26 September 2024

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German and Theatre Studies (BA) gives you the opportunity to develop an in-depth knowledge of German language and culture while also exploring key aspects of Theatre and Performance Studies.

You will graduate as a highly qualified linguist, with advanced intercultural skills and a sophisticated understanding of key concepts and debates in two Arts disciplines. The specialist communication, research, critical and evaluative skills you will gain are all highly sought after by employers.

New:

German and Theatre Studies (BA) gives you the opportunity to develop an in-depth knowledge of German language and culture while also exploring key aspects of Theatre and Performance Studies. German can be studied from Beginner or Advanced level.

You will graduate as a highly qualified linguist, with advanced intercultural skills and a sophisticated understanding of key concepts and debates in two Arts disciplines. The specialist communication, research, critical and evaluative skills you will gain are all highly sought after by employers.

Course overview

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This degree allows you to develop an in-depth knowledge of German language and culture while also exploring theatre and performance studies through both practice and theory.

You benefit from the full range of expertise on offer in both departments and will be able to explore the synergies between the two subject areas. This involves taking cultural and historical modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, which include looking at theatre through the medium of German, and exploring the intercultural specialisms of the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, which include theatre in the African context, contemporary European theatre, applied theatre and playwriting.

Theatre and Performance Studies at Warwick takes pride in its national and international reputation for research and teaching excellence. As a student, you will be taught by world-leading scholars, industry professionals and artists who are as passionate about the power of theatre and performance as you are. You will explore how drama, theatre and performance are used to share stories, to laugh, to feel, to understand more deeply, and to change things.

Beyond the course, you will be encouraged to see work and get involved at Warwick Arts Centre, one of the largest multi-artform venues in the UK, and join one of the many award-winning performance-based student societies.

You will normally spend your second or third year abroad, consolidating and enhancing your learning.

New:

This joint degree, equally weighted between two disciplines, allows you to develop an in-depth knowledge of German language and culture while also exploring theatre and performance studies through practice and theory. You will graduate from this course with specialist knowledge and skills in the theatre, and as a highly qualified linguist with advanced intercultural skills. You will have a deep understanding of German-speaking cultures, and a multifaceted knowledge of the study of theatre.

You benefit from the full range of expertise on offer in both departments and will be able to explore the synergies between the two subject areas. This involves taking cultural and historical modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, which include looking at theatre through the medium of German, and exploring the intercultural specialisms of the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies, which include theatre in the African context, contemporary European theatre, applied theatre and playwriting.

Germany has always been at the heart of the European intellectual tradition, and German modules at Warwick reflect the range and diversity of Germany’s culture, history and society. Intensive language work opens up the richness of German language and cultural subjects such as film, literature, politics, philosophy and history.

Theatre and Performance Studies at Warwick takes pride in its national and international reputation for research and teaching excellence. As a student, you will be taught by world-leading scholars, industry professionals and artists who are as passionate about the power of theatre and performance as you are. You will explore how drama, theatre and performance are used to share stories, to laugh, to feel, to understand more deeply, and to change things. Beyond the course, you will be encouraged to see work and get involved at Warwick Arts Centre, one of the largest multi-artform venues in the UK, and join one of the many award-winning performance-based student societies.

Your second or third year is normally spent abroad, either as a language assistant, working, or studying at one of our partner universities. This is an invaluable opportunity to immerse yourself in the linguistic and cultural contexts where German is spoken, enhance your language skills and build international connections.

You will have access to outstanding facilities and resources. This includes flexible collaborative and individual learning spaces, as well as a vast selection of print, digital and multimedia learning materials.

You will finish your degree as a proficient, internationally mobile linguist with a deep understanding of German-speaking cultures, and an advanced knowledge of theatre and performance.

Core modules

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In your first year, you will follow a core German language programme at either beginners’ or advanced level. To complement your language skills, you will follow a programme focussing on contemporary German society and the origins of modern German culture. This provides an excellent and comprehensive foundation for studying further aspects of German literary, visual and political culture in the later stages of your degree.

On the Theatre Studies side, you will take core modules that introduce you to theatre and performance studies so that you can explore how theatrical form and language interrelate in production and how key theatrical movements have responded to particular moments of upheaval in history and politics.

In your intermediate and final years, in addition to core and optional modules in Theatre Studies, you will go on to further develop your German language skills.

You will have an opportunity to develop your own particular interests by choosing from a wide selection of modules offered by German specialists that cover a broad range of subjects in German culture, society, literature, politics, philosophy, film, history and business, as well as translation and transcultural studies.

You can also opt to study some of our interdisciplinary cross-School modules.

You can choose to spend your year abroad studying at a university in a German speaking country or on a British Council Assistantship or a work placement.

Year One

Modern German Language 1

You will develop your translation, grammatical and speaking skills in German, and in doing so broaden your vocabulary and range of idiom, expression and awareness of various stylistic registers. You will work in a pair or group on a media project under the supervision of a tutor, which will contribute to your end-of-year mark in spoken German.

Read more about Modern German Language 1Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

or

Modern German Language for Beginners

As a beginner in the acquisition of the German language, you will cover the main linguistic skills in speaking, listening, writing and reading. You will focus on gaining grammatical accuracy as well and communicative fluency and competence. By the end of the year, you will be expected to be able to sustain everyday conversations in German, read authentic texts such as newspaper articles, follow the gist of TV extracts and be able to write an intermediate range of texts in German. You will also work on basic translations to and from German as a means of consolidating your knowledge.

Read more about the Modern German Language for Beginners moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

A German cultural module:

Provincial - Pariah - Powerhouse: Reading German-language Culture in a Global Perspective

This module introduces landmarks in the history of modern Germany, which emerged as a nation out of a confederation of provinces and principalities in the 19th century. You will touch on the political turmoil, conflicts, and violence that at times made Imperial Germany, the Third Reich and the post-1945 Germanies pariah states in the eyes of the international community. You will also reflect on the developments that led to contemporary Germany's’emergence as a cultural, political and economic powerhouse, shaping global trends in film, literature, theatre and music. The module focuses on the media and representations through which many of us first encounter German-language culture: fairy-tales and their afterlives; performance, visual and screen culture; music and sound. In other words, students will sample the works and ideas that have put Germany and the German language on the world map.

We will engage with a number of key questions. How did German literature, film, art, and music transform the status of the German language? How did German-speaking artists shape the cultural genres that we consume today? How does engaging with these works give us a more differentiated understanding of the positive and negative aspects of Germany's’history and its global influence?

The module will help you develop skills that will be essential for the rest of your degree and your life after Warwick: critical reading; clear and concise argumentation; excellent written and oral communication skills; independent thinking and research.

Read more about Provincial - Pariah - Powerhouse: Reading German-language Culture in a Global PerspectiveLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

Two Theatre Studies modules:

Theatre and Performance in Context

In this module students will explore the inter-related disciplines of theatre and performance, considering some of the key conceptual and artistic frameworks that have shaped the fields. Throughout the module students will engage with the sociopolitical and historical contexts that have informed these frameworks and the ways in which theatre and performance not only reflects, but also seeks to change and shape, society. The module therefore aims to:

• Equip students with a broad understanding of the key issues and theoretical concepts underpinning the study of theatre and performance
• Investigate how theatre and performance can inform understandings of wider society, including politics, cultures, identities
• Explore the sociopolitical and cultural contexts in which particular theatre and performance events and practices emerged
• Examine how politics and culture intersect with the study of theatre and performance

Read more about the Theatre and Performance in Context moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

or

From Text to Performance

Through practical exploration of a number of selected plays and texts, in this module you’ll investigate the process of taking material from page to stage or performance, and the relationship between theory and practice. You’ll have the opportunity to experiment practically with realising multiple texts in performance, considering aspects such as staging, genre, narrative structure, performance strategies, dramaturgical thinking and directorial conceptualization, as well as the changing role and function of the audience.

Read more about the From Text to Performance moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

Intermediate Year

Modern German Language 2

In this second-year module, you will increase your general and specialised vocabulary in German through translation into English and German, essay-writing in German, spoken and listening comprehension, and work on business-related materials. In pursuit of these aims, you will learn to identify and rectify grammatical errors, and gain increased sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style in particular. You will also gain important language research skills, including correct use of dictionaries.

Read more about Modern German Language 2Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

or

Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)

You will increase the range of your general and specialised vocabulary in German, improve your speaking, listening and comprehension skills, and develop your ability to translate from German, including through a sound knowledge of grammar, register, semantic nuances and style. There will be opportunities to write in German and to work on business-related materials.

Read more about Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

A selection of optional modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (30 credits) and in Theatre and Performance Studies (60 credits)

Final Year

Modern German Language 3

In this third-year module, you will use vocabulary of increasing sophistication in both general and specialised fields, and improve your skills in spoken and written German and translation. You will improve your listening and reading comprehension skills, and learn to identify and rectify grammatical errors. An important aim of the course is to cultivate sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style.

Read more about the Modern German Language 3 moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

A selection of optional modules in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures (30 credits) and in Theatre and Performance Studies (60 credits)

New:

In your first year, you will follow a core German language programme at either Beginner or Advanced level. To complement your language skills, you will follow a programme focussing on contemporary German society and the origins of modern German culture. This provides an excellent and comprehensive foundation for studying further aspects of German literary, visual and political culture in the later stages of your degree.

On the Theatre Studies side, you will take core modules that introduce you to theatre and performance studies so that you can explore how theatrical form and language interrelate in production and how key theatrical movements have responded to particular moments of upheaval in history and politics.

In your intermediate and final years, in addition to core and optional modules in Theatre Studies, you will go on to further develop your German language skills.

You will have an opportunity to develop your own particular interests by choosing from a wide selection of modules offered by German specialists that cover a broad range of subjects in German culture, society, literature, politics, philosophy, film, history and business, as well as translation and transcultural studies.

You can also opt to study some of our interdisciplinary cross-School modules, including modules in Translation Studies.

You can choose to spend your year abroad studying at a university in a German-speaking country or on a British Council Assistantship or a work placement.

Year One

Modern German Language 1

You will develop your translation, grammatical and speaking skills in German, and in doing so broaden your vocabulary and range of idiom, expression and awareness of various stylistic registers. You will work in a pair or group on a media project under the supervision of a tutor, which will contribute to your end-of-year mark in spoken German.

Read more about Modern German Language 1Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

or

Modern German Language for Beginners

As a beginner in the acquisition of the German language, you will cover the main linguistic skills in speaking, listening, writing and reading. You will focus on gaining grammatical accuracy as well and communicative fluency and competence. By the end of the year, you will be expected to be able to sustain everyday conversations in German, read authentic texts such as newspaper articles, follow the gist of TV extracts and be able to write an intermediate range of texts in German. You will also work on basic translations to and from German as a means of consolidating your knowledge.

Read more about the Modern German Language for Beginners moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

A German cultural module:

Provincial - Pariah - Powerhouse: Reading German-language Culture in a Global Perspective

This module introduces landmarks in the history of modern Germany, which emerged as a nation out of a confederation of provinces and principalities in the 19th century. You will touch on the political turmoil, conflicts, and violence that at times made Imperial Germany, the Third Reich and the post-1945 Germanies pariah states in the eyes of the international community. You will also reflect on the developments that led to contemporary Germany's’emergence as a cultural, political and economic powerhouse, shaping global trends in film, literature, theatre and music. The module focuses on the media and representations through which many of us first encounter German-language culture: fairy-tales and their afterlives; performance, visual and screen culture; music and sound. In other words, students will sample the works and ideas that have put Germany and the German language on the world map.

We will engage with a number of key questions. How did German literature, film, art, and music transform the status of the German language? How did German-speaking artists shape the cultural genres that we consume today? How does engaging with these works give us a more differentiated understanding of the positive and negative aspects of Germany's’history and its global influence?

The module will help you develop skills that will be essential for the rest of your degree and your life after Warwick: critical reading; clear and concise argumentation; excellent written and oral communication skills; independent thinking and research.

Read more about Provincial - Pariah - Powerhouse: Reading German-language Culture in a Global PerspectiveLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

Two Theatre Studies modules:

Theatre and Performance in Context

In this module students will explore the inter-related disciplines of theatre and performance, considering some of the key conceptual and artistic frameworks that have shaped the fields. Throughout the module students will engage with the sociopolitical and historical contexts that have informed these frameworks and the ways in which theatre and performance not only reflects, but also seeks to change and shape, society. The module therefore aims to:

• Equip students with a broad understanding of the key issues and theoretical concepts underpinning the study of theatre and performance
• Investigate how theatre and performance can inform understandings of wider society, including politics, cultures, identities
• Explore the sociopolitical and cultural contexts in which particular theatre and performance events and practices emerged
• Examine how politics and culture intersect with the study of theatre and performance

Read more about the Theatre and Performance in Context moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

or

From Text to Performance

Through practical exploration of a number of selected plays and texts, in this module you’ll investigate the process of taking material from page to stage or performance, and the relationship between theory and practice. You’ll have the opportunity to experiment practically with realising multiple texts in performance, considering aspects such as staging, genre, narrative structure, performance strategies, dramaturgical thinking and directorial conceptualization, as well as the changing role and function of the audience.

Read more about the From Text to Performance moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

Intermediate Year

Modern German Language 2

In this second-year module, you will increase your general and specialised vocabulary in German through translation into English and German, essay-writing in German, spoken and listening comprehension, and work on business-related materials. In pursuit of these aims, you will learn to identify and rectify grammatical errors, and gain increased sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style in particular. You will also gain important language research skills, including correct use of dictionaries.

Read more about Modern German Language 2Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

or

Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)

You will increase the range of your general and specialised vocabulary in German, improve your speaking, listening and comprehension skills, and develop your ability to translate from German, including through a sound knowledge of grammar, register, semantic nuances and style. There will be opportunities to write in German and to work on business-related materials.

Read more about Modern German Language 2 (Post-beginners)Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

A selection of optional modules in German Studies and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, including translation and cross-School thematic modules (30 credits)

Optional modules in Theatre and Performance Studies (60 credits)

Final Year

Modern German Language 3

In this third-year module, you will use vocabulary of increasing sophistication in both general and specialised fields, and improve your skills in spoken and written German and translation. You will improve your listening and reading comprehension skills, and learn to identify and rectify grammatical errors. An important aim of the course is to cultivate sensitivity towards language in general, and an awareness of register, semantics and style.

Read more about the Modern German Language 3 moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).