Modern Languages and Cultures » SMLC - News and events (tag [French - News])

SMLC PhD Scholarship 2026 competition (for October 2026

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:49:34 GMT

The School of Modern Languages & Cultures invites applications for the award of one SMLC Doctoral Scholarship to an outstanding candidate to pursue a PhD from October 2026 in one of the following areas: French Studies, German Studies, Italian, or Hispanic Studies or Translation & Transcultural Studies. Applications are open to PhD applicants with Home fee status and with Overseas fee status, but note that the award does not cover full fees for students with Overseas fee status.

The award consists of:

payment of academic fees for Home fees level OR an equivalent reduction in fees for Overseas fee status students;
a UKRI-level stipend for 3.5 years, regardless of fee status.

You must also have applied for (or already be an offer holder for) one of the PhD courses in the University of Warwick’s School of Modern Languages & Cultures to begin in October 2026.

The scholarship cannot be deferred to the next academic year. It is intended for full-time study. The scholarship is not normally intended for Joint PhD programmes.

We will look for an applicant of the highest calibre, who has the academic potential and the motivation to succeed in their PhD. Their research will be highly compatible with the expertise available in the School, and we expect the student to actively engage with the School's research culture and our Postgraduate Research community.

We welcome applications in inter- or cross-disciplinary topics, including those that involve two or more languages (multilingualism).

Interested in pursuing a PhD in Modern Languages or Translation Studies?

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 15:30:00 GMT

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.

Professor James (Jim) Shields

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 08:52:57 GMT

It is with great sadness that the School of Modern Languages & Cultures has received news of the death of Professor James Shields on 9 February 2023.

Publication of a new edited volume of interdisciplinary essays on autonomy co-edited by Oliver Davis

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 11:06:03 GMT

Arising from a Warwick-Monash Alliance collaboration, with Dr Chris Watkin, undertaken during the Covid years, this new edited volume considers whether autonomy is still a useful concept today. Is the Enlightenment understanding of autonomy still relevant in addressing contemporary challenges? How have the limits and possibilities of autonomy been transformed by recent developments in artificial intelligence and big data, political pressures, intersecting oppressions and the climate emergency? The challenges to autonomy today reach across society with unprecedented complexity, and in this book leading scholars from philosophy, economics, linguistics, literature and politics examine the role of autonomy in key areas of contemporary life, forcefully defending a range of different views about the nature and extent of resistance to autonomy today. These essays are essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the predicament and prospects of one of modernity’s foundational concepts and one of our most widely cherished values. Oliver Davis's chapter, on conceptualising the role of patient autonomy in psychedelically assisted psychotherapy, can be viewed Open Access here.

Interested in a PhD in Modern Languages (French, German, Italian, Hispanic or Translation Studies)? Calls for Scholarship Applications Now Open

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 17:43:09 GMT

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.

Double success for SMLC at Warwick Awards for Public and Community Engagement

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 15:55:57 GMT

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 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.

Professor Jim Shields on BBC, CNBC, France 24, Al Jazeera and other channels

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 13:21:06 GMT

Professor Jim Shields appeared on BBC World, France 24, TRT World, CNBC, Al Jazeera and TVP World to discuss the French National Assembly elections. He gave interviews to Chile’s El Mercurio, Mexico’s El Universal and Colombia’s Portafolio.

In memorium: Mark Treharne

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 09:01:10 GMT

Those who remember the French Department in the days of Donald Charlton will be saddened to learn of the death of Mark Treharne, who taught in the Department until 1992. Mark was an inspiring teacher who cared deeply about his students. He was also a gifted translator and pianist, giving recitals in aid of charity. His translations include works by his friend the poet Jaccottet, as well as Jacques Réda, Rimbaud, and Proust’s The Guermantes Way. He once said he would go to the stake for Proust.

His funeral will be on 29 June at 2 p.m. at Golder's Green Crematorium, and will also be relayed online.

Linda Paterson

22 June 2022

Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence nominations

Mon, 02 May 2022 20:20:23 GMT

All language teaching teams across the academic sections and the Language Centre have collectively been nominated for a Community and Culture Warwick Award in Teaching Excellence.

We're delighted to have been shortlisted for professionalism and collegiality in responding to the pandemic.

Dr Zhiyan Guo has also been shortlisted for an Arts Faculty award.

The shortlists can be seen here:

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/academic-development/wate/shortlistcategories/

Professor Jim Shields on BBC, CNBC, Al Jazeera, France 24 and other channels

Fri, 29 Apr 2022 10:58:33 GMT