1. Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures
  2. School of Languages, Cultures and Societies
  3. Undergraduate
  4. Modern Languages and International Relations (German)

Modern Languages and International Relations (German)

The list shown below represents typical modules/components studied if you choose German as your language pathway.

For information on typical modules for International Relations, please check the course page.

These modules may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions.

Year 1

Compulsory modules

Students with prior knowledge of German (B1 CEFR) will be required to study the following module:

  • Researching German Culture, History and Society (20 credits) - Doing research is exciting, stimulating and thought-provoking. While it can also be challenging and frustrating, it gives you a profound sense of intellectual satisfaction. This module will introduce you to researching German culture, history, politics and society. This module kickstarts your career as a student researcher by engaging you in research from the first week of your degree. You will learn how to gather information, how to explain and discuss it and how to use it in developing your own ideas. You will learn and apply these skills through encountering a wide range of ideas, themes and approaches that have shaped the study of Germany past and present. You will also gain an insight into significant developments in 20th and 21st-century German culture and society through exploring selected issues.

Students who have no prior knowledge of the language will be required to study the following modules:

  • Pre-Intermediate German Language (A2/B1 of the CEFR) (20 credits) - This module enables students who have completed an A1 CEFR level to develop their language skills up to A2/B1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Students will build on their German language skills to further develop all four areas of language learning (listening, speaking, reading and writing) as well as their German grammar and vocabulary. Particular focus is put on consolidating oral language skills and building the confidence in oral speech production necessary for the successful completion of the module.Students will develop confidence and a degree of accuracy when using the language in oral and written communication in a range of familiar situations. The module also aims to support students' interest in German-speaking countries and deepen their knowledge and understanding of those.

  • Researching German Culture, History and Society (For Beginners) (20 credits) - Doing research is exciting, stimulating and thought-provoking. While it can also be challenging and frustrating, it gives you a profound sense of intellectual satisfaction. This module will introduce you to researching German culture, history, politics and society. This module kickstarts your career as a student researcher by engaging you in research from the first week of your degree. You will learn how to gather information, how to explain and discuss it and how to use it in developing your own ideas. You will learn and apply these skills through encountering a wide range of ideas, themes and approaches that have shaped the study of Germany past and present. You will also gain an insight into significant developments in 20th- and 21st-century German culture and society through exploring selected issues.

  • Politics, Culture and Society (20 credits) - What are the key debates that shape the practice of politics at international level? How can theory helps us better understand and analyse the practice of politics in the world today? How can awareness of differing cultural and intercultural perspectives help us better understand contemporary international politics? This module will introduce these themes and explore them in relation to a range of issues drawn from around the world. Because they are shaped by the current research interests of the staff teaching the module, the precise topics covered will vary from year to year. 

Optional modules

  • 20th Century German History (20 credits) – 20th-century German history is full of dramatic upheavals with often radical and even disastrous consequences. In the 21st century, Hitler, the Nazi dictatorship, the Second World War and the Holocaust remain focal points that stimulate and shape our interest in German culture. The complex origins, brutal reality and long-lasting legacy of the Third Reich are an important and fascinating subject matter. However, some of the underlying issues manifest in Nazi Germany, such as the desire for national unity or the quest for a specifically German political order, have a wider significance for modern German history.

Year 2

Optional modules

  • German Language Skills in Context (20 credits) – Building on the skills attained at Level 1, students will develop the knowledge and skills required for successful oral and written communication in a variety of registers and contexts including daily life in Germany, Switzerland and Austria but also prepare for the sort of paperwork and everyday cultural challenges which they could expect to face in a German-speaking environment. Furthermore, students will broaden their specialist vocabulary and gain an understanding of variations in register and rhetorical strategies, which they can apply to their own written and spoken and German.

  • German Language Skills (B1/B2 of the CEFR) (20 credits)

  • Behind the Headlines: the German-speaking World in the 21st Century (20 credits)

  • Culture, Critique and Othering in the German-Speaking World (20 credits)

  • Behind the Headlines: Germany in the 21st Century (20 credits)

  • Translating German-Speaking Cultures: The German Language in Intercultural Relations (20 credits)

Year 3

Compulsory modules

  • German Year Abroad (120 credits)

Year 4

Compulsory modules

  • Advanced German Language in Contemporary Discourses (20 credits) - You are now on a very advanced level of German and this module will enable you to further develop your language skills and your use of German language, especially in academic and professional contexts. You will explore the details of the German language by studying German current affairs and discourses. You will practice advanced grammar as well as subject-specific and academic vocabulary by applying your speaking and writing skills in a range of situations.

  • Final Year Project - Dissertation, Extended Translation, or Digital Documentary (e.g. Podcast) (40 credits) - This may be produced in either English or, subject to the approval of the Module Leader and project supervisor, the Target Language. Lectures and workshops provide the skills training necessary, whereas more specific guidance is provided through one to one supervision with a member of staff.

Optional modules

  • Advanced Translation from German into English (20 credits)

  • Cultures of protest and resistance: challenging state and society in German-speaking cultures (20 credits)

  • Representing the Holocaust: Transgression and the Taboo (20 credits)

  • Contemporary World Literature (20 credits)

  • Material Cultures and Cultures of Consumption (20 credits)

  • Adventures of the Imagination: Crime and the Fantastic Across Continents (20 credits)

  • Decolonial Approaches (20 credits)

  • Social Movements across Cultures (20 credits)

  • Minoritised Languages, Dialects and Cultures from Past to Present (20 credits)

  • Linguists into Schools (20 credits)