Visual and Textual Analysis Across Cultures

Module code: ML1017

What does it mean to analyse an image or a text? How do images and texts travel across cultures thorugh processes of translation and intermediality? How can ‘reading’ different sources enable us to think critically about the ideologies which underpin them? This module answers these questions by helping you develop your close-reading skills across a range of visual and textual media. From photography, film, and advertising, to poetry, prose, and the art of translation, you will become a confident and independent reader of a variety of texts, and become more attuned to how they are disseminated across the world. This module offers the unique opportunity to think across cultures by drawing on texts from the Francophone and Hispanophone worlds, Italy, and China. Whichever language(s) you choose to specialise in, you will be honing your skills in a truly global context.  

This module is assessed via a presentation and a commentary exercise. English translations are provided when working in languages with which you may not be familiar.

Topics covered

• Analysing photography and visual media
• Analysing film
• Analysing literature
• Analysing and evaluating translations