Bachelor of Arts (BA)

BA Spanish and Portuguese

Gain specialist language and culture skills with a focus on Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

  • Duration: 4 years
  • Year of entry: 2025
  • UCAS course code: RRK5 / Institution code: M20
  • Key features:
  • Study abroad
  • Study with a language

Full entry requirementsHow to apply

Fees and funding

Fees

Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.

Policy on additional costs

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

Scholarships/sponsorships

Course unit details:
Introduction to the Cultures of the Lusophone World

Course unit fact file
Unit code SPLA10130
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 1
Teaching period(s) Full year
Available as a free choice unit? No

Overview

This unit provides a cultural and historical introduction to the Lusophone world, paying particular attention to the diverse cultures that emerged from Portugal’s maritime expansion in the 15th and 16th centuries.  It focuses on foundational texts and films from across history that define cultural identities in Portugal, Brazil and Lusophone Africa, analysing the representation of colonial and anti-colonial experiences in these works.  It also introduces students to some key literary and cultural figures in the Lusophone world. 

Pre/co-requisites

This course is not available as a free-choice option and can only be taken by students who are also taking SPLA52010 (Portuguese Language 1) or SPLA52020 (Portuguese Language 2). Co-requisites for post A-Level: SPLA52030 (Portuguese Language 3).

Aims

  • To introduce students to the diverse cultural expression of the Lusophone world, including key writers and artists 
  • To emphasise changes to the logic of Portuguese colonialism in different places and at different times 
  • To provide a background for contextual study of modern colonial and postcolonial cultures 
  • To afford insights into the ways in which literature worked to reinforce, resist and rewrite the dominant ideas and practices that emanated from Portuguese colonialism and Brazilian nationalism at different points in history

Syllabus

Below is an indicative list of texts to be studied on this unit:

Semester 1: Portugal and Lusophone Africa  

Introduction to Portuguese maritime expansion

Luís de Camões, “The Old Man of Restelo” and “The Isle of Love” from Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads)

Zezé Gamboa, O Herói (film)

Chianca de Garcia, A Aldeia da Roupa Branca (The Village with the White Clothes) (film).

Luís Bernardo Honwana, Nós Matámos o Cão-Tinhoso (We Killed Mangy Dog) (selected stories).

José Saramago, A Jangada de Pedra (The Stone Raft)

Semester 2: Brazil  

Introduction: the discovery of Brazil.  Pêro Vaz de Caminha, Letter on the Discovery of Brazil.

José de Alencar, Iracema

Oswald de Andrade, Manifesto Antropófago

Aluísio Azevedo, O Cortiço

 

dir. Anna Muylaert. The Second Mother

Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Como era gostoso o meu francês (How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman) (film).

Revision 

Teaching and learning methods

  • Lecture
  • Seminar
  • Film screenings 

Knowledge and understanding

  • Demonstrate knowledge of Portuguese maritime and colonial history and its legacies
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the processes that led to Brazilian independence and to its post-independence search for national and cultural identity 
  • Relate this knowledge to key texts and films from the Age of Discoveries to the present day 

Intellectual skills

  • Develop close reading skills and the ability to contextualise historically 
  • Engage with and analyse literary and cinematic texts 
  • Improve reading knowledge of Portuguese 

Practical skills

  • Communicate more effectively orally and in writing 
  • Organise time efficiently and prepare work in advance 
  • Present work well and use referencing systems correctly 

Transferable skills and personal qualities

  • Work in a team 
  • Show enhanced intercultural understanding 
  • Evaluate material critically 
  • Work to deadlines 

Employability skills

Other
Students will develop their communicative skills by writing and debating ideas in a clear, concise and coherent manner. They will also cultivate their ability to analyse, evaluate and critique a wide range of material. They will improve their knowledge of the Portuguese language and be able to demonstrate a broad understanding of Lusophone culture and history.

Assessment methods

Assessment TaskFormative or SummativeWeighting within unit (if summative)
EssayFormative and Summative50%
EssaySummative50%
CommentaryFormative 

 

Resit Assessment:

Exam

 

Feedback methods

Feedback method

Formative or Summative

Oral feedback on group presentations

Formative and Summative

Written feedback on both coursework essays, and a one-to-one feedback session (during office hours/by appointment)

Formative and Summative

 

Recommended reading

David Birmingham, A Concise History of Portugal (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993). HD.  

Boris Fausto, A Concise History of Brazil (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 1999).  HD 

Prem Poddar, Rajeev S. Patke and Lars Jensen, eds. A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures. Continental Europe and its Empires (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008)  

Patrick Chabal et al., A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002). HD 

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 22
Seminars 11
Independent study hours
Independent study 167

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
David Bailey Unit coordinator

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