We are delighted to announce that from 1 July 2021 the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures will change its name to the Department of Languages, Cultures and Film.
This change reflects the growing strength of Film Studies within the Department, which is one of our six subject areas (Chinese, Film, French, German, Iberian and Latin American Studies, and Italian).
The relationship between languages and film in the Department is particularly strong, and we are excited to develop this further. The Film Studies programme offers a wide range of modules in international cinema, covering themes such as Italian crime films, German expressionism, innovations in Asian cinema, digital culture in the Americas, cinema and narratives in French Society, Spanish film and television, and much more. While departmental expertise in diverse languages and cultures provides access to a rich diversity of international cinema, the study of film in turn proves central to language-learning. Not only does it provide an immersive medium for teaching about the cultures and histories of different countries, but it also enables language-learners to hone essential aural and oral skills.
This comes at a time when the importance of language-learning and intercultural communication has never been so critical. As the pandemic in particular has emphasised, we live in an increasingly interconnected world, in which communication and cultural understanding across societies is more important than ever before. The newly-named Department of Languages, Cultures and Film will make a strong contribution here, by training highly-skilled linguists and culturally sensitive experts who will be equipped to communicate on a global scale.