SMLC - News and events

The School of Modern Languages & Cultures invites applications for a fully-funded PhD scholarship, to work with Prof. Katherine Astbury (French Studies) and Dr Charles Walton (History) in conjunction with historians at English Heritage on 'Anglo-French relations during the age of Revolutions'. The project will be financed by the AHRC-funded Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership (Collaborative Doctoral Award).

Applications must be received by noon (UK time) on 13th January 2025. The successful applicant will commence their studies in October 2025.

The University of Warwick’s School of Modern Languages & Cultures invites applications from highly qualified prospective doctoral students for its PhD programmes in French, German, Italian, and Hispanic Studies, and Translation & Translation Cultural Studies (TTS).

For further information, see the School’s webpages on postgraduate study.

Doctoral funding is available through university-wide schemes (Chancellor’s International Scholarships, China Scholarship Council/University of Warwick scholarships), the AHRC Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership, and joint PhD programmes (e.g. the Monash-Warwick Alliance, Shanghai Jiao Tong University-Warwick Joint PhD programme).

Given the early deadlines (in late November; December; or January, depending on the scheme), and the multi-stage selection process, we encourage applicants to get in touch with their preliminary enquiries by sending an academic CV and draft research proposal to the School Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Ingrid De Smet (I.de-Smet@warwick.ac.uk), by 28 October 2024,

and/or to the relevant subject-specific postgraduate research admissions advisors:

• French & francophone: Prof. Ingrid De Smet (i.de-smet@warwick.ac.uk)
• German: Dr Nicholas Jones (Nicholas.d.jones@warwick.ac.uk)
• Italian: Prof. Fabio Camilletti (F.Camilletti@warwick.ac.uk)
• Hispanic Studies: Assoc. Prof. Tom Whittaker (t.whittaker@warwick.ac.uk)
• Translation & Transcultural Studies: Assoc. Prof. Caroline Summers (Caroline.Summers@warwick.ac.uk)

Enquiries from suitably qualified self-funded or externally funded (sponsored) students are also welcome.

Online PhD admissions interviews will likely be held in the weeks commencing 9^th and 16^th December 2024.

We are delighted to invite you to a research seminar jointly organised by the Department of Italianand the Centre for Digital Inquiry.

Monday 20^th February, 17:00-19:00

FAB 3.26  

The Digital Frontier? New Approaches to Literary and Translation Studies, History and Music

Giovanni Pietro Villani (Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin - Paris Saclay)

in conversation with

Federica Coluzzi (Italian/CDI, Warwick)

While it is difficult to answer the question what are the digital humanities, empirically it becomes easier to show what advantages digital brings to research in the humanities. The aim of this talk is to show the inside of a digital laboratory in order to show what are the reflections, failures and successes of using informatics applied to different fields of the humanities. Examples will be shown of studies carried out in the English-speaking, Italian-speaking Francophone and Spanish-speaking areas relating to procedures typical of literary analysis and studies of translation, (socio)linguistics, history and music.

Published in November 2022 by Leuven University Press and with the support of the European Research Council: Unfinished Histories available in open access.

Belgian colonialism was short-lived but left significant traces that are still felt in the twenty-first century. This book explores how the imperial past has lived on in Belgium, but also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. The contributing authors approach colonial legacies from an interdisciplinary perspective and examine how literature, politics, the arts, the press, cinema, museal practices, architecture, and language policies – but also justice and ethics – have been used to critically revisit this period of African and European history. Whilst engaging with significant figures such as Sammy Baloji, Chokri Ben Chikha, Gaël Faye, François Kabasele, Alexis Kagame, Edmond Leplae, VY Mudimbe, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Joseph Ndwaniye, and Sony Labou Tansi, this book also analyses the role of places such as the AfricaMuseum, Bujumbura, Colwyn Bay, Kongolo, and the Virunga Park to appraise the links between memory and the development of a postcolonial present.

At the start of term, the brand-new Warwick Award – from Student Opportunity – officially opened its doors to all undergraduate and postgraduate taught students…have you registered yet?

The Award recognises and showcases all of the employability skills you’re building across your entire Warwick experience, to help put you in a position to make the start to life after graduation that you want to. It’s free to join, can be personalised to match your own skills development and can be completed whenever works best for you during your studies here.

It’s never too early – or too late – to start reflecting on your own skills development, and the Warwick Award will make that task much easier. More than 5,000 students have already registered in the last month alone, why not join them?

Head to the Award’s website to check out their launch video and register.

Get involved: warwick.ac.uk/warwickawardLink opens in a new window

The School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC) wamly invites applications from outstanding candidates for doctoral study commencing in September/October 2023. The SMLC will support pre-selected candidates for the Chancellor’s International Scholarships and Midlands4Cities scholarships

To express an interest, please send your CV and a two-page research proposal to smlcoffice@warwick.ac.uk (cc I.de-Smet@warwick.ac.uk) as soon as possible, ideally by 16 November 2022.

Interested in applying for a Midlands4Cities scholarship for doctoral study in Modern Languages or Translation Studies at Warwick? Register for the online Application Writing Workshops for M4C scholarship candidates on 19 November 2022, 10 am-1 pm. Registration details and the link to subscribe are on the M4C website.

The Warwick Awards for Public and Community Engagement (WAPCE), like the Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence (WATELink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window), and Warwick Awards for Personal Tutoring Excellence (WAPTE), celebrate the very best of Warwick’s staff and students. The WAPCE awards recognise the vital contributions Warwick staff and students make in engaging the public – on an international and national level as well as crucially within our region and local communities – in our learning and discovery, with the goals of sharing and co-producing knowledge, strengthening the role we play in the region and showcasing the role Warwick plays nationally and internationally in making the world a better place.

SMLC is delighted that 2 of our most engaged researchers' work in public and community engagement has been recognised.

James Hodkinson has won a staff award for his work on community events and arts projects designed to facilitate cross-community encounters, enhance public debate, cross-community empathy and more nuanced mutual understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in towns and cities across the UK.

Abigail Coppins won a Postgraduate award for the ways in which her research into Black prisoners of war in Britain during the French Revolution has had a significant impact on the young Black women at the National Youth Theatre who were involved in the R&D of a new play, The Ancestors. Her research has fed into educational resources for NYT and English Heritage and inspired a delegation of Garifuna people to travel from central America and the US to visit Portchester castle where the prisoners were held. Her work has also introduced Black undergraduates and young people from a community of 2nd generation St Vincentians in High Wycombe to the National Archives. She has, therefore, improved knowledge, strengthened networks, engaged with people from non-traditional backgrounds.

A student led public engagement project at the University of Warwick.

Aim: To connect the local community and University of Warwick through providing positive & accessible art and wellbeing sessions.

Who will be involved? Local artists, Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick, Department of Psychology.

On Tuesday 17 May 11.00 – 13.00, the Monash Warwick Alliance Showcase will announce new funding opportunities for researchers, educators, professional staff, and students interested in establishing collaborations with Monash colleagues.

Student Leadership Opportunities 2022-23

Would you like to gain leadership, project management and event management skills and enhance your personal development?

Warwick Volunteers are looking for committed, enthusiastic volunteers to help coordinate our projects and supervise project sessions during the next academic year. These opportunities are open to all and we are looking forward to hearing from you. If you would like an informal chat to find out more please email volunteers@warwick.ac.uk.

Internal funding call - closes Feb 28th @ 12 noon - Getting creative with Sustainability - all career stages

The School for Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Warwick warmly invites expressions of interest in its MPhil/PhD programmes in French Studies, German Studies, Hispanic Studies, Italian, and Translation and Transcultural Studies (including a theoretical/academic and a practice-based route).

We will be holding a fun Balsam Bashing Challenge on 23^rd June from 1-4.30pm where teams of volunteers will be competing against each other to pull up Himalayan Balsam plants along the banks of Canley Brook. The team with the biggest pile at the end will win Warwick Volunteers goodie bags including branded t-shirts, water bottles and much more!!

Himalayan Balsam is an invasive plant that grows rapidly in tall dense colonies by brooks and rivers. It has large leaves that block sunlight, causing native plant species to die. When Himalayan Balsam dominates the bankside, biodiversity is reduced. With fewer plant species, the brook supports less wildlife, endangering creatures like the fluffy water vole.

Students interested in joining us can sign up here: https://myadvantage.warwick.ac.uk/students/events/detail/2163213

We are delighted to announce the launch of the University of Warwick Graduate Scheme. The three-year programme commences on 4th October 2021 and will involve working on a number of high-profile projects whilst obtaining on-the-job learning as well as a structured professional development programme and a project management qualification.

Applications are open until 25^th June 2021 and internal staff applications are welcomed. Find out more on our webpages or come along to one of our virtual information events to hear more about the scheme from previous Warwick graduate trainees.

Please email any questions to gradscheme@warwick.ac.uk

Warmest congratulations to Mary Jane Dempsey, current visiting research student at Warwick and also PhD candidate at Cornell, on the award by the American Academy in Rome of the Rome Prize in Modern Italian Studies, 2021-22. Mary Jane's project, which she first developed as a researcher in Italian at Warwick in 2016-17, is 'Remember to Forget: Migration, Gender, and Transnational Identities in Twentieth-Century Italy'.

The first in a series of events for this network Producing the Post-National Popular (warwick.ac.uk) took place this Friday 23rd April online, with 50 registrations and much dialogue generated.

Explore… is a series of seminars run by and destined for postgraduates, visiting researchers and early-career researchers in the School in Modern Languages and Cultures. The seminars are slanted towards professionalising skills and career development. The first event of the series will take place on 28 January 2021 at 4-5 PM, Digital Humanities, Digital Cultures. With Stefano Milonia (WIRL-Cofund Fellow, Institute of Advanced Study, Warwick) and Steve Ranford (Senior Academic Technologist, IT Services, Warwick). Chair: Mary Jane Dempsey (Romance Studies, Warwick/Cornell)

• Chancellor's International Scholarships: the scheme is aimed at students from outside the UK and includes Overseas applicants, including students from the EU.
• China Scholarship Council / University of Warwick Scholarships: this scheme will fund 25 students across various subjects for up to 4 years, with the University covering the full cost of tuition fees and CSC providing a maintenance stipend and return international airfare between the UK and China. Note that Foreign Languages and Literature is among the priority areas listed.
• Monash Warwick Alliance Scholarships (Warwick): this scheme is open to all students applying to Warwick for the Alliance Joint PhD. For 2021/22 entry there will be up to 3 scholarships available across the university.

The deadlines for these schemes are all on Thursday 21st January 2021, 23.59 GMT. Note that all supporting evidence (including transcripts and references) must be uploaded by the same time.

We welcome applications for our PhD programmes in:

• French and Francophone Studies
• German Studies
• Italian
• Hispanic Studies
• Translation and Transcultural Studies

Prospective applicants are encouraged to identify possible supervisors through our staff expertise pages. Early enquiries are strongly encouraged. Please send a draft proposal (up to 2 A4 pages) and CV to pglanguages@warwick.ac.uk by Friday 27 November 2020, 12 noon.

We continue to welcome enquiries also for the AHRC Midlands4Cities doctoral awards (deadline 13 January 2021).

Di Zhao, PhD student in Translation and Cultures in Warwick's School of Modern Languages & Cultures, has published a translation into Chinese of the award-winning true-crime book Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep (William Heinemann, 2019). The translation was published by Straits Literature and Art Publishing House in Fuzhou, China in July 2020. https://book.douban.com/subject/35092879/