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Lancaster’s joint Chinese Studies and Film degree is taught by the School of Global Affairs in conjunction with Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA).
Your Chinese Studies programme enables you to acquire Chinese language skills at beginner level, while gaining a thorough understanding of China's historical, cultural, social and political background in a global context.
In Film, you’ll examine cinema’s aesthetic, social and political importance in the context of an increasingly visual and media-orientated global culture, tracing the development of film from its origins as a technical novelty in the late 19th century through to its emergence as one of the most influential art forms of the 20th and early 21st century. You will study cinema history and the social significance of films and will develop a detailed understanding of the techniques of film production. Alongside this investigation of the theory and history of cinema, students have the opportunity to make their own digital film in all three years of the course either individually or as part of a group, drawing on our excellent technical resources and dedicated technician support.
Your first year comprises an exploration of the Chinese language and its cultural context as well as an introduction to Film Studies. Alongside this, you will study a minor subject from a list of subjects provided to you.
Building on your language skills in Year 2, you will study one Chinese Oral Skills module and one Chinese Written Skills module at the same level of proficiency. In addition, you will study the culture, of the Chinese-speaking world in more depth as well as select a module which is international in scope and which promotes a comparative understanding at a global level. You will combine these with Film modules.
Spending your third year - the International Placement Year - abroad in a Chinese-speaking country makes a major contribution to your command of the language, while deepening your intercultural sensitivity. You can study at a partner institution and practise your language skills in a real-world context. Staff members within the department will work with you to ensure that you are fully prepared before embarking on your placement in a Chinese-speaking country.
In your final year, you will consolidate your Chinese language skills and study language-specific or specialist culture and comparative modules You will also select from Film modules. You will have opportunities to combine your interests in both subjects in longer, supervised projects.
You can find some examples of optional modules in the Course Structure section below.
Our student Wiktoria Wilk talks about her work placement in China, which she did voluntarily as part of her International Placement Year. Students who study Chinese as a major subject are required to spend a period of time in a Chinese-speaking country during their degree.
Our degrees offer flexibility...
with your International Placement Year enabling you to study at a partner institution, conduct a work placement, teach with the British Council, or a combination of these. Many degree schemes incorporate a minor in other subjects to complement your major subject. Our distinctive approach to undergraduate language degrees gives you the opportunity to acquire both high-level language skills and a thorough understanding of languages, cultures and societies within a global context.
Spending a year abroad...
is an integral and assessed part of our language degrees. It gives you the opportunity to improve your language proficiency, broaden your cultural knowledge and gain transferable skills that are much valued by employers.
The International Placement Year is compulsory for students taking Chinese or other languages at major level.
When you arrive in Lancaster...
you might not have a plan for after you graduate, but when you're ready to take the next step, we're here to help you. Studying a language strengthens your written and oral communication competence, your organisational skills, your aptitude in analysing and synthesising information, your ability to contribute to discussions and suggest ideas, and your understanding of other countries and cultures in a global world.
Film Studies at Lancaster University
Cutting-edge production facilities, a strong theoretical grounding, and a global perspective on film. Hear what Film Studies at Lancaster University could offer to you.
Students at work
You’ll be developing your practical skills in our film production modules by experimenting with narrative films or documentaries. We provide top-of-the-line production equipment so you can create your own original content.
Practical experience
You will have the opportunity to produce short films in all three years of your study.
Interesting surroundings
Make use of Lancaster’s stunning surroundings for the perfect film setting – cityscape, rural backdrop or coastal charm.
Film production
Gain practical film-making skills and an understanding of film production.
Production equipment
We provide top-of-the-line production equipment so you can create your own original content. Enjoy 24/7 access to our editing suites and specialist equipment, including cinema-ready digital cameras.
Showcase your films
Every year our final year students showcase their films in a major degree show exhibition, that is open to the public.
Languages and Cultures at Lancaster University
Study up to three languages of your choice and be supported to take an International Placement Year in Europe or beyond. Our students explain what you could experience studying Languages and Cultures at Lancaster University.
Careers
As well as language and subject-related skills, a degree in languages develops rich interpersonal, intercultural, cognitive and transferable skills that can be utilised across a variety of careers such as accountancy, IT, e-commerce, business development, community engagement, civil service, events management, finance, journalism and publishing, as well as teaching and translating both in the UK and abroad. Film graduates may go on to roles in TV or independent film production and jobs in advertising, marketing and media production, arts administration and management.
Many graduates continue their studies at Lancaster in areas such as humanities and interdisciplinary research, making the most of our excellent postgraduate research facilities. We offer Master's degrees in Translation, Languages and Cultures, as well as MA and PhD research degrees in Film Studies or Arts Management.
Entry requirements
Grade Requirements
A Level ABB
Required Subjects A level Chinese, and evidence of language learning ability such as AS grade B or A level grade B in another foreign language, or GCSE grade A in a foreign language. Native Mandarin speakers will not be accepted onto this scheme.
IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 5.5 in each component. For other English language qualifications we accept, please see our English language requirements webpages.
Other Qualifications
International Baccalaureate 32 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 Higher Level subjects including appropriate evidence of language ability
BTEC Distinction, Distinction, Merit accepted alongside appropriate evidence of language ability
We welcome applications from students with a range of alternative UK and international qualifications, including combinations of qualification. Further guidance on admission to the University, including other qualifications that we accept, frequently asked questions and information on applying, can be found on our general admissions webpages.
Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.
Contextual admissions
Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.
Course structure
Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and some which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism.
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
This module will introduce you to key methods, tools and critical concepts used by academics to understand a broad range of creative work, its discussion and practice historically and today. Through a combination of lectures and seminars, you are encouraged to think of yourself as a "creative critic" who uses intelligent observations about the creative world to inform your own practice of writing and making.
This module is intended to provide you with the essential knowledge and competencies to undertake the academic study of film at university level. The first term provides you with an understanding of the formal and technical composition of films to allow you to undertake detailed analysis of films, from the level of close scrutiny of individual images, and their interrelation with the soundtrack, to the narrative assembly of shots and scenes.
Through the analysis of a range of examples, you will be given the opportunity to become familiar with the key formal and semantic conventions of cinema. The second term aims to provide you with a framework knowledge of world film history. By focusing on a selection of key films and filmmakers, this section of the module will explore historically significant movements and themes within international cinema from the 1960s to the present day.
This term is thematically organized around issues of ideology and realism, and explores the shifting social and political status of cinema during the last century. In the third term you will undertake a practical project, working with a small group to produce a short film.
This module is designed for students who have already completed an A-level in Chinese or whose Chinese is of a broadly similar standard. The language element aims to enable students both to consolidate and improve their skills in spoken and written Chinese. A further aim is to provide students with an introduction to the historical and cultural development of China in the past, and also to contemporary institutions and society.
Seminars are based on a textbook, and emphasis is placed on the acquisition of vocabulary and a firm grasp of Chinese grammatical structures. You will have the opportunity to develop listening and speaking skills through discussions and activities and with the support of audio and visual materials.
You are given the chance to examine how key moments in Chinese history have shaped contemporary Chinese culture. We will look at examples including films, plays, and novels.
Would you like to be able to communicate using Mandarin Chinese? Do you want to acquire key elements to become an expert of Chinese culture, society, and institutions? We focus on teaching absolute beginners how to speak, listen, and read so you can confidently use day-to-day Chinese. You’ll also be given the opportunity to learn about Chinese culture, history, and contemporary society.
You will have the opportunity to learn Chinese pronunciation and intonation, the basics of Chinese grammar, key sentence structures, and insights about the graphical element of writing, such as the significance of types of strokes, radicals, and their ancestral meaning.
To explore Chinese culture, you are given the chance to examine how key moments in Chinese history have shaped contemporary Chinese culture. We will look at examples including films, plays, and novels.
All first year language programmes are supported by a module designed to offer students further opportunities to expand and consolidate their knowledge and skills base. The module is non-credit bearing but students are expected to participate so as to acquire complementary skills useful in areas such as, essay-writing, expanding vocabulary, diversity of learning styles and engaging with culture, alongside other useful strategies to enhance autonomous language learning outside the classroom.
Optional
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This module introduces you to university-level study of the arts, and their contexts and interrelations. In this first block, during the first term, students on the Film, Art, Design, and Theatre programmes will work together in mixed seminar groups to explore the different ways in which creative practitioners respond to the world around them. You will be introduced to key critical concepts used by academics to understand the role of creative work historically and today.
This module is designed to supplement and enhance the essential knowledge and skills covered in “Introduction to Film Studies”, and develops the study skills that you will require as you progress through the course. It will be taught through lectures, seminars and weekly screenings of case study films, including themes such as Hitchcock and silent cinema in Britain, the Ealing comedies of the 1950’s, the James Bond Franchise, and contemporary Asian British cinema.
Core
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This module comprises of both oral and aural skills, to be taken alongside the corresponding Written Language module. It builds upon skills gained in the first year.
The module aims to enhance students’ linguistic proficiency in spoken Chinese in a range of formal and informal settings (both spontaneous and prepared). Specific attention will be given to developing good, accurate pronunciation and intonations as well as fluency, accuracy of grammar, and vocabulary when speaking the language.
This module also aims at broadening students’ knowledge about different aspects of modern Chinese-speaking societies, politics and culture, and contemporary issues and institutions.
By the end of this module, we hope you will have enhanced your comprehension of the spoken language, as used in both formal speech, and in everyday life situations including those that they may encounter in Chinese-speaking countries.
This module comprises of both oral and aural skills, to be taken alongside the corresponding Written Language module. It builds upon skills gained in the first year of the Intensive course. Students who have taken the Intensive language course in their first year, normally follow this course throughout the second year.
The module aims to enhance students’ linguistic proficiency in spoken Chinese in a range of formal and informal settings (both spontaneous and prepared). Specific attention will be given to developing good, accurate pronunciation and intonations well as fluency, accuracy of grammar, and vocabulary when speaking the language.
This module also aims at broadening students’ knowledge about different aspects of modern society, politics and culture, and contemporary issues and institutions in order to prepare them for residence abroad in their 3rd year.
By the end of this module, students will have had the opportunity to enhance their comprehension of the spoken language, as used in both formal speech, and in everyday life situations including those that they may encounter in Chinese-speaking countries.
This module comprises of reading and writing skills to be taken alongside the Oral Skills module.
This module aims to consolidate skills gained by students in the first year of study, and enable them to build a level of competence and confidence required to familiarise themselves with the culture and society of countries where their studied language is spoken.
The module aims to enhance your proficiency in understanding written Chinese, as well as in the writing of Chinese (notes, reports, summaries, essays, projects, etc.) including translation from and into Chinese; and the systematic study of Chinese lexis, grammar and syntax.
The module aims to enhance your linguistic proficiency, with particular emphasis on reading a variety of sources and on writing fluently and accurately in the language, in a variety of registers.
This module comprises of reading and writing skills to be taken alongside the Oral Skills module.
This module aims to consolidate skills you have developed in the first year of study, and enable you to build a level of competence and confidence required to familiarise yourselves with the culture and society of countries where your studied language is spoken.
The module aims to enhance your proficiency in understanding spoken Chinese, as well as in the writing of Chinese (notes, reports, summaries, essays, projects, etc.) including translation from and into Chinese; and the systematic study of Chinese lexis, grammar and syntax.
The module aims to enhance your linguistic proficiency, with particular emphasis on reading a variety of sources and on writing fluently and accurately in the language, in a variety of registers.
This core module has two main objectives. Firstly, it is designed to develop further your analytical skills in order to examine individual films in greater detail. Secondly, it is intended to encourage you to understand world cinema in relation to a variety of social, cultural, political and industrial contexts.
The module will explore such issues as the relationship between film form and modes of production (from industrial film-making through to low-budget art film), theories of film style and aesthetics, and the political function of cinema.
The module consists of two interwoven strands, one strand focusing on various modes of American film production, the other exploring films from a number of different national traditions. Across the whole module, you will gain a thorough grasp not only of the historical factors shaping various national and international cinemas, but also of some key critical and theoretical concepts within the field of film studies.
This module is a non-credit bearing module. If you are a major student going abroad in your second or third year you are enrolled on it during the year prior to your departure, and timetabled to attend the events. These include: introduction to the International Placement Year and choice of activities; British Council English Language Assistantships and how to apply; introduction to partner universities and how they function; working in companies abroad; finance during the International Placement Year; research skills and questionnaire design; teaching abroad; curriculum writing and employability skills; and welfare and wellbeing.
This modules focuses on the ‘must-know’ historical moments, political events and aesthetic movements that shaped Chinese and Sinophone cultures in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
You will hone your skills in cultural analysis via diverse media as we explored four topics:
Revolutions and Reforms
Dreams and Futures
Walls and Spaces
Identities and Relationships
During the module, you'll consider themes such as power, resistance, trauma, aspirations, wellbeing, urbanisation, the urban/rural divide, migration, individualisation, collectivisation, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, and family. Texts, films and art will be studied in historical and cultural contexts, with due regard to relevant global trends such as imperialism, colonialism, postcolonialism, democracy, neoliberalism and nationalism.
During your journey through moments and movements across two centuries of Chinese cultural history, you'll encounter some of the most radical thinkers, writers, filmmakers and creative artists that make the Chinese-language intellectual tradition so distinctive and fascinating. You'll discover a stimulating range of cultural forms and learn how to reflect critically on them as expressions of multi-faceted, nuanced societies.
Optional
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Critical Reflections explores a number of key interdisciplinary philosophical and cultural concepts which will enable you to analyse, engage with, and reflect upon artworks in your own discipline. It also allows you to establish a common set of concepts which can be shared by students from all LICA subjects.
The structure of the module consists of six three-week blocks as follows:
Aesthetics
Experience
Post-structuralism
Marx and Post-Marx
Waves of Feminism
Thinking with the Earth (new materialism)
Regular plenary lectures make connections across the arts, and are supplemented by seminars/workshops which allow students to work in their subject groups (art, film, theatre, design) on ideas and examples specifically tailored towards these disciplines.
Documentary Film Practice is a practice-based module. You’ll work in small groups to make a short documentary film. In order to take this module you must have taken Documentary Cultures in your first year. The module builds on knowledge acquired.
By undertaking a practical project in Documentary Film Practice, students are expected to apply theoretical knowledge gained in the Documentary Cultures module to a practical project. As well as applying theory to practice, the module aims to enhance your filmmaking skills, with training provided for camera operation, sound recording and editing skills. You will also have the opportunity to develop skills in group work.
This module explores different approaches to both the analysis and the production of documentary film. As well as considering a range of styles of documentary film, typically including expository, poetic, observational, reflexive, political, and personal modes of documentary film, you will also examine key debates concerning the ethics of documentary filmmaking. An indicative list of film screenings includes Nanook of the North, Grey Gardens, Dont Look Back [sic], The Arbor, Sans Soleil, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Gleaners and I, and The Act of Killing.
The humanities were once regarded as having an intrinsic value. As disciplines devoted to the study of cultures and societies, the humanities enjoyed prestige as areas of inquiry that were uniquely placed to probe the human condition. But do the humanities still have a role to play in a world where science and technology appear to be driving political and social agendas? Can they help us address global challenges?
This module encourages you to engage with these questions by examining the history of the humanities in different linguistic and cultural contexts, by exploring the connection between the humanities and other disciplines across time and space, and by engaging with the tradition of critical thinking that is central to the identity of the discipline.
You will explore the intersection between the humanities and other disciplines with the aim of understanding what other disciplines can bring to study of art and, conversely, the value of art in our contemporary, outcome-driven world.
The module aims to develop an understanding of historically important European films from the 1950s to the 1980s and the stylistic and historical significance of these films. It will explore the thematic importance of these films and consider the critical debates relating to this period of filmmaking enabling students to develop a critical understanding of the conditions of production, reception and distribution of these films.
This module examines a historical genre that now occupies the economic centre of Hollywood film production. The module focuses centrally on film and comic book aesthetics; on questions of narration and visual depiction in these two related media; on the shifting norms of this film genre in relation to technological change across history; and on the significance and uses of the comic-book film in society. The module develops ideas and skills introduced in the core Film Studies modules taken as part of the film studies and combined degrees.
This third-year course will add to the theoretical, historical and cultural aspects of film investigated in Years 1 and 2, while focusing more closely on the challenging aesthetic and critical debates surrounding the concept of modernity. It will look at films made in the silent era, in post-war Europe and in Britain and the US. Writings on film will be considered in conjunction with viewings of particular films, close analysis of specific filmic techniques and methods, and historical and theoretical approaches to film. The course will also pay attention to the debates of classical and contemporary film theory, feminist approaches and other critical traditions (semiotics, structuralism, formalism, cognitivism). Students will be introduced to key debates in classical and contemporary film theory, with topics exploring the relations between film and art, cinema and politics, cinema and psychoanalysis, and, above all, the question of how films produce meaning(s).
This module seeks to support you to apply your linguistic and cultural understanding in a specific professional context. This module gives you the opportunity to spend time on a work-based placement in the UK or abroad. You will be given the opportunity to develop, reflect on and articulate both the range of competences and the linguistic and cross-cultural skills that enhance employability by working in language-related professional contexts and reflecting on key issues in relation to their placement organisation. There is the opportunity to join a local work placement developed by the department, or for you to source your own placements (subject to departmental approval). Workshops before and during the placement will provide preparation and guidance on sourcing, confirming and then reflecting on academic work. Students will share their experiences and learning with each other by means of end-of-module presentations.
This scriptwriting course is a dynamic and comprehensive exploration of the art and craft of writing for the screen. The module spans one term, delving into fundamental screenwriting skills, character development, effective storytelling, dialogue construction, and an understanding of the screenwriting industry.
Through a combination of theoretical lectures and practical workshops, students will develop original ideas and refine their scripts through a process of writing groups, "table reads," and peer feedback. By the end of the course each student will produce a short screenplay of 15-20 pages.
The course places a strong emphasis on industry awareness, offering insights into short film development funding opportunities, networking strategies, and the role of the screenwriter in film production. With a focus on continuous improvement, students not only hone their creative abilities but also cultivate professionalism in script submission, critical analysis, and effective verbal communication, preparing them for success in the ever-evolving landscape of the film industry.
How do films deal with topics such as immigration, environment, the posthuman and gender? Do they entertain viewers, instruct them, or both?
This module explores European, Latin American, and Chinese films in their social and historical contexts; the topics mentioned are the focus of key lectures and seminars. The module begins with introductory lectures on cinema and society and on film aesthetics and content. The main aim is to make connections between the films and such contexts, not only on the level of narrative, characterisation and dialogue, but also on that of form and technique.
This module explores cultural and theoretical approaches to queerness and LGBTQIA+ lives, identities, and politics across diverse linguistic and cultural contexts. It includes texts and artworks by philosophers, writers, filmmakers, and artists from the LGBTQIA+ community around the globe, asking how different queer voices and cultures have approached questions such as:
What does it mean to be queer or LGBTQIA+ today?
How are human experiences of gender, sexuality, and queer identity conceptualised and expressed?
How do queer people stand up against oppression and violence, and how have they in the past?
What might queer tomorrows look like?
How do LGBTQIA+ people and communities imagine the future?
The module explores key theoretical approaches in queer theory, and gender and sexuality studies, typically spanning cutting-edge fields such as queer environmentalism, postcolonial queer studies, transgender studies, intersex studies, and the queer medical humanities.
This module aims to give you a background to and insight into the diversity of twentieth and twenty-first century thought and contemporary definitions of culture.
Some key questions explored on the module include: What is 'culture' and how does it work? How do 'art' and 'culture' relate to each other? What do we mean when we talk about the production and consumption of culture? Why does popular culture arouse conflicting responses? What role does the body play in our understanding of culture? How does culture define who we are? Can a work of culture be an act of resistance?
With these questions in mind, this module focuses on texts which raise questions about class, race, gender, and subcultures.
The module encourages intercultural dialogue between students from different backgrounds and specifically welcomes Visiting and International students.
This module will explore the work of some of the most historically important female film-makers from the 1890s through to the present, considering films from around the globe. The module will examine the significant but often marginalized and obscured roles that women have played in industrial, experimental and avant-garde film production across a spectrum of roles from costume and production designers through to screen-writers, editors and directors. You will be invited to reflect upon the fact that, despite playing key roles in the development of the medium, women continue to be excluded at all levels of film production. The decision by Hollywood star and activist Geena Davis to establish a campaigning ‘Institute on Gender in Media’ is a measure of the urgency of this subject.
The module will engage with revisionist film histories concerned with interrogating the dominant bias of academic and popular histories of the medium; it will also draw on feminist film theory concerned both with a critical understanding of mainstream cinema and the development of politicized women’s cinemas. The module will examine a series of female directors and their work, and each week will be oriented around the screening of a case study film that will be the focus for the seminar. An example of directors included is Alice Guy-Blaché, Dorothy Arzner, Leni Riefenstahl, Ida Lupino, Laura Mulvey, Mira Nair, Kathryn Bigelow, Marziyeh Meshkini, Lynne Ramsay.
Assessment is by a combination of coursework essay and exam.
Core
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As part of The International Placement Year you will normally spend at least eight months abroad in your third year. You will have the opportunity to:
analyse the contemporary relevance of a tradition, contemporary social, political or economic issue, or a living part of the regional culture.
reflect critically on cultural differences observed in everyday life such as social relationships, politics, attitudes to food, drink, religion, etc., explaining them in the context of various historical, social and cultural developments.
think analytically about your intercultural position and understanding of the relevant culture(s).
reflect on language use (different registers, varieties of pronunciation and accents, dialects, vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, and aspects of grammar) and the process of the acquisition of skills in the relevant language(s).
The module also aims to enhance and develop your language skills, with all assessments being written in the target language. If you have started a language as a beginner in year one you will spend a minimum of four months in a country where that language is spoken. If you are a joint honours student who is studying two languages, you may choose to spend the year in either of the two countries concerned or, if appropriate arrangements can be made, you can spend a semester in each country.
Lancaster University will make reasonable endeavours to place students at an approved overseas partner. Students conduct either a study placement at a partner University, a teaching assistantship placement with the British Council or an appropriate working placement with a vetted employer abroad or a combination of placements (please note that there are some restrictions on British Council placements which usually last for the whole of the academic year).
Joint honours degrees
If you are a joint honours student who is combining a language with a non-language subject, your placement year will provide the opportunity to develop your language skills and cultural awareness, but will not necessarily relate to the non-language aspect of your degree.
Lancaster University cannot accept responsibility for any financial aspects of your International Placement Year.
Core
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This module includes authentic texts only slightly adapted from the originals, with a special focus on contemporary Chinese society and institutions. You will have the opportunity to learn how to communicate comprehensively and systematically using the appropriate expressions and language norms in the right context.
You’ll have the opportunity to develop your skills in understanding and joining political, academic and journalistic discussions using advanced Chinese language skills. An aim of this module is for you to be able to translate between English and Chinese and develop an idiomatic style of formal writing.
It’s not necessary to have studied the Part I, Chinese Language 2 or 3 modules in order to continue on to this module. However you must have reached a CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) B1-B2 level of Chinese proficiency.
This module is integrated with the Chinese Language 4 module.
This module has two main aims. The first one is to enhance your linguistic proficiency with emphasis on understanding of spoken and written Chinese, the speaking of Chinese (prepared and spontaneous) in both formal and informal settings, the writing of Chinese, and the systematic study of Chinese lexis, grammar and syntax. The second aim is to increase your awareness, knowledge and understanding of contemporary China.
By the end of this module we aim for you to have an informed interest in the society and culture of the Chinese-speaking world. You should also have acquired almost native-speaker abilities in both spoken and written language.
This is a non-credit bearing module aimed at preparation for coursework and employability. If you are a major student you will be timetabled to attend the events. These include areas such as returning to Lancaster, academic writing after the year abroad, careers information on graduate schemes and postgraduate study opportunities.
Optional
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This module explores the history and theory of African American cinema, primarily since the 1960s, focussing on the complicated relationship between this filmmaking tradition and mainstream (Hollywood) projections of blackness. Chronologically organized, it starts with the work of Oscar Micheaux and the “race” films of the 1920s and 1930s, ending with films made in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement, such as Dee Rees’s Pariah and Mudbound,Tyler Perry’s Madea franchise, Ava DuVernay’s Selma and 13th, Boots Riley’s Sorry to Bother You, and Ryan Cooglar’s Fruitvale Station and Black Panther.
On the way to the 21st century, you will examine the cross-over stardom of Sidney Poitier (In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner) in the context of the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, the rise of blaxploitation cinema (Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, Shaft, Superfly, Coffy and The Spook Who Sat by the Door) in the context of Black Power in the late 1960s and the political disillusionment of the 1970s. Blaxploitation’s commercial breakthrough is compared to films by members of the “Los Angeles Rebellion”, such as Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust), Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep) and Haile Gerima (Bush Mama), who strived for an alternative independent black film aesthetic.
These contrasting legacies are connected to the rise of hip hop cinema in the 1980s and 1990s, in the work of Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing), John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood) and the Hughes Brothers (Menace II Society).
This module centres on the artistically and politically adventurous phase of American filmmaking circa 1967-1979. Typically topics studied include:
Introduction – Hollywood breakdown (Easy Rider, Medium Cool)
The future of allusion: New Hollywood’s nostalgic mode (The Godfather)
Popular feminism (Klute, Woman Under the Influence)
Politics and conspiracy (The Parallax View, All The President’s Men)
Exploitation cinema II: horror/body genres (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Blockbuster cinema and the franchise film (Star Wars)
The end of the New (Apocalypse Now)
This module will consider different ways in which the concept of ‘dictatorship’ has been understood and critiqued throughout the twentieth century. Considering examples from Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Guinea, Italy, Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe, students will explore the differences between the Latin American caudillo, European dictators, and the ‘Big Men’ of Africa. Selected critical and theoretical sources will be drawn upon to develop a more critical understanding of dictatorship, including the work of Hannah Arendt, Roberto González Echevarría and Achille Mbembe.
The module will also examine relationships between dictatorship and cultural production. How have dictators represented themselves in their writing, speeches and literature? To what extent have they controlled cultural production and to what end? How, in turn, have they been represented in cultural production? What role do writers, artists and intellectuals play in evaluating and critiquing dictatorship? In turn, can the writer, artist or intellectual be considered to be a dictator in the particular world view he/she projects and/or the rhetoric he/she adopts?
This module introduces you to major themes that shape the experience of contemporary city dwellers: gender, social inequality, and practices of citizenship. These interlinking themes are introduced through novels, poetry and films and typically covers the following European, North American (with the emphasis on immigrant communities within its cities) and Latin American cities: New York, Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, Barcelona, and Berlin.
The combination of lectures, workshops and textual analysis encourages cross-referencing between the themes; students are encouraged to identify links between the topics studied (for example, gender and sexuality are relevant to an analysis of social inequality, and vice versa).
This module explores Hong Kong cinema from the mid-1980s up to the present – an era whose beginning witnesses the international breakthrough of a new wave of local filmmakers, and which goes on to encompass the early 1990s’ production surge, the 1997 handover to mainland China, the crippling economic crisis, and the outbreak of the SARS virus. The module will give you the opportunity to develop an understanding of a number of basic industrial, aesthetic, social and cultural trends marking Hong Kong films in the contemporary era. These include the emergence and impact of independent production; the rise of ‘high-concept’ filmmaking; the movement toward pan-Asian co-productions; the importance and cross-marketing of star performers and local musical traditions such as Cantopop; the popularity of genres like the swordplay film; and aesthetic tendencies such as episodic plotting and the narrative ‘thematisation’ of politics and identity. Emphasis will be placed not only on representative mainstream product, but also on the emergence of a distinct Hong Kong art cinema, whose presence and success on the international festival circuit has brought artistic credibility to a predominantly popular cinema, and which has heralded the arrival of a fresh wave of local ‘auteur’ filmmakers.
This module provides an opportunity for students to develop an understanding of the ways in which creative practitioners produce and deliver their work. It will provide an overview of the challenges faced by freelance practitioners, producers and small cultural companies within the creative industries. You will also develop a working understanding of the key management and enterprise skills involved in delivering creative projects. Working in groups you will put your learning into practice through the delivery of your own live creative arts project. This will enable you to understand the skills, knowledge, attributes and behaviours relevant for employment in the arts and creative industries.
This module allows you to undertake a major independent research project on a topic of your choice, presented in the form of a dissertation or a practice-based project and an essay. The module is taught through lectures focused on research skills and one-to-one supervision. Upon completion, you will be able to demonstrate your ability to undertake a major project that includes conducting research, engaging in a sustained critical analysis of relevant texts, building an argument and applying this to practice.
What makes a good translation and how do translations do good? This module aims to help you understand the practice of translation as it has evolved historically from the 18th century to the present across European and American societies.
The materials we study include historical textual sources as well as contemporary documents. Our aim is to look at translation as both a functional process for getting text in one language accurately into another and a culturally-inflected process that varies in its status and purpose from one context to another.
We will pay particular attention to the practical role that literary translators play within the contemporary global publishing industry and consider the practicalities of following a career in literary translation in the Anglophone world.
Ideas about modern manhood have had significant influence around the world since the ‘globalisation’ wrought by colonisation and imperialism in the nineteenth century.
This module focuses on the search for new icons of masculinity in a modernising China, introducing students to key discursive notions such as “Mr Science” and “Mr Democracy” in the Republican era; the worker-soldier-peasant triad in the Mao era; the peasant heroes of the immediate post-Mao years; and the “explosive” nouveau riche, white-collar, migrant worker, and “little fresh meat” masculinities of the market-infused postsocialist era. Students analyse how cultural products present and critique notions of Chinese masculinities. Material is considered for its significance in key debates about masculinities, and may include novels, short stories, essays, graphic posters, art, music, films, TV drama series and reality shows, online dramas, websites, as well as secondary literature from a range of academic disciplines.
This module offers an introduction to the broad area of silent cinema and to a range of critical approaches to this rich area of study. You will have the opportunity to view and analyse a number of important films. We will also explore a number of critical questions raised by this material with regard to the writing and study of histories of cinema (and popular culture in general). We will examine the relationships between technology and form, the economics of film production, distribution and reception, the relationship between cinema and national identity, the social and cultural impact of new (entertainment) media and the study of cinema audiences.
The question at the heart of Sinophone Studies is “What is Chineseness in the modern world?” This question has played out in different fashions across the various Sinophone cultures.
Sinophone cultural production offers crucial counterpoints to the depictions of Chinese identity in mainland Chinese, Han-centric creative works. Drawing from the work of scholars in the nascent field of Sinophone studies, this course understands Sinophone cultures as existing in the “minority nationalities” of China; in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore and other locations in the East Asian “Sinosphere”; and in the significant Sinitic-language immigrant populations of the Americas, Australasia, and elsewhere. It recognises Sinophone cultural production as multilingual and multi-ethnic.
This module introduces key Sinophone literary works and films including novels, short stories, and films. Discussion focuses on the diverse ways in which Chineseness is imagined, negotiated, or resisted in these works, and the alternative cultural identities that they put forward.
DELC338 Spirits in the Material World: Cultures and Sciences
This module lives in the space between the here-and-now and a future made possible by science. You’ll explore perceptions of science across different languages and cultures, from Asia to Europe to the Americas, and explore relationships between the spiritual and the material.
You’ll look at some intriguing questions about science and the twenty-first century human condition such as: Where is AI taking humanity and are we already robots? Are science fiction writers a form of contemporary shaman? What possibilities do modern medical advances offer for transformative queer and trans healthcare?
You’ll find out about differing views on these and other topics from a wide range of source materials, such as speculative fiction, graphic novels, film, philosophical essays, and online talks. Themes typically cover Spirit and Matter, Speculative Fiction, The Post-Human, Philosophy, Art and Neuroscience, Biomedicine and the Hospital.
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This module covers key debates on how television shows are consumed both nationally and transnationally, the appeal of crime dramas, cultural translation, and in particular the concept of domestication. Theoretical frameworks are applied to examples from television series produced in languages that are taught to degree level at Lancaster and are available in English via dubbing or subtitling. Selected case studies are devoted to the exploration of a particular theme. Typically, such themes may include aspects such as the sympathetic perpetrator, setting, local colour and exoticism, gender, race and ethnicity.
Fees and funding
Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.
Our Undergraduate Tuition Fees for 2025/26 are:
Home
International
£9,250
£24,700
Please note
Course fees for undergraduate home students are currently under review for 2025 entry, following the recent UK Government announcement.
The International Placement Year is mandatory for language programmes and typically costs include: travel to placement country or countries; travel documents – passport, VISA or work permit (if required); proof of funds (if required); accommodation while working overseas; travel to place of work while overseas unless this is paid by the employer. It is possible that there may be further costs e.g. for required documentation, however these are not typical. There may be opportunities to apply for funding and/or a bursary that would help to cover these costs.
There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.
Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.
College fees
Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small college membership fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.
For students starting in 2025, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses.
Computer equipment and internet access
To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.
The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.
Study abroad courses
In addition to travel and accommodation costs, while you are studying abroad, you will need to have a passport and, depending on the country, there may be other costs such as travel documents (e.g. VISA or work permit) and any tests and vaccines that are required at the time of travel. Some countries may require proof of funds.
Placement and industry year courses
In addition to possible commuting costs during your placement, you may need to buy clothing that is suitable for your workplace and you may have accommodation costs. Depending on the employer and your job, you may have other costs such as copies of personal documents required by your employer for example.
The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status.
Home fees are subject to annual review, and may be liable to rise each year in line with UK government policy. International fees (including EU) are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years.
We will charge tuition fees to Home undergraduate students on full-year study abroad/work placements in line with the maximum amounts permitted by the Department for Education. The current maximum levels are:
Students studying abroad for a year: 15% of the standard tuition fee
Students taking a work placement for a year: 20% of the standard tuition fee
International students on full-year study abroad/work placements will be charged the same percentages as the standard International fee.
Please note that the maximum levels chargeable in future years may be subject to changes in Government policy.
Scholarships and bursaries
You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.
You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status:
Unfortunately no scholarships and bursaries match your selection, but there are more listed on scholarships and bursaries page.
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We also have other, more specialised scholarships and bursaries - such as those for students from specific countries.
Lancaster has a flexible approach to undergraduate study. Many degree schemes incorporate a minor in other subjects to complement your major subject.
International placement year
Spending a year abroad is an integral and assessed part of our language degrees. We offer flexibility to split your time abroad between different activities.
Careers and Employability
When you arrive in Lancaster, you might not have a plan for after you graduate, but when you're ready to take the next step, we're here to help you. Studying a language strengthens your written and oral communication competence, your organisational skills, your aptitude in analysing and synthesising information, your ability to contribute to discussions and suggest ideas, and your understanding of other countries and cultures in a global world.
The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.
The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.
More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.
Our Students’ Charter
We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.
Undergraduate open days 2024
Our summer and autumn open days will give you Lancaster University in a day. Visit campus and put yourself in the picture.
Our historic city is student-friendly and home to a diverse and welcoming community. Beyond the city you'll find a stunning coastline and the picturesque Lake District.