Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and English

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

BA Comparative Literatures and Cultures and French gives you an unmatched opportunity to study international cultural production in depth and breadth. You will study global literatures and cultures in comparative frameworks that draw on methodologies from textual, cultural and visual studies, as well as from translation, philosophy, history, social science and critical theory. Texts will be read in English translation.

Core units in years one and two currently include What is Comparative Literature and How Do We Practise It?; Introduction to Visual Cultures; Popular Representation and Institutions of Culture; Migrations of Culture.

Additionally, you will have a wide choice of optional units based in the culture of a single language or a combination of cultures. Teaching is informed by staff research interests and you will be taught by experts in their fields. 

You will spend your third year in a French-speaking country, where you will undertake university study, a British Council assistantship or a work placement. You will follow a programme of study in French, developing linguistic skills so that you can communicate easily orally and in writing. For more information about the year abroad visit Global Opportunities.

In your final year you will complete an innovative, supervised, independent project consisting of an extended essay on a topic of your choice and a public-facing element presented to the entire cohort, e.g. prospectus, interview, museum catalogue entries, newspaper article.

This programme encourages attributes highly valued by employers, including intercultural understanding, analytical and critical thinking, clarity and self confidence in communication, an aptitude for collaborative work, and creativity. It will instil habits of curiosity, openness, rigour, self reflection and evidence-based thinking, preparing you for careers within a wide variety of sectors.

This joint honours degree allows you to study two complementary disciplines, both of which ask you to think carefully about texts in their broader cultural and historical contexts.

This course combines the broad historical knowledge and well-developed research skills gained in a history degree with the in-depth cultural awareness and advanced linguistic skills that come from studying modern languages.

You will join two large departments with researchers in a great diversity of fields and will be encouraged to develop expertise and research skills relevant to both disciplines while also considering the relationships between them.

Your third year will be spent abroad, where you will have the opportunity to explore these intersections in the distinct cultural and social context of a French-speaking country while studying or working. Those who choose to study at a university will be advised to select history-based options and those who opt for work placements will be encouraged to seek placements in the heritage sector. For further details of year abroad opportunities visit Global Opportunities.

You will get the chance to explore these intersections independently in a dissertation in your fourth year. You will be required to write a historically minded dissertation using some sources written in French.

The combined knowledge of history, language and culture will mean you are uniquely placed to foster and lead intercultural communication across national boundaries, a skill that is increasingly sought after in a globalised economy.

This joint honours degree combines a full course in music with the study of French language, literature and culture.

Music offers a broad range of units in musicology, composition and performance across diverse styles and genres. These are complemented by weekly concerts, regular masterclasses and performances in the department and opportunities to get involved in the dynamic music scene in the city of Bristol. The department is exceptionally friendly and welcoming and staff run ensembles and perform with students.

French is the first language of some 90 million speakers around the world. Francophone countries offer diverse and stimulating cultures for study and the importance of French in European business and diplomacy makes knowledge of the language and associated culture both necessary and rewarding. 

You will spend your third year abroad in a French-speaking environment, which will enable you to refine your language skills and cultural knowledge.

Both departments encourage strong synergy between research and teaching, as well as stimulating performance opportunities in music, resulting in a vibrant learning environment for students as staff respond in their teaching to new research. Our courses offer an enriching experience with exciting intellectual challenges.

This joint honours degree explores different ways of developing an understanding of crucial issues within public and social life. It combines the focus of social policy on wellbeing with sociology’s insight into how contemporary societies operate.

Both departments encourage strong synergy between research and teaching, resulting in a vibrant learning environment as staff respond in their teaching to new research.

Sociology explores the structures of societies and how they constitute social patterns. This is crucial to our understanding of how different groups in society experience wellbeing, as well as the dynamics needed to change patterns of inequality.

In your social policy studies, you will focus on key issues such as inequality, risk, need, and the social processes and institutions that enhance or impair wellbeing. You will draw on social, political and economic theory to analyse and explore these in a global context.

You will also have the opportunity to spend half a year studying abroad at a partner university. Visit Global Opportunities to find out more about where you can study abroad.

This course allows you to specialise in the study of criminology within a social policy degree. It explores the nature, extent and causes of crime, justice, social harm and deviance in national and international contexts, as well as examining the policy responses to them within a broader conceptual and theoretical framework of social policy and related social science subjects.

The course seeks to address key questions such as: what are the serious crimes and other social harms that people experience? Why do they occur? How effective are criminal justice systems, policymakers and governments in tackling and responding to crimes and social harms? 

You will take compulsory first-year units that introduce you to the theoretical and conceptual debates about the meaning and existence of crime, harm and deviance in contemporary society, the way that crime is understood and represented and the range of responses to various crimes. In the second and third years you will learn about key thinkers in criminology and the policy responses to harm then select from optional units, which may include: Criminology Placement; Youth, Sexualities and Gendered Violence; Youth Justice; Punishment in Society; Globalisation, Crime Harm and Justice; Climate Emergency; Harms of the Powerful; Violence, Conflict and Forced Migration; Drugs and Society; and Understanding 'Terrorism'.