Component

MA Public Opinion and Political Behaviour
MA Western Marxism and Translation options

Year 1, Component 06

Option(s) from list
LA873-7-AU
Technologies of Translation
(15 CREDITS)

Want hands-on experience of the key technologies that aid translation today? Become a confident user of CAT (computer aided translation) in the translation environment. Practice and develop your translation and editing skills via our practical workshops, so that you are familiar with all stages of the translation process.

LA874-7-SP
Subtitling: Principles and Practice
(15 CREDITS)

Want to produce accurate and reader-friendly interlingual subtitles? How do you recognise good subtitling? What skills does it require? Develop your understanding of the subtitling process. Learn to use the spotting and word-processing functions of professional subtitling software, while building your proof reading and editing skills.

LA875-7-SP
Technologies of Translation II and Post Editing
(15 CREDITS)

Do you want to keep abreast of the translation industry and gain a clear overviewof current translation technologies? This module will enable you to gain hands on experience of Computer Aided Translation tools and looks at a range of technologically sophisticated added value services, including website localisation and desktop publishing, to help you develop the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully place yourself into this rapidly expanding industry.

LA881-7-AU
Translation Portfolio (Chinese-English) I
(15 CREDITS)

Want to translate English and Chinese? Develop your practical abilities to translate between these two languages. Study a range of texts, looking at topics related to society, politics, economics and business, to build your knowledge of the relevant terminology and typical constructions.

LA891-7-AU
Translation with Localisation and Transcreation
(15 CREDITS)

Want to translate English and Chinese? Develop your practical abilities to translate between these two languages. Study a range of texts, looking at topics related to society, politics, economics and business, to build your knowledge of the relevant terminology and typical constructions.

LA895-7-SP
Professional Skills for Translators
(15 CREDITS)

Want to translate between Chinese and English? Keen to gain technical translation practice? Study a range of technical texts, building your experience of translation in this area. Receive guidance on preparing for such work and understand how to research terminology for technical translation tasks.

PY911-7-AU
Environmental Philosophy
(20 CREDITS)

This module introduces students to key debates within environmental ethics, looking at the history of environmental ethics as well as at contemporary debates within animal ethics, environmental injustice and racism, environmental activism, the rights of future generations and apocalyptic ethics. Throughout the course, we will actively engage with recent news stories and developments in environmental science, finding and discussing the ethical dilemmas these give rise to. We will consider the strengths and weaknesses of applying traditional ethical frameworks like deontology, virtue ethics and utilitarianism to these problems, and look at more recent attempts at attributing value and agency to our non-human environment.

PY948-7-SP
Contemporary Critical Theory
(20 CREDITS)

What is ‘critical theory’? At one level, it is a tradition that can be traced back to ‘Frankfurt School’ thinkers such as Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer. But the term has also come to be used more broadly, to encompass independent traditions of thought such as (certain strands within) feminism, anti-racism, post-colonialism and queer theory. This course aims to give a ‘critical’ introduction to critical theory, looking beyond the canon in order to come to a deeper understanding of critical theory and its limits.

PY949-7-SP
Phenomenology and Existentialism
(20 CREDITS)

This module focuses on works of the phenomenological movement, both as a historical tradition (Brentano, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Levinas, Lögstrup, etc.) and as an ongoing area of philosophical and multi-disciplinary research. The specific focus varies from year to year. In some years the focus may be a major text from the tradition (eg Being and Time, The Phenomenology of Perception; Being and Nothingness); in other instances the focus may be thematic (intentionality, temporality, alterity, death …), drawing on works from a variety of sources. The module will combine an advanced introduction to the phenomenological tradition (with particular focus on Husserl’s contributions in inaugurating the movement), followed by an intensive study of the phenomenology of time and space. We will undertake a close study of Husserl’s Phenomenology of Internal Time-Consciousness (a work which draws heavily on Brentano and was prepared for publication by Heidegger); we will examine Heidegger’s account of existential temporality and existential spatiality; and we will consider recent empirical work that uses phenomenological methods to shed light on pathological disturbances of temporal and spatial experience.

PY951-7-AU
MA Writing Workshop
(0 CREDITS)

This module provides intensive training in postgraduate-level writing and research. The Workshop is primarily designed for MA philosophy students. First-year PhD students can request permission from the Course Instructor to attend classes. Please note that while this module delivers very effective training, it is also very demanding, both in time and effort. The module is non-credit bearing so that students have the freedom to experiment and learn from their mistakes without penalty: marks are for formative purposes only. For each of the first six weeks, students write a circa 1500 words essay based on a reading assignment and present their work in class. They are also required each week to read and provide peer feedback on the work of the students in their tutorial group. Students and instructor meet weekly to discuss both the philosophical issues and the micro-skills of writing. In addition, participants meet with their instructor every week for small group tutorial sessions to get peer-feedback on their submissions and discuss the instructor’s feedback. During the last three weeks there is no essay writing nor tutorials: participants work on grant application writing, in particular CHASE applications for those who want to be considered for a CHASE scholarship. If time allows, the instructor presents a piece of work in progress. Each year a different topic is chosen for the workshop.

PY954-7-AU
Philosophy and Aesthetics
(20 CREDITS)

This module is dedicated to the theoretical reflection on aesthetic practices and objects and their history (from artworks to the aesthetic strategies of protest movements). We will also consider what is distinctive about relating aesthetically to one's life, social world, or art. The module examines why aesthetic practices and experiences play such a central role in continental thought from Kant and Hegel to Adorno and Rancière. This Autumn term, among the questions to be discussed will be the following: What is modern aesthetics? How to conceive of the relationship between art/aesthetics and politics? How can one tell apart progressive/emancipatory aesthetic-political strategies from regressive ones (such as Nazi and Stalinist aesthetics)? What are the aesthetic-political strategies deployed by political activists and how do they work? In what sense can aesthetic practices and experiences (and the theoretical reflection on them) be critical? Are aesthetic practices part and parcel of freedom? What is the role and place of aesthetics in democratic life?

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