University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2022/23 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages > Comparative Literatures and Cultures and Czech (BA) > Specification
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Programme code | 1MODL026U |
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Programme type | Joint Honours (UG) |
Programme director(s) |
Andreas Schonle
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Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | School of Modern Languages |
Second School/department | Department of Russian |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 4 years (full time) |
This section sets out why studying this programme is important, both in terms of inspiring you as an individual and in considering the challenges we face. It describes how this degree programme contributes to:
The joint-honours programme in Comparative Literatures and Cultures (CLC) and Czech provides students with the opportunity to study two complementary disciplines, which will prepare them to become global citizens. They will gain a broad understanding of the culture(s) in Spanish, while developing interest in and knowledge and understanding of the ways in which cultures, broadly conceived, relate to one another and migrate between and across societies.
In the third year of the degree they will spend a mandatory year abroad in a Czech speaking country to improve their language skills and deepen their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and political environment of that country. During this year, they may opt for study, an assistantship or a work placement. Upon return to Bristol for their final year, while continuing to expand their discipline-specific knowledge and to sharpen their transferable skills, they will be able to reflect on how their historical and theoretical understanding acquired in class and their experiential knowledge acquired abroad relate and hopefully enrich one another. The study of Spanish language and culture is enhanced and extended by the CLC component of the degree, at the heart of which is the activity of comparison, allowing practitioners of ‘CompLit’ to respond with agility to an increasingly interconnected world. The programme will develop the student’s understanding of how to analyse cultures in their various media, how cultures develop out of political, social and institutional contexts, and how cultures migrate across an increasingly globalised world. In developing novel comparative frameworks, the programme will draw on methodologies from translation, textual, cultural, and visual studies, as well as from philosophy and critical theory. Students’ studies in CLC will culminate in a research project that will harness their knowledge of experience of Czech language and culture to their comparative skills.
The learning outcome statements shown below for your programme have been developed with reference to relevant national subject benchmarks (where they exist), national qualification descriptors (see the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) and professional body requirements.
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies are listed to show how you will be able to achieve and demonstrate the learning outcomes.
This programme provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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A combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and flipped learning, including student-centred methods and collaborative projects. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
In keeping with the Arts 2020 framework, methods of assessments will include, essays, commentaries, oral presentations, examinations, reflective narratives, posters, collaborative projects, reports, and a dissertation including forms of authentic assessment (such as an exhibition prospect, interview, set of teaching materials, etc.). |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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A combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and flipped learning, including student-centred methods and collaborative projects. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
In keeping with the Arts 2020 framework, methods of assessments will include, essays, commentaries, oral presentations, examinations, reflective narratives, posters, collaborative projects, reports, and a dissertation including forms of authentic assessment (such as an exhibition prospect, interview, set of teaching materials, etc.). |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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|
A combination of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and flipped learning, including student-centred methods and collaborative projects. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
In keeping with the Arts 2020 framework, methods of assessments will include, essays, commentaries, oral presentations, examinations, reflective narratives, posters, collaborative projects, reports, and a dissertation including forms of authentic assessment (such as an exhibition prospect, interview, set of teaching materials, etc.). |
This section describes what is expected from you at each level of your programme. This illustrates increasing intellectual standards as you progress through the programme. These levels are mapped against the national level descriptors published by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
By the end of their first student, students will have developed thorough familiarity with a select sample of world literatures and cultures and developed a basic understanding of critical methods and theories. They will have developed methods and skills to approach both literary and visual source materials. They will have developed basic skills of selection and synthesis of relevant source materials and acquired the ability to conduct independent research under guidance from their tutors. They will have developed written and oral presentational skills enabling them to convey with clarity the analyses of source materials at the level of understanding and complexity commensurate with level C/4. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
By the end of the second year, students will have developed an understanding of how literary and visual media are rooted in concrete political, social, and institutional frameworks. They will have a robust appreciation of the transnational entanglements of cultures and of the theoretical debates around the transnational study of cultures. They will have acquired sophisticated visual and textual analytical skills and will be able to incorporate a consideration of theoretical arguments into their analysis. They will have developed written and oral presentational skills allowing them to tackle issues of a higher complexity than at level C/4. They will also have developed appropriate skills of collaborative work. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
By the end of their third year, students will have developed a deep understanding of a specific aesthetic, social or political issue approached from a comparative or transnational perspective. They will be thoroughly familiar with the fundamental debates underpinning the discipline of CLC. They will have substantially broadened their understanding of samples of world literatures and cultures and will have an advanced understanding of the transnational entanglements of cultures. They will have developed skills of independent research and will have acquired the ability to design and conduct an extensive independent research project. |
The learning outcome statements shown below for your programme have been developed with reference to relevant national subject benchmarks (where they exist), national qualification descriptors (see the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) and professional body requirements.
Teaching, learning and assessment strategies are listed to show how you will be able to achieve and demonstrate the learning outcomes.
This programme provides opportunities for you to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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|
Knowledge and understanding are acquired through: lectures, seminars, tutorials, intensive language classes, directed reading, regular written coursework and practical language work (supported by the facilities of the Multimedia Centre), and a compulsory period of residence in the country or countries where the language is spoken. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
For non-linguistic elements of the programme: Essays (of varying lengths) and essay-writing exercises, testing understanding of a single topic in detail (2, 3, 5, 6) Class tests (seen and unseen), testing ability to interpret Czech literary texts (1, 2, 3, 5) Exams, testing breadth of knowledge of different subjects (2, 3, 5, 6) At levels I and H, assessment is mainly summative. Language is informally assessed through regular (weekly/fortnightly) coursework assignments; formally by examination at the end of each year (grammar and comprehension tests, translations, essays, oral presentations and aural comprehension, as appropriate to level) (1, 4). Only Level H language examinations contribute to the final degree. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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Intellectual skills are developed through seminars, class discussions, oral presentations and essay writing, as well as by the independent reading and preparation these exercises necessitate. Units are structured in such a way that the skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation of literature are developed progressively through the course. |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
A variety of assessment methods are used as per individual unit aims and objectives. Research skills are assessed through written coursework and dissertations. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning/teaching methods and strategies |
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Seminars and tutorials are used to develop oral communication by requiring students to engage in class discussions and to give short presentations to initiate discussion, including defending their interpretations in debate with other students and staff. These oral skill are further developed in the language classes (1, 3, 4, 5). Research and written communication skills are developed through feedback on essays (2, 8). Students are given guidance on independent learning, which is required in all language and non-language units (1, 7, 10, 11). Students are given guidance on the use of electronic resources, informed of opportunities for C&IT training, and required to maintain electronic communication during Year Abroad (6, 9) |
Methods of assessment (formative and summative) | |
Research and IT skills are assessed through coursework, including the year-abroad dissertation. (2, 6, 9) Written skills are assessed through coursework essays; examinations; and class tests which also require the ability to process an understanding of foreign-language sources (written and/or aural) (2, 10). Oral skills are assessed in some final-year seminar presentations, and at all levels in foreign-language oral examinations (3, 4, 5) Students are expected to manage their work effectively, and are penalised for late submission. |
This section describes what is expected from you at each level of your programme. This illustrates increasing intellectual standards as you progress through the programme. These levels are mapped against the national level descriptors published by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
Year 1 of the course has been designed to lay the foundations, in terms both of subject-specific knowledge and skills and of more general skills and abilities, to lay the foundations which will allow students to fulfil the programme's aims and objectives. The core unit in language provides intensive initial instruction for ab initio students. An additional unit combines an introduction to aspects of contemporary Czech society with comprehension-based activities using Czech texts. Non-linguistic units introduce some of the main themes and key concepts of Czech history and literature, focusing particularly on the 19th and 20th centuries. The expectation is that students' work may require considerable direction from members of staff at this stage. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
In Year 2 students are expected to be able to demonstrate an increased range and detail of knowledge in relevant areas of the discipline. Continuing development of linguistic skills places increased emphasis on independent learning, and linguistic analysis of Czech texts and/or documents is introduced into non-linguistic units followed by all students. The main focus of non-linguistic units is the 'classical' period of 19th-century Czech culture. Several units may be selected from a list of options; all are treated in greater depth and specificity than before. Students will be expected in consequence to develop their analytical skills, their ability to formulate ideas and to present them cogently. They will be encouraged in group work skills through active participation in seminars. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
Year 4. Linguistic skills acquired over the previous three years are refined though an increased use of 'creative' (essay-writing; oral presentation) and 'mediation' (translation) skills. Students also continue to expand their knowledge of the subject-area through the study of a varied range of optional units closely linked to staff research interests. Non-linguistic units now typically combine substantial breadth with analytical depth, and more sophisticated conceptual and methodological approaches are encouraged. Students will be expected to develop further their ability to gather and assimilate challengingly complex information, to synthesise their findings in an appropriate way, and to engage in searching analysis of target-language texts. There is an increased emphasis on independent learning. These aspects come particularly to the fore in the optional supervised dissertation, in which student with guidance chooses and works on a subject based on an interest of their own in Czech and/or Slovak Studies. |
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
UG Workload Statement
Success as an undergraduate student depends on you being able to make the transition to self-motivated, independent learning. Programmes are designed to assist you in this development, in many cases by starting with units in which timetabled teaching, such as lectures and practical classes, provides the foundations of knowledge and skills in a subject, moving on to individual research-based work. Over time you will be expected to take increasing responsibility for your own learning, guided by the feedback on your work that you will receive. At the heart of your studies at every level there must be regular and disciplined individual reading, reflection and writing and it is this skill of independent studies, above all others, that will serve you best when you leave the University.
Most programmes use credits and a 20 credit unit broadly equates to about 200 hours of student input. This includes all activities related to the teaching, learning and assessment of taught units.
A component of this is the time that you spend in class, in contact with the teaching staff, which includes activities such as lectures, laboratories, tutorials and fieldwork. Some of this activity may be online and could consist of activity that is synchronous (using real-time environments such as Blackboard Collaborate) or asynchronous (using tools such as tutor moderated discussion forums, blogs or wikis).
In some programmes there are field courses and/or placements that will take place in concentrated periods of time.
Outside scheduled activities you are expected to pursue your own independent learning to build your knowledge and understanding of the subjects you are studying. Such independent activities include, reviewing lecture material, reading textbooks, working on examples sheets, completing coursework, writing up laboratory notes, preparing for in-class progress tests and revising for examinations.
We recognise that many students undertake paid employment. To achieve a sensible balance between work and study, you are advised to undertake paid work for no more than 15 hours per week in term-time.
Professional Programmes
Many undergraduates in the Faculty of Health Sciences will be following the professional programmes of:
For these professional programmes, full time attendance is compulsory unless absence is formally approved. Academic activities are timetabled throughout the 5-day week and student workload is around 40 hours per week on average. Where possible, students in the early years are permitted Wednesday afternoons for sport and extra-curriculum activities. This may not be available in later years of professional programmes as when a student progresses through the curricula there is an increasing exposure to clinical and professional activities. Students in clinic or on placements may need to stay later than core times of 08.00 – 18.00 or even overnight to observe out-of-hours activities. This increasing exposure to clinical activities means that students on these professional programmes often have longer term dates than the University standard. Individual years within programmes are likely to vary in length (for example because of the timings of placements) and further information on this will be found in individual programme regulations. Another important point to note is that many of the assessments sit outside of the standard University examination timetable and are likely to be more frequent meaning that students will more oftentimes be engaged in revision activities and self-directed learning.
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty Assessment and Feedback Statement for Undergraduate Students. University of Bristol access only.
The School also offers single honours programmes in French, German Spanish and Hispanic Studies (Spanish with Portuguese or Catalan) Italian and Russian along side our joint programmes with one of the following: French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Czech; English, Film, History, History of Art, International Business Management, Philosophy Politics and Theatre.
Mandatory Unit Czech Language RUSS10015 is must pass. For further information and a definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms
This programme will not be running in 2021/22
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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List A | |||||
Czech Language 1 | RUSS10015 | 20 | Mandatory | A | TB-4 |
Comparative Literature: What is it and how can we practise it? | MODL10016 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Introduction to Visual Cultures | MODL10018 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
List B - Students must take 20CP optional units in list B, D or E | |||||
Medieval and Renaissance Italy | ITAL10034 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Understanding Russia: History & Identity | RUSS10041 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Shaping France | FREN10032 | 20 | Optional | B | TB-1 |
Czech Language and Society Not available in this year | RUSS10026 | 20 | Mandatory | ||
List D | |||||
Living Religions East | THRS10065 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Modern German Thought and Thinkers | GERM10038 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List E | |||||
Representations of Francophone Cultures | FREN10013 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Language and Power: Introductions to German History | GERM10039 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Understanding Russia: Literature & Visual Culture | RUSS10042 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Introduction to Czech History and Culture Not available in this year | RUSS10038 | 20 | Mandatory | ||
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
Mandatory Unit Czech Language RUSS20029 is must pass. For further information and a definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Students must take at least 40cps of RUSS-coded units: these will include the mandatory language requirement | |||||
List A | |||||
Czech Language 2 Not available in this year | RUSS20029 | 20 | Mandatory | ||
Migrations of Culture | MODL20024 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
List B: Choose 20 CP from either list B or list D | |||||
Literature 1740-1900 | ENGL20063 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Italian Cinema: Genre and Social Change | ITAL29007 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Woman and Nation | MODL23017 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Transforming the Tragic Hero(ine): 1770-1840 | GERM20044 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Russian Orthodox Culture | RUSS20044 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel | RUSS20069 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
General Linguistics | MODL20016 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Race, Gender, and Intersectionality in Twenty-First Century France: Cultural Production, Politics, and Identity | FREN20072 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
List C: Take 20 CP from this list | |||||
Myth | CLAS20065 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Shakespeare | ENGL20068 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
British Cinema and Television | FATV20001 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Introduction to French Cinema | FREN20056 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
French Thought | FREN20068 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Transforming the Tragic Hero(ine): 1770-1840 | GERM20044 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Italian Fascism | ITAL20045 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel | RUSS20069 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Russian Orthodox Culture | RUSS20044 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Italian Cinema: Genre and Social Change | ITAL29007 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Decolonisation | HIST20116 | 20 | Optional | C | TB-2 |
Revolutionary Russia, 1881-1917 | RUSS20066 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
List D: Choose 20 CP from either list D or list B | |||||
Legacy | CLAS20067 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Literature 1900-present | ENGL20064 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
French Fiction: from Realism to the 21st Century | FREN20048 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Francophone African Literature | FREN20069 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
From Judgement to Trial: Selected Works by Franz Kafka | GERM20049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Historical Linguistics | MODL20017 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Popular Representation and Institutions of Culture | MODL20026 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Fairy Tales Across Borders | MODL20029 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Revolutionary Russia, 1881-1917 | RUSS20066 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Popular Representation and Institutions of Culture | MODL20026 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
List E: Take 20 CP from this list | |||||
French Fiction: from Realism to the 21st Century | FREN20048 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Transforming the Tragic Hero(ine): 1770-1840 | GERM20044 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Contemporary Latin(x) American Poetry | HISP20115 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
World Cinemas: from national to transnational | MODL23016 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Body, Gender and Religion | THRS20192 | 20 | Optional | E | TB-2 |
Performing the Archive: Re-use, Re-enactment and Adaptation | THTR20012 | 20 | Optional | C,E | TB-2 |
Introduction to Spanish Peninsular literature since 1850 | HISP20121 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
From Judgement to Trial: Selected Works by Franz Kafka | GERM20049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Contemporary Latin(x) American Poetry | HISP20115 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Diploma of Higher Education | 120 |
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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