraged to participate in the annual play, performed in Russian.

French and Comparative

Literature

RQ12 BA/FrCL (four years)

German and Comparative

Literature

QR22 BA/GERCL (four years)

Hispanic Studies and

Comparative Literature

QR24 BA/HSCL (four years)

Russian and Comparative

Literature

QR27 BA/RusCL (four years)

UCAS points: 300

A-level: BBB with a B in French (RQ12), or B in a language (QR22, QR24, QR27); and a B in a relevant subject

IB: 32 points overall with 5 points in HL French (RQ12); or 5 points in a HL language (QR22, QR24, QR27), and 5 in a relevant subject

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programmes and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/RQ12, www.qmul.ac.uk/QR22, www.qmul.ac.uk/QR24

and www.qmul.ac.uk/QR27

Languages 75

Your degree is split equally between your language and comparative literature. Comparative literature makes connections – between literary texts of different times, places and traditions and between literature and film, music, the visual arts and popular culture. You also study a national language and culture in depth, and explore the broader perspective of the literatures and cultures of Europe, Latin America and beyond. In your first year you will follow four introductory literature modules and four modules in your chosen language area, including two in the written and spoken language. In your second and final years you will take advanced module options concentrating on particular literary themes, movements and genres, plus a comparative literature research project. Core language modules continue to assist you in developing your linguistic skills, and you will usually live for a year in a country where your chosen language is spoken. This may be spent either studying at one of our partner universities, or taking up a work placement.

profile student

Leanne Zara

Dickinson

English Literature and French

“I chose Queen Mary because it is the only campus university in London and it produces really well regarded research.

“I most like the fact that my programme is a joint-honours degree that is equally weighted between English and French, as most universities usually split it 75/25.

I do not feel as if I am missing out on either side. It is good to be able to chop and change between disciplines, and this stands me in good stead to choose a masters from a range of areas.

“The teachers are extremely helpful and approachable, and are always on hand to help you in getting where you want to be.”

French and German

RR21 BA (four years)

French and Hispanic

Studies

RR41 BA (four years)

French and Russian

RR17 BA (four years)

German and Hispanic

Studies

RR24 BA (four years)

German and Russian

RR72 BA (four years)

Hispanic Studies

and Russian

RR47 BA (four years)

Hispanic Studies

and Portuguese

RR45 BA (four years)

UCAS points: 300

A-level: BBB with a B in French and another foreign language or relevant subject (RR21, RR41, RR17); BBB with a B in German or Spanish (RR24); BBB with a B in German or Russian (RR72); BBB with a B in Spanish or Russian (RR47); BBB with a B in Spanish (RR45)

IB: 32 points overall, with 5 points in French and another HL foreign language if taken, or another relevant subject (RR21, RR17); 5 points in HL French and 5 in HL Spanish if taken, or in another HL

language or relevant subject (RR41); 5 points in HL German or Spanish and 5 in another HL language if taken or in a relevant subject (RR24); 5 in HL Russian or German and 5 in another HL language if taken or in relevant subject (RR72); 5 in HL Russian or Spanish and 5 in another HL language if taken or in a relevant subject; 5 in HL Spanish (RR45)

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programme and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/RR21, www.qmul.ac.uk/RR41, www.qmul.ac.uk/RR17, www.qmul.ac.uk/RR24, www.qmul.ac.uk/RR72, www.qmul.ac.uk/RR47

and www.qmul.ac.uk/RR45

These degree programmes are split equally between two languages (although if you are a beginner in Russian you will undertake a preliminary year of Russian language first). To achieve the same high level of competence in both languages, you will take core modules in the written and spoken language for each subject all the way through to your final year. For more details about the range of modules available, consult the single language entries. You normally spend your third year abroad in the country of one of your languages of study.

Languages 77

French Studies

R102 BA (three years)

UCAS points: 340

A-level: AAB with a B in French

IB: 34 points overall with 6 points in a foreign language

Excluded subjects: General studies and critical thinking

Find out more about the programme and entry requirements at www.qmul.ac.uk/R102

This three-year programme allows you to develop advanced language skills and detailed knowledge of French culture, moving seamlessly between Queen Mary and the vibrant community in the University of London Institute in Paris where you will spend an eight month immersion period in your second year. You will be able to pursue a range of interests throughout your degree, including French film, history, art, thought and literature, as well as translation skills and French for commercial purposes. This challenging degree will enable you to develop your language skills to a high level and will provide a strong basis for employment in a range of sectors.

profile staff

Anna Kemp

Lecturer in French

Why do you love teaching your subject? I love teaching French because it is so varied. I teach literature, art, film and thought all under the umbrella of French Studies. Other lecturers in the department offer courses in linguistics, art history and photography.

What do you love about Queen Mary? I love the creative atmosphere. Students are encouraged to use both sides of their brains – critical and creative – as part of their intellectual development. For example, there is a module here on photography during which students not only study philosophical writing on the art of photography but may also curate their own mini-exhibition.

What are your research interests and why? My research looks at the relationship between politics and art, and in particular feminist thought and writing by women. I became interested in feminist thought as an undergraduate. I find it intellectually stimulating, and it also resonates with me on a personal and political level. It raises questions that really matter: What does it mean to ‘be a man’ or to ‘be a woman’? What is at stake personally and politically in these questions? How might gender norms be questioned and subverted?