Department of Spanish and Portuguese
 Velázquez's "Sibyl with Tabula Rasa" ("Sibila con tábula rasa"), c. 1648, Meadows Museum, Dallas (©). |
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Postgraduate Courses
The Department of Spanish and Portuguese very much welcomes postgraduate students, both at the level of MPhil (Masters) and at the level of PhD (Doctorate). We are one of the largest Hispanic and Lusophone departments in the UK, and one of the most highly ranked departments for research.
The Department offers a wide selection of specialized MPhil seminars that allow you to explore some of the most important periods and aspects of Hispanic and Lusophone culture from an extensive range of theoretical and critical perspectives: Middle Ages, Golden Age, Modern Peninsular, Portuguese and Lusophone, Catalan, Latin American Studies and Hispanic Linguistics. Members of the Department who teach on these courses specialize in a broad variety of topics and areas of research.
We offer our graduates expert teaching, and the research interests of individual students is developed through tailored one-to-one supervisions. Students interested in pursuing an MPhil or a PhD in Spanish, Catalan, Linguistics, Lusophone and Latin American Studies will find an outstanding group of supervisors to work with, and are encouraged to contact members of the Department to discuss how their particular research projects might be pursued.
Postgraduates here enjoy the facilities of one of the most important University Libraries of the country. In addition to this, it should be noted that there are several funding opportunities to support their research, both through the University and the Colleges: AHRC-funded Studentships; Gibson Spanish Scholarship (up to £3,000); J B Trend Travel Fund (travel grants). There are many other funding sources aside from these ones offered by the Department, especially through colleges.
MPhil Courses
(1) One-year MPhil in European Literature and Culture (includes Latin American). This MPhil is taught by the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages (MML) as a whole, and consists of a Core Course in literary theory, culture and literary analysis plus a wide choice of modules, assessed by coursework and dissertation. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese runs six of these modules:
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Al-Andalus and España: Translation and Tolerance. This module studies the relationship between Muslim culture and Iberia, considering them not as separate entities but rather as inextricably linked.
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Golden Age Literature and Culture: The Baroque Wonderment. This module explores the complexity of Baroque culture in the light of the epistemological revolution of Early Modern Europe and its artistic consequences.
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Latin American Literary Culture. This module provides an in-depth view of a series of specialist topics in Latin American Culture: e.g., urban post/modernity in literature and art, popular culture, writing and dictatorship, women’s writing, gender and the ‘boom’.
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Latin American Film and Visual Arts. This module offers students the opportunity to analyse some of the most exciting films, photography, architecture and art to have emerged in Latin America in the 20th and 21st Centuries.
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Realities, Concepts and Representations of Wrongdoing in Spain (13c to 20c). This module offers a transhistorical approach to the different ranges of social wrongdoing, their conceptual discussion and artistic represen-tation.
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Iberian Voices. This module analyses the interplay between the different cultures that define modern Peninsular art and thought, especially Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese.
See also the following ‘pathways’ through the MPhil in European Literature:
(2) One-year MPhil in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. This MPhil is taught by the Department of Linguistics and the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages (MML). The Department of Spanish and Portuguese runs one module:
- M.Phil. in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics Hispanic Pathway. The Hispanic Pathway allows students to specialise in the linguistics of the Hispanic languages in the context of general theoretical linguistics. It aims to give students the research skills and necessary intellectual background in Hispanic and general linguistics to allow them to pursue independent research on Hispanic linguistics.
(3) One-year MPhil in Screen Media and Cultures. This MPhil focuses on the interdisciplinary study of film and media, with a focus on moving images. It consists of a Core Course designed to give students a broad insight into moving image theory and culture, plus a wide range of modules taught by staff from Modern and Medieval Languages and a range of other Departments. The course is assessed by three course essays and a dissertation. The Department of Spanish and Portuguese runs one module:
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Latin American Film and Visual Arts. This module offers students the opportunity to analyse some of the most exciting films to have emerged in Latin America in the 20th and 21st Centuries.
PhD
The Department is formed by some of the leading experts in topics such as Medieval studies, Golden Age, Modern Peninsular, Latin American, Catalan culture, Hispanic Linguistics, Lusophone literature and art. Between them they have offered superision in research for the PhD on an exciting range of topics, and welcome enquiries from potential research students.
Student response to our programme has been enthusiastic throughout the years and we have provided a unique training to support the personal and academic development of many young scholars who are currently holding academic jobs in different centres in the UK and abroad. Please click here to read the comments of some of our alumni.
Other links:
- Current and former Ph.D. students
- A Research Guide for new students
- Graduate Studies in MML
- Board of Graduate Studies Prospectus
- Funding opportunities: Gibson Spanish Scholarship and J B Trend Travel Fund
