Postgraduate Modules

Module descriptions for all CMII programmes and MA Language, Culture and History

All descriptions include information about the content, assessment, reading lists and academic contact details. This information is a guide only and may be subject to change without notice. Elective modules offered as part of the courses may be withdrawn in the event of low uptake. If you have any queries about our modules, please contact the Teaching and Student Support team via askUCL.

With the agreement of their Programme Director, students may combine their studies with other areas or subjects taught across our various MA/MSc courses (as listed below), including relevant modules from other UCL departments.

Timetable

 

CMII Courses

Core modules:

and

Suggested optional modules:

Other recommended optional modules:

Early Modern Studies MA

You can tailor a programme to suit your interests. The MA can be taken full-time (for one year) or part-time (over two years). Modules are the individual units of study which lead to the award of credit; a module may be worth 15 or 30 credits. In total you will take 180 credits.

Core Modules:

Suggested optional modules:

You can also choose any relevant modules from across UCL, and other Colleges within the University of London. We have compiled a list of suggested modules, which are loosely grouped by subject areas. You are welcome to take other modules not on the list, as long as they are relevant.

The Order of Things - Visual and Material Culture:

CodeTitleDeptCreditsEmail for permission
t.b.c.Cosmological Images: Representing the UniverseWarburg30Madisson Brown (Warburg)
t.b.c.Renaissance Painting and the Workshop TraditionWarburg30Madisson Brown (Warburg)

Origins of the Early Modern - Medieval links:

CodeTitleDeptCreditsEmail for permission
MDVL0047Magic in the Middle AgesMARS (History)15history-pg-enquiries@ucl.ac.uk

In too deep? Early Modern Political Thought:

Code TitleDeptCreditsEmail for permission
HIST0626Political Thought in Renaissance EuropeHistory15history-pg-enquiries@ucl.ac.uk
LAWS0329Historical Development of the Common LawLaws30Amrit Phagura
HIST0795The EnlightenmentHistory15history-pg-enquiries@ucl.ac.uk
7AAH2022 Liberty, Reason, and The State: British Moral and Political Thought in Early-ModernityKCL History15Charlotte Murray (KCL)

Not just Shakespeare - Early Modern Literature:

CodeTitleDeptCreditsEmail for permission
CMII0130Pre-Modern Poetics of Place (not running 2025-26)SELCS30 
GERM0043Wolfram von Eschenbach’s ‘Parzival’SELCS30 
7AAEM250Eighteenth Century Writing, Gender and CultureKCL English15english@kcl.ac.uk
ITAL0024Dante: Divina CommediaSELCS30 
t.b.c.Islamic Authorities and Arab Elements in the Renaissance Warburg30Madisson Brown (Warburg)

From Dust to Digital - Navigating the Early Modern Archive:

INST0045Digital CurationInformation Studies15Laura Keshav
MDVL0061Beginners Latin for ResearchMARS (History)30history-pg-enquiries@ucl.ac.uk
CCME0067Critical Heritage: Themes, Practices and IssuesIoE30Josephine Borradaile
INST0040Oral History: Creation to curationInformation Studies15Laura Keshav

Expanding Horizons - Exploration, Circulation and Discovery:

CodeTitleDeptCreditsEmail for permission
HPSC0080Early Modern ScienceSTS15sts-aa@ucl.ac.uk
HIST0370Public History, Slavery and Britain’s Colonial PastHistory15history-pg-enquiries@ucl.ac.uk
CMII0022Early Modern Information Culture, c.1450-c.1750SELCS15 
7AAH2005Ritual in Early Modern SocietyKCL History15Charlotte Murray (KCL)

Crossing the Channel - Early Modern England in a European context:

CodeTitleDeptCreditsEmail for permission
7AAH2012 European Expansion: Ethnic Prejudices & Civil Rights (1500-1850)KCL History15Charlotte Murray (KCL)
CLAS0118Approaches to the Reception of the Classical WorldClassics15Alex Balčiūnas
SEES0060Russian Monarchy: Court Ritual and Political Ideas, 1498-1917SSEES15ssees-lc@ucl.ac.uk
7AAH2023Divided by Faith? The Age of Religious Violence in Early Modern EuropeKCL History15Charlotte Murray (KCL)

European Culture and Thought (Culture) MA 

Core modules:

Optional modules:

European Culture and Thought (Thought) MA 

Core modules:

Optional modules:

European Society MA 

Core modules:

Optional modules:

Modern European Studies MA 

Core modules:

You will choose a minimum of 30 credits from the following option modules:

Optional modules:

Core modules:

Suggested optional modules:

In addition to the options available here, students are welcome to choose from a selection of modules offered by the Screen Studies Group Option Sharing Programme. These are listed here but lists are not always up to date so it might be worth getting in touch with the institution you are interested in studying with directly. In order to register for these modules, you must get in touch with the teaching department to see if there is space on the module and then complete the registration steps with their institution. You must fill out an Intercollegiate Study Form from the receiving institution and send to us so it can be signed and recorded – study at some institutions will require Faculty approval. You should ensure that you act quickly to secure a place and assure access to the other institution's libraries and course web pages. Then, introduce yourself to the convenor and ask about any conventions specific to the college, and what their expectations for the students are (some places, for example, have firm policies on citation methods that are unique). In all make sure you enrol early. 

Core modules:

Introductory specialist modules (Term 1):
•    CMII0046: Critical Introduction to Sexuality Studies - 15 credits
•    CMII0210: Decolonial Approaches to Gender and Sexuality Studies - 15 credits
•    CMII0214: Gendering Cultural Representations - 15 credits

Optional modules:
•    CMII0213: Gender, Social Movements and Digital Activism - 15 credits
•    CMII0150: Gender and Ageing: Feminist Gerontology - 15 credits
•    CMII0144: Textual Masculinities - 15 credits
•    CMII0053: Knowledge, Power and the Cultural Production of Gender - 15 credits
•    CMII0146: Television Narratives: A Gendered Lens - 15 credits

Optional modules in CMII and other departments:
Students on the GSR MA also have the opportunity to take modules offered by other Postgraduate Taught Programmes at CMII such as Comparative Literature, Film Studies, Health Humanities and Race, Ethnicity and Postcolonial Studies.

GSR MA students are also able to take other relevant gender and sexuality-related modules in other UCL departments. For more details, browse the CMII programmes on this page or search the UCL Module catalogue using key words. Please find below an indicative list of relevant gender and sexuality studies modules in other departments:

Please note: Modules are subject to staff availability and not all modules run in any given year. Participation in non-GSR MA modules is subject to approval by the convenor / department and access may be restricted to students of that department only or have prerequisites such as experience of studies in a particular discipline.

Core modules:

Suggested optional modules:

Suggested optional modules in other UCL departments:

Core modules:

(If you choose the 60 credits dissertation, take 60 credits of optional modules. If you choose the 90 credits research dissertation, take 30 credits of optional modules.)

Suggested optional CMII modules:

  • CMII0042: Politics and Ethics (Not available in 24/25)
  • CMII0044 Multidisciplinary Social Research (15 credits)
  • CMII0054: Global Politics of Gender, Sexuality and Security (Not available in 24/25)
  • CMII0076: Illness (15 credits)
  • CMII0122: Madness (15 credits)
  • CMII0150: Gender and Ageing: A Feminist Gerentology (15 credits)
  • CMII0151: Feminism and the Medicalised Self (15 credits)
  • CMII0153: Cultural Narratives of Ageing (Not available in 24/25)
  • CMII0181: Medicine on Screen - Representations of Doctors, Health Care and Medicine in Film from the 1920's to the Present (15 credits)
  • CMII0196: Theatres of the Mind (15 credits)

Suggested optional modules in other UCL departments:

Please note: not all modules will be available in a given year, and some have limits on capcaity or prerequisites such as existing studies in the field.

Compulsory modules

Optional modules

Students can take 60 credits (taught pathway) or 30 credits (research pathway) of optional modules across various departments. Please note the below list is indicative and is subject to changes. Enrolment on these modules is dependent on availability and meeting any pre-requisites. Your choice of optional modules will require the approval of the module leader and the programme director.

Optional modules in SELCS-CMII department:

Optional modules in other UCL departments:

Translation and Technology (Audiovisual) MSc

Core modules:

Optional modules (two modules of 15 credits each):

Translation and Technology (Scientific, Technical and Medical) MSc

Core modules:

Optional modules (two modules of 15 credits each):

Translation and Technology (with Interpreting) MSc

Core modules:

Optional modules (two modules of 15 credits each):

Translation: Research MA

Core modules:

Optional modules (total of 60 credits):

  • 30-60 credits from Group A
  • up to 30 credits from Group B
  • up to 60 credits from Group C

Translation: Translation Studies MA

Core modules:

Optional modules (total of 90 credits):

  • 30-90 credits from Group A
  • up to 30 credits from Group B
  • up to 30 credits from Group C

Translation: Translation and Culture MA

Core modules:

Optional modules (total of 90 credits):

  • 30-90 credits from Group A
  • 0-60 credits from Group B

Optional modules Group A (15 credits each):

Optional modules Group B (15 credits each):

Optional modules Group C:

Students on the MA Translation Studies and MA Translation Research may take credits in any relevant module in SELCS CMII subject to approval from the programme director.

MA Translation Studies (up to 30 credits)
MA Translation Research (up to 60 credits)

* Note: Only available to students with listed language pairs. Students are expected to translate into their native language. We can only guarantee the availability of particular language combinations if applications are received before the deadline and when offer holders complete the pre-registration process. 

Language, Culture and History MA 

 

MA students taking ELCS Graduate modules will be taught alongside Final Year undergraduate students.

Some MA modules are taught at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels and students taking them will be taught along with the undergraduates following that module. 

Some MA modules are taught at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels and students taking them will be taught along with the undergraduates following that module. 

Some MA modules are taught at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels and students taking them will be taught along with the undergraduates following that module. 

  • Modules can be chosen from any of the European Studies programme pathways (CMII) and German Studies.

Some MA modules are taught at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels and students taking them will be taught along with the undergraduates following that module. 

Some MA modules are taught at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels and students taking them will be taught along with the undergraduates following that module. 

Some MA modules are taught at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels and students taking them will be taught along with the undergraduates following that module. 

Some MA modules are taught at both postgraduate and undergraduate levels and students taking them will be taught along with the undergraduates following that module.