BA Italian and Spanish / Course details

You will study 60 credits from each discipline

Italian

• In Year 1 Italian language instruction is divided between 'ab initio' and post-A-level groups (with the majority of students being beginners). 'Ab initio' students have four contact hours per week with their nominated Italian teacher as part of a course specifically designed to build confidence in comprehension, writing, speaking and listening skills. Post-A-level students have 3 hours consolidating and building competency on specific language points.All first year students also have an additional linguistics hour, introducing them to the history and structures of the Italian language.
• Culture units cover topics from the filmic and literary to the historic and linguistic, all of which reflect academic staff research interests. Year 1 is specifically designed to begin furnishing candidates with the tools to enable them to read cultural products with confidence, be they texts, pictures, buildings or linguistic constructions.

Spanish

• In the first year of your course, you are trained in the modern spoken and written Spanish language through compulsory core courses and you will learn about key developments in the history and culture of Spain and Latin America.

You will take only the language units relevant to your level of language in each year of study.

You may choose to study up to two thirds from either discipline or maintain equal weighting.

Italian

• In Year 2, the core language component builds on the grammar topics covered in Year 1, in order to prepare you for the year abroad. Both the post-beginners and post-A-level language modules have three contact hours per week in addition to working on set assignments and undertaking private study.
• Your course units in second year are more specialized than in first year, allowing you to explore a diverse range of subjects and approaches. Current options include the Italian Renaissance and Italian Fascism.
• All our culture units have three contact hours per week and are augmented by materials and content placed in the units' Blackboard virtual learning environment.
• Our modules are assessed by a variety of different coursework assessment types, including essays and commentaries, book reviews, reports, presentations, and innovative digital projects such as group curated exhibitions.

Spanish

• You follow a compulsory Spanish language course unit, refining your skills in written and spoken Spanish.
• You can take units in the culture and history of the Spanish-speaking world chosen from a list, which includes options such as the study of Latin American History, writing women in the Spanish Golden Age, the Cold War in Latin America, and visual cultures in Modern Spain.

Your third year of study is  spent abroad  under approved conditions.

You may choose to divide your studies equally between both languages or study up to two thirds from either language.

Italian

• In Year 4, you build on the linguistic authenticity acquired abroad in the core language unit, and can choose from a range of specialized content course units. The final year language course develops your core skills to an advanced level, including translation into English, writing different kinds of target-language texts, and oral work including discussion of texts, debates, and presentations. The language component of the course comprises three contact hours per week, in addition to working on set assignments and undertaking private study.
• Course units available in final year are closely related to the research interests of individual members of staff, in areas such as romance linguistics, Renaissance Florence, Italy and the Grand Tour, book history, and the political and cultural history of Italy.
• You will also be able to undertake a research-orientated dissertation in Italian (often using the primary sources held in the Rylands Library, which has outstanding Italian holdings) and to participate in the Italian department's mentoring and outreach programmes. 

Spanish

• Continue your studies of the Spanish language and perfect your writing and oral skills.
• Choose from a wide range of options, including the study of the supernatural in Latin American literature and film, the multi-ethnic condition of Latin American societies, and visual culture from the early modern Hispanic world.

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk