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ML-204
Capital(ising) Culture: Reimagining the city
Cities have always been centres of culture and power. They are dynamic settings which are ever-changing and evolving yet carry traces of the past which can be made visible in art. They have been crucibles of modernity across the western world, marked by technological innovation, migration, war and civil unrest, and socio-economic hegemony. Large conurbations and capital cities can become representative of their countries or nations, making their study a gateway to understanding the wider culture. Via this module, you will study the intersections of history and the built urban environment as articulated in a selection of films, short fiction, plays, reportage, paintings or music which have been inspired by cities such as Berlin, Paris, and Barcelona amongst others.
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ML-211
Iberian Language (Catalan/Portuguese)
Learning a foreign language can boost your career prospects and make you stand out in the job market. This course is for you if you have no knowledge of either Catalan or Portuguese. You will be able to gain basic speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, while engaging in meaning-focused communicative and task-based activities. You will familiarise yourself with and systematically review a range of simple morphosyntactic structures (grammar) and vocabulary (words). Via the use of authentic materials, videos and graded readings, you will learn about Catalan or Portuguese people, language and culture.
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MLS300AC
Iaith Gyffredinol Sbaeneg 3A
Bydd y modiwl hwn yn darparu pob myfyriwr Astudiaethau Ysbaenig gyda'r cyfle i ymarfer a datblygu sgiliau cyfieithu o'r Sbaeneg i'r Gymraeg, ysgrifennu yn Sbaeneg (drwy ysgrifennu traethawd), a sgiliau cyfathrebu a llafar yn Sbaeneg. Fe fydd dosbarthiadau ysgrifennu a llafar yn ffocysi ar ymarferion a phynciau penodedig, ac fe gynorthwyir rhain gan weithdau gramadeg fydd yn cryfhau ac yn ymestyn gwybodaeth gyfredol. Fe fydd y gweithdai yn cynnwys ystyriaeth o ragenwau, cymalau perthynol, trefn geiriau a geiriau cysylltiol.
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MLS311
Narrating Crises in the Spanish-Speaking World
As our current globalised world appears to be one of seemingly pervasive crises ¿ especially since the turn of the 21st Century ¿, this module will examine how these crises are represented to try and understand the link with different perceptions. This module offers students an insight into some key issues relating different current global crises with emphasis on the Hispanic World and the Global North and Global South divide.
The module critically examines the notion of `crisis¿ from a cultural, semiotic and narrative perspective in order to elucidate how cultural processing affects our understanding of catastrophic events and we will discuss whether different representations may trigger different attitudes, behaviours and emotions. In terms of timeline the module will start examining the 2008 financial crisis in Spain and its social and cultural ramifications such as social movements of protest, grassroots initiatives, of organised resistance and alternative forms cultural citizenship challenging pervading narratives of accumulation and uncontrolled growth.
We will also explore different, albeit not completely unrelated crises, such as natural disasters ¿ from the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami ¿, disease outbreaks ¿ from the 90s AIDS epidemic in Africa to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic ¿, the current climate crisis ¿ from the 2019 global wildfires to the 2022 European heat waves ¿ migration crises or the current cost of living crisis, among others. The module will analyse all crises through the lens of their `cultural lives¿; the different ways in which they are imagined, communicated, represented whether in the media, in public discourse, literature, cinema or by means of any other cultural artefact. The main aim of the module is to explore and understand how different forms of mediation influence our understanding and behaviour when facing these crises.
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MLT208
Theory and Practice of Translation
The question of how to evaluate a translation has occupied linguists since antiquity. In this module, some of the main issues from the rich history of this discussion will be presented. For example, one of the oldest issues is to what extent equivalence in translation can be achieved. An example of a more modern question is: what is the right unit of translation (why not word-for-word?, what type of larger units?). We will also consider cultural and philosophical aspects of translation, the impact of technology on translation and the question to what extent the translator is (and should be) visible or invisible.
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MLTM07
Healthcare Interpreting
Healthcare interpreting plays an essential role in facilitating communication between healthcare providers and patients who speak different languages or have limited proficiency in the language used by the provider, thus ensuring that all patients have access to the medical information and services they need.
Healthcare interpreters work in various settings, including doctor¿s offices, hospitals, clinics, and mental health facilities, and they require a sound knowledge of medical terminology in both languages, as well as a good understanding of cultural differences that might affect communication in order to interpret accurately and in a culturally appropriate way.
In this module you will develop strategies and techniques to perform simultaneous whispering interpreting and dialogue interpreting (including some telephone interpreting, plus an opportunity to try sight translation) in the domain of healthcare. There will be a mixture of interactive lectures on interpreting theory, ethics, and practice, together with live and language laboratory practice sessions on the topic of various conditions and diseases.
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MLTM25
Conference Interpreting
This module will help students develop strategies and techniques to perform Conference Interpreting in Consecutive as well as Simultaneous modalities, with a focus on the latter. It involves the advanced development of multilingual skills, as well as interpersonal/intercultural communication skills (active listening, memory retention, time lag, anticipation, reformulation, delivery). Students will typically be exposed to authentic talks, lectures, conference papers, debates and speeches delivered by United Nations delegates, European Parliamentarians, TED.com Presenters, the UK's Political Speech Archive, BBC World programmes, YouTube, The Why Channel, and other countries' politicians, lecturers and experts in various fields. The contexts would typically include current affairs and topics of political, sociocultural, economic, scientific, technological and environmental impact in both cultures and their corresponding terminologies. Students will also be encouraged to research and read parallel texts for confidence building knowledge expansion and glossary creation. Training will take place in a fully-equipped Interpreting Suite (delegate units and booths).
Successful candidates will be well prepared to apply for placement opportunities at the European Commission Directorate-General for Interpretation and/or The Internship Programme at the United Nations Offices either in Geneva or in New York.
Students will be expected to do extensive guided private study, which should include exercises, e.g. mental agility exercises, bi-directional clozing, numerical contextualization and simplification tasks, reformulation and improvisation exercises, as well as tasks for mnemonic activation (to activate and automatize linguistic reflexes through the use of synonyms, antonyms, definitions, paraphrasing, hypernyms etc.).
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MLTM36
Iberian Language (Catalan/Portuguese) for Starters
Learning a foreign language can boost your career prospects and make you stand out in the job market. This course is for you if you have no knowledge of Catalan/ Portuguese. You will be able to gain basic speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, while engaging in meaning-focused communicative and task-based activities. You will familiarise yourself with and systematically review a range of simple morphosyntactic structures (grammar) and vocabulary (words). Via the use of authentic materials, videos and graded readings, you will learn about Catalan/ Portuguese, its people and culture, and the Catalonian/Portuguese way of life.
