Hispanic Studies and Drama

Overview

In the National Student Survey 2017 (NSS 2017) Iberian Studies (Including Hispanic Studies) at Queen Mary achieved 100% in Student Satisfaction, ranking us first in the UK. Drama was ranked second in London.

Studying Drama and a modern language gives you the opportunity to explore connections and interactions between cultural traditions. You divide your time equally between the two subjects, following modules designed to help you develop your linguistic skills and the key concepts and techniques required to study cultural practices and make performance.

You will engage with a variety of performance and cultural traditions that inform both contexts and investigate the parallels between the two. You normally spend your third year in a country where your chosen language is spoken. You can choose either to study or take up a work placement.

Why study Hispanic Studies and Drama at Queen Mary?

Drama at Queen Mary involves much more than the study of play texts performed in theatre buildings and the process of devising performance. We are interested in the many ways in which people perform 'themselves' and their cultures. Our work situates the production of plays, the design and building of theatres and the development of theories and techniques of acting in wider social and historical contexts. The degree asks you to analyse a wide range of theatre and performance practices including, for example, Renaissance drama, naturalism and contemporary performance art.

It also asks you to theorise other cultural practices, such as political protest, tourism and sport, as varieties of performance. These areas are explored through a combination of theory and practice and through considerations that are historical, aesthetic, social, political and ethical. We offer a good breadth of coverage as well as the opportunity to focus on contemporary performance practices, cultural politics and history, applied performance, London/space/city and international performance.

All our teaching is research-led, by staff members who are leaders in their field, this means you will learn from people who are involved in creating new work and adding to the sum of knowledge in this field, making for a truly inspiring study experience. Drama at Queen Mary also does extremely well in university rankings and student surveys. 

We have close links with London’s cultural institutions including Shakespeare’s Globe, the Barbican Centre and Tate Modern, which means you will have the opportunity to work with theatre and other arts professionals as well as lecturers who are leaders in their field. Our teaching takes place in state-of-the-art facilities, including the Pinter Studio Theatre, and a suite of purpose-built rehearsal rooms. You have full access to these facilities, along with the necessary technical support.

Our location in east London is an important element in our work, and you are encouraged to see the site of your studies as being part of your exploration of your subject. Whether in groups, or individually, you are also encouraged to investigate the unknown and the unexpected, and we have developed modules that will invite you to consider drama and performance in a variety of settings, which might include schools, hospitals, prisons, art galleries or streets as well as theatres across the UK and internationally.

Hispanics Studies is taught in one of the leading language departments in the UK. This means that you will learn from people who are at the forefront of their field. Hispanic Studies covers both the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America and includes the study of Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. 

You will spend a year abroad in the third year of your degree. This gives you an exceptional opportunity to develop your language skills among native speakers. You have three main options for how to spend the year abroad: teaching English as a foreign language assistant; attending university abroad on an Erasmus exchange; or in the professional world, either on a work placement, with the School’s support, or independently, with the School’s approval.

We pride ourselves on the facilities we offer. Our computing services make us one of the best equipped languages departments in the UK. Advisers are on hand to help you take advantage of multilingual word-processing and to point you towards websites useful for language study. Our custom designed Language Centre provides state-of-the-art language teaching and learning facilities. We also subscribe to many foreign newspapers and journals.

The Library has extensive audio-visual facilities, a large collection of videos and DVDs and is equipped for viewing satellite TV. 

Structure

Year 1

From 2017 we are introducing the QMUL Model to all our degrees.  For further information on this initiative please contact the Undergraduate Programmes team sllf-ug@qmul.ac.uk

Drama compulsory modules:

• Cultural Histories of Theatre
• Performance Texts in Practice
• Practices
• London/Culture/Performance (QMUL Model Module)

Hispanic Studies core and compulsory modules:

• Introductory Spanish* (for ab initio entry) / Spanish I* (for post A Level entry) / Spanish I N (for Heritage Speaker entry) (*QMUL Model Module)
• Introduction to Hispanic Studies (QMUL Model Module)
• Critical Thinking and Writing for Modern Foreign Languages

Years 2

In Drama, you will take sixty credits including at least one of:

• Cultural Politics and Performance
• London/Archives/Resources
• Group Practical Project 

Year 2

Hispanics core module

• Spanish II
• Key Concepts for the study of Latin American Cultural History (for ab initio entrants only)

Hispanic Options include:

• Cuban Poetry and Fiction: Post 1980
• Catalan Cinema

Year 3

Year abroad: Written Assignment

Year 4

For Drama you will select at least one research project, from a list including:

• Written Research Project
• Practice-based Research Project
• Performance Company Research Project
• Film Studies Research Project

You will also take the compulsory, but non-assessed, module Livelihoods

Hispanics core module

• Spanish III

Hispanic options include:

• Advanced Oral Competence in Spanish
• War, Humour and Love in Medieval Spanish Literature
• Cervantes and the Nature of Fiction
• The Mexican Revolution and its Aftermath
• Spanish Translation: Theory and Practice
• Cuban Society through Film: post 1959 Revolution

For a complete list of modules please visit the directory of modules http://www.qmul.ac.uk/modules/

Use the following abbreviation in the Code search¿

• POR – Portuguese
• CAT – Catalan
• HSP – Hispanic Studies
• DRA – Drama

QMUL will aim to deliver your programme so that it closely matches the way in which it has been described to you by QMUL in print, online, and/or in person. However, it is important to realise that in some circumstances, we may change aspects of your programme. See our full terms and conditions to read more: 

http://www.qmul.ac.uk/prospective/termsandconditions/

Entry requirements

General Admission Entry Requirements can be found below.

2018 Entry requirements

Learning and teaching

Fees and funding

Tuition fees for Home and EU students

2018/19 Academic Year
Full-time £9,250

Tuition fees for International students

2018/19 Academic Year
Full-time £15,400

Graduate employment

Graduates from Queen Mary’s School of Languages, Linguistics and Film go on to work in a wide variety of careers. Some apply their degree knowledge directly, entering careers such as interpreting and teaching, whilst others transfer skills gained during study into areas such as marketing.

The broad range of skills gained through our programmes, coupled with multiple opportunities for extra-curricular activities and work experience, has enabled students to move into careers such as:

Careers support

In today's competitive jobs market, employers expect graduates to have a range of skills and work experience. Being based in London is a distinct advantage, and at QMUL we have designed programmes of careers support to help you take advantage of our capital location.

Alongside your studies, you'll have opportunities to:

• attend networking or industry events

• apply for internships in your ideal area of work

• volunteer with local or national charities

• work part-time.

And there's plenty of day-to-day support too. Whether you need help with writing a CV, developing your interview skills or planning further study once you graduate, we have teams of advisers on hand to give you the advice and support you need.

Visit: www.careers.qmul.ac.uk  and www.qmsu.org/volunteering

Learning a language

Even if you're not studying a language as part of your degree, you can still develop these skills by signing up for a course in QMUL's Language Centre. Choose from: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Japanese or Spanish.

Visit: http://sllf.qmul.ac.uk/language-centre/language-learning/

Profiles

Student Profile: Zaki Shah (Graduated 2015)
Studied: BA English Literature

“I chose Queen Mary because it offered me the chance to study the sort of modules that I was really keen to do. I also knew past and current students who found their time at Queen Mary fun and rewarding. The area inevitably played a big role too – close to central London, and walking distance from areas like Brick Lane and Shoreditch".

“The teaching style here gives you lots of academic freedom, but there is always help available if you need it. The type of assessment on the course reflects this freedom too – it’s good to be able to go away and work on a big research essay or your dissertation, rather than always being at the mercy of exams like at school!"

“Last year I found myself doing a course called Art Histories all about the different museums and art galleries in London. I’d never have anticipated doing a module like that on an English degree, but it turned out to be one of my favourites and I learnt loads of new things".

“Outside of class, I am starting a student group for a charity organisation called Schtoom. The
Students’ Union have been really helpful in helping me to do this – it’s fantastic to have such a supportive team behind you.”

Student Profile: Ione Abbott (Graduated 2015)

Studied: BA French & Hispanic Studies

What did you choose Queen Mary?

London location, campus based study, very good facilities, high quality teaching and good international reputation

Why did you choose your course?

It was high on the league table for Hispanic Studies and had very good student satisfaction in the French Department. London is the perfect location for studying languages due to the diverse range of Hispanic and Francophone cultural events, as well as the fact that it is possible to access language learning resources at the University of London libraries.

What are the main differences between school/college and undergraduate study?

At university the amount of independent study is significantly higher than secondary school, meaning that the you must be dedicated to doing your own research and reading up on subjects outside of class.

Was it an easy transition to makes?

The transition was challenging especially when in the first year the workload was a big step up from A-Levels. However I spoke to my personal advisor for advice and support which was extremely helpful in making this transition.

Year Abroad

Where did you spend your Year Abroad?

Universidad de Salamanca, Spain

What support did you receive while abroad?

I received a very good level of support from QM whilst abroad. In fact whilst at university I had a problem with one of my courses, however I spoke with the Year Abroad coordinator at QM and she was able to sort out the issue quickly and efficiently. We also received very good advice from our lecturers at QM before the year abroad, regarding what to expectin terms of cultural difference at university etc.

What are the main differences you encountered?

Adapting to a different university system was challenging, however very rewarding as I had the chance to study new literature and linguistics from a different perspective