Arabic - By choosing to study Arabic, you will learn the language of the Arabic media as well as classical and modern Arabic languages and literature. All Arabic modules prioritise the building of a high level of competence in language skills, and after completing the first two years of your course, you will be able to read, write and converse in basic Modern Standard Arabic. If you take Arabic with another language, you will have the opportunity to take an integrated year abroad between second and third year in a country where your other chosen language is spoken.

Italian – As a student of Italian, you will develop language and communication skills to a high level of proficiency. You will also have the opportunity to engage with a number of specialist topics comprising Italian literature, culture, history, politics and film. Italian is available to both beginners and non-beginners. Both cohorts are introduced to a wide spectrum of cultural and literary genres, from mediaeval texts and poetry to 20th-century Italian novels, films and more.

Ancient History

The MA (Hons) in Ancient History explores the history of Greece and Rome, and that of neighbouring peoples such as the Persians and Carthaginians. Students study the period from the beginning of Greek writing and urbanism in eighth century BCE through to the collapse of the western Roman empire in the fifth century CE. Geographically, the subject is centred on the Mediterranean world, which at times extends from the Persian Gulf to the Clyde and from the Crimea to the Sahara.

Thematically, the course deals not only with political and military history, but also with topics such as gender and sexuality, slavery, colonisation, religion, cultural contacts between peoples, and the ecology and economy of the ancient Mediterranean. Students will also study the nature of ancient evidence and the way that the Greeks and Romans represented the past and reinvented it to meet their changing needs.