Philosophy and Modern Languages
Academic Staff
Fellows
Dr Krister Bykvist is the Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy, who teaches mainly in the areas of Mill's Moral Philosophy, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, Ethics and Philosophy of Religion. His research interests lie in normative ethics, especially issues about well-being.
Professor Thomas Charles-Edwards is Emeritus Jesus Professor of Celtic. He works on medieval Ireland and Wales, and to a lesser extent Scotland and Anglo-Saxon England. He is mainly an historian but he has also written about medieval Irish and Welsh narrative literature. His books include The Welsh Laws (1989), Early Christian Ireland (2000), Wales and the Britons, 350-1064 and The Oxford History of Wales, vol. 1, which is currently at the press. He is a Fellow of the British Academy, a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, and an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy.
Professor Katrin Kohl is the Fellow and Tutor in German. She teaches German literature from 1750, with a particular interest in the way literature interacts with the society and culture of its time and communicates with the reader. Her current research focuses on eighteenth and twentieth century poetry and poetics, and on the theory and practice of metaphor as a means of shaping concepts of literary communication. She also has a strong interest in language teaching and has published language courses from beginner to university level.
Dr Caroline Warman is the Fellow and Tutor in French. Her main research interests lie in the literature, history of ideas and medical discourses of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Her first book was on Sade and materialism (2002); she is now working on Diderot and theories of consciousness in the 1790s. She is also translating the novels of Isabelle de Charrière. She mainly teaches literature and thought in the modern period but also offers (and enjoys!) the span of first year texts, from medieval to modern. Her language teaching specialises in translation into and out of French.
Lecturers
Dr Oliver Rashbrook is a Lecturer in Philosophy for Jesus College. He teaches in the areas of elementary logic, general philosophy, knowledge and reality, history of modern philosophy, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind.
Dr Nicola Gardini is a Lecturer in Italian for Jesus who teaches on Renaissance and the classical legacy and XIX- and XX-century poetry. His research interests lie in the Renaissance, poetry and translation. He writes poetry and fiction and co-edits the monthly magazine "Poesia", based in Milan, and the online magazine "Il Calzerotto Marrone", based in Padua.
Dr Julie Curtis, a Fellow of Wolfson College, is a Lecturer in Russian for Jesus College. Her research interests lie in twentieth-century Russian literature, especially Mikhail Bulgakov and Evgenii Zamiatin. She has also published on the literature of the Gorbachov era.
Dr Jonathan Thacker, a Fellow in Spanish at Merton College, is a Lecturer for Jesus College who teaches mainly in the literature of the Golden Age, or early-modern period. He writes principally on the drama produced by Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Calderón de la Barca and their contemporaries, and on the works of Cervantes.
About the Course
Philosophy and Modern Languages (PML) brings together some of the most important approaches to understanding language, literature and ideas. The degree is constructed in the belief that the parallel study of these related disciplines significantly enhances your understanding of each, bringing added dimensions of understanding and perspective.
The study of philosophy develops analytical rigour and the ability to criticise and reason logically. It allows you to apply these skills to questions ranging from how we acquire knowledge and form moral judgements to the nature of language, art and literature. Since many works of literature are shaped by the dominant philosophical ideas of their epoch, study of philosophy can illuminate that intellectual background.
The study of a modern European language develops analytical and critical abilities as well as a high level of linguistic skills; the study of the literature written in that language contributes to an understanding of many aspects of European culture. It develops attention to stylistic and terminological detail and rhetorical strategies, and sensitivity to intratextual, cultural and historical context, which are also of great value for the study of philosophy.
The Philosophy Faculty is the largest philosophy department in the UK, and one of the largest in the world, with more than 70 full-time members, admitting more than 500 undergraduates annually to read the various degrees involving philosophy. Many Faculty members have a worldwide reputation, and our library and other facilities are acknowledged as among the best in the country.
Oxford's Modern Languages Faculty is also one of the largest in the country, with a total intake of more than 300 students a year, including those reading joint degrees. It possesses in the Taylor Library the biggest modern languages research library in the country, together with an undergraduate lending library and a modern and excellently equipped Language Centre. Its Faculty members include many who are internationally renowned for their research work. Jesus College accepts students for all the languages taught at Oxford, and has Fellows in French and German, Lecturers in Italian, Russian and Spanish, and Lectors in French and German.
The Preliminary Examination is taken after three terms, its philosophical component being the same as for PPE and PPP (Psychology with Philosophy), i.e., Moral Philosophy (Mill), General Philosophy, and Logic. Those taking the Final School will have to study one historical paper (either the History of Philosophy from Descartes to Kant, Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, or Plato’s Republic). A considerable number of optional papers are available, including bridge papers in Aesthetics and also in aspects of continental philosophy in the 17th and 19th-20th centuries (see the list under PPE). It is also possible to specialize to some extent in Linguistic Theory. The languages most commonly taken are French and German, where there are obvious connections on the philosophical side, but other combinations are possible.
The Year Abroad
All Modern Languages courses and Joint Schools with Modern Languages last for four years, including a year abroad after the second year It is important that you advise your LA or other funding body from the outset that you will be taking a four-year course.
A common pattern is for students to spend their year abroad as Assistants, working in a school in the country of their choice. This offers experience of working in the country, and it is organised through a scheme run by the British Council. Students may also spend the year at a university abroad; this is discussed thoroughly with the tutors in Modern Languages, and students are responsible for making arrangements themselves. Students normally stay in one country throughout the year, but if they are studying two languages, they are advised to spend periods in the country of their other language during vacations.
The College has an exchange scheme with the University of Trier, which accommodates one student a year. All undergraduate members of the College are eligible to apply for this exchange.
Joint Schools
Modern Languages may be studied as a separate degree course (one or two European languages), or one European language may be taken in combination as below:
- European and Middle Eastern Languages
- Modern Languages and Linguistics
- Classics and Modern Languages
- English and Modern Languages
- History and Modern Languages
Philosophy cannot be studied as a single subject. It may be studied at Jesus College as part of the following degrees:
- Mathematics and Philosophy
- Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE)
- Philosophy and Theology
- Psychology and Philosophy
Admissions
Candidates are selected on the basis of academic record (e.g. GCSEs) and potential, as shown by their UCAS reference, submitted written work, and performance in written tests and in interviews if shortlisted.
Candidates are required to submit two written pieces of recent school or college work for each of the languages they are currently studying. They should be marked by the teacher. At least one piece should be an essay in the foreign language. Students are welcome to send in an additional piece written for another A-level subject.
Candidates will be required to sit for Modern Languages test which is administered by the University of Oxford and should be taken at school in November. Further details of this test can be found on the Tests for Modern Languages page of the University's website. In Philosophy there is a 1-hour test of your ability to reason analytically and to use language accurately.
Candidates will have an interview lasting approximately 30 minutes with our Modern Languages tutors, with an additional interview with the lecturer in the language applied for if not French or German. Interviews will be mainly in English, but will include a brief conversation in the language offered if it is being studied to A2 level. We aim to encourage candidates to do themselves justice at interview, and we will ask them about their course rather than expect them to have done a certain type of course. We expect candidates to be motivated to do a course with a focus on literature, but do not assume that they will have studied literature formally. There will be a separate interview for Philosophy.
In a total College entry of about 100 undergraduates, 9-10 are offered places in a typical year to read Modern Languages and related joint schools. Offers made to pre-A level candidates will be conditional upon A level results (normally AAA, with an A in the language the candidate is applying to study to degree level). Offers made to post-A level candidates will usually be unconditional.
Deferred Entry: Applications for deferred entry to Jesus College are welcomed. You must apply for deferred entry at the time of application to Oxford: you cannot change your mind after an offer has been made. Please refer to departmental web sites for subject-specific advice. You should be aware that applicants who are offered places for deferred entry will generally be among the strongest of the cohort for their subject. We would not usually offer more than one or two deferred places per subject in order not to disadvantage the following year's candidates. In some cases, an applicant for deferred entry may be offered a place for non-deferred entry instead. If you require any further advice, please contact the Admissions Officer.
Postgraduate Studies and Careers
Philosophy Graduate students will find themselves members of a large graduate community, together with others with shared interests who are at an equivalent stage in their intellectual development. The following degrees are offered at postgraduate level:
- MLitt, DPhil, MSt or BPhil in Philosophy
Oxford has a large, varied, and active teaching and research community in Modern Languages. There are over ninety members of the Faculty, with research interests spread across the full chronological range of the languages and into most areas of linguistics and literary study. The College welcomes applicants for the following degrees:
- MSt, MPhil or DPhil Medieval and Modern Languages
- MSt, MPhil or DPhil Celtic Studies
- MSt or MPhil Slavonic Studies
- MSt Women's Studies
- MSt Yiddish Studies
PML graduates enter a wide range of careers, including academic teaching and research, commerce, banking and financial services, journalism and communications. Knowledge of a modern language opens up opportunities for careers abroad or with international organisations.
Preliminary Reading and Further Information
Further information about Philosophy and Modern Languages at Oxford can be found on the Faculty of Philosophy and Faculty of Modern Languages websites and the University's Undergraduate Courses pages.