Student Handbook - The School of Language, Linguistics and Film

This is the official French government centre of language and culture in London. There are
films, plays, lectures and conferences all the year round, as well as discussion sessions
(cafés philosophiques) on Saturday mornings.
Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies
The Romance Studies section is based at Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU.
17.3 DEPARTMENT OF GERMAN
Libraries of special interest
Goethe-Institut, 50 Princes Gate, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2PH
The Austrian Cultural Institute, 28 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PQ
The Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies: the Germanic Studies Library is based at
29 Russell Square, London WC1 (no borrowing is allowed, and a written recommendation
from the department is required).
• The Goethe-Institut puts on German plays, films, exhibitions, talks and more.
• The Austrian Institute also has lectures, exhibitions and chamber concerts.
• The German Information Centre (34 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8QB) gives
seminars and offers a wide range of documentary and audio-visual material.
• And the German YMCA (35 Craven Terrace, London W2 3EL) also organizes various
lectures, seminars and informal meetings.
The German department also hosts a Research Seminar, which is a forum for guest lectures
by visiting speakers, and for informal talks on work-in-progress by staff of the department
and postgraduate students. All undergraduate students are cordially invited to attend,
participate in discussions, and meet the speakers. These occasional meetings are
advertised on noticeboards.
Students are welcome to participate in the conference, seminar and lecture programme of
the Centre for Anglo-German Cultural Relations.
17.4 DEPARTMENT OF IBERIAN AND LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES
Reading texts in Spanish
First year students taking Introductory Spanish may study texts in English translation, but all
other students are expected to read and study the set texts in the original Spanish. Your
participation in classes, your essays, and your exams must show evidence of first-hand
knowledge of the original; otherwise you can expect to be penalised. You may find that with
medieval and Golden Age texts you need the help of a translation, but if you do use one, it
must be in addition to the original, not instead.
Research seminars
The department runs two research seminars. Although these are primarily designed for staff
and graduate students, the subjects discussed are often relevant to undergraduate modules,
and all students are welcome to attend.
1. Medieval Hispanic Research Seminar (certain Fridays at 3 pm)
2. Departmental Research Seminar (certain Wednesdays at 5 pm)
The speakers at the first two of these seminars are usually visitors, many of them
distinguished scholars. The speakers at the departmental Research Seminar are always
staff or graduate students of the department.
67