SMLC - News and events
Call for PhD funding applications in Modern Languages (French, German, Italian, Hispanic, and Translation & Transcultural Studies) 2026 entry
Are you looking for funding for a PhD in Modern Languages (incl. Translation Studies)? The 91¸£Àû’s annual Postgraduate Research Scholarships competition (2026 entry) opens on Monday 15 October and closes on 11 December 2025. Course applications must be made by 8 December 2025. 91¸£Àû’s School of Modern Languages & Cultures invites PhD applications from students with an outstanding academic record, who are very well-equipped to undertake doctoral study and whose research proposal promises to make a significant contribution to the field.
Get in touch with us to discuss your proposal
Call for PhD scholarship applications: Anglo-French relations during the age of Revolutions (M4C Collaborative Doctoral Award)
The School of Modern Languages & Cultures invites applications for a fully-funded PhD scholarship, to work with Prof. Katherine Astbury (French Studies) and Dr Charles Walton (History) in conjunction with historians at English Heritage on 'Anglo-French relations during the age of Revolutions'. The project will be financed by the AHRC-funded Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership (Collaborative Doctoral Award).
Applications must be received by noon (UK time) on 13th January 2025. The successful applicant will commence their studies in October 2025.
Interested in pursuing a PhD in Modern Languages or Translation Studies?
The 91¸£Àû’s School of Modern Languages & Cultures invites applications from highly qualified prospective doctoral students for its PhD programmes in French, German, Italian, and Hispanic Studies, and Translation & Translation Cultural Studies (TTS).
For further information, see the .
Doctoral funding is available through university-wide schemes (, ), the , and joint PhD programmes (e.g. the , ).
Given the early deadlines (in late November; December; or January, depending on the scheme), and the multi-stage selection process, we encourage applicants to get in touch with their preliminary enquiries by sending an academic CV and draft research proposal to the School Director of Graduate Studies, Professor Ingrid De Smet (I.de-Smet@warwick.ac.uk), by 28 October 2024,
and/or to the relevant subject-specific postgraduate research admissions advisors:
- French & francophone: Prof. Ingrid De Smet (i.de-smet@warwick.ac.uk)
- German: Dr Nicholas Jones (Nicholas.d.jones@warwick.ac.uk)
- Italian: Prof. Fabio Camilletti (F.Camilletti@warwick.ac.uk)
- Hispanic Studies: Assoc. Prof. Tom Whittaker (t.whittaker@warwick.ac.uk)
- Translation & Transcultural Studies: Assoc. Prof. Caroline Summers (Caroline.Summers@warwick.ac.uk)
Enquiries from suitably qualified self-funded or externally funded (sponsored) students are also welcome.
Online PhD admissions interviews will likely be held in the weeks commencing 9th and 16th December 2024.
The Digital Frontier? New Approaches to Literary and Translation Studies, History and Music
We are delighted to invite you to a research seminar jointly organised by the Department of Italianand the Centre for Digital Inquiry.
Monday 20th February, 17:00-19:00
FAB 3.26
The Digital Frontier? New Approaches to Literary and Translation Studies, History and Music
Giovanni Pietro Villani (Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin - Paris Saclay)
in conversation with
Federica Coluzzi (Italian/CDI, 91¸£Àû)
While it is difficult to answer the question what are the digital humanities, empirically it becomes easier to show what advantages digital brings to research in the humanities. The aim of this talk is to show the inside of a digital laboratory in order to show what are the reflections, failures and successes of using informatics applied to different fields of the humanities. Examples will be shown of studies carried out in the English-speaking, Italian-speaking Francophone and Spanish-speaking areas relating to procedures typical of literary analysis and studies of translation, (socio)linguistics, history and music.
Unfinished Histories: Empire and Postcolonial Resonance in Central Africa and Belgium, edited open access volume by Pierre-Philippe Fraiture
Published in November 2022 by Leuven University Press and with the support of the European Research Council: available in open access.
Belgian colonialism was short-lived but left significant traces that are still felt in the twenty-first century. This book explores how the imperial past has lived on in Belgium, but also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. The contributing authors approach colonial legacies from an interdisciplinary perspective and examine how literature, politics, the arts, the press, cinema, museal practices, architecture, and language policies – but also justice and ethics – have been used to critically revisit this period of African and European history. Whilst engaging with significant figures such as Sammy Baloji, Chokri Ben Chikha, Gaël Faye, François Kabasele, Alexis Kagame, Edmond Leplae, VY Mudimbe, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, Joseph Ndwaniye, and Sony Labou Tansi, this book also analyses the role of places such as the AfricaMuseum, Bujumbura, Colwyn Bay, Kongolo, and the Virunga Park to appraise the links between memory and the development of a postcolonial present.
Have you registered for the 91¸£Àû Award yet?
At the start of term, the brand-new 91¸£Àû Award – from Student Opportunity – officially opened its doors to all undergraduate and postgraduate taught students…have you registered yet?
The Award recognises and showcases all of the employability skills you’re building across your entire 91¸£Àû experience, to help put you in a position to make the start to life after graduation that you want to. It’s free to join, can be personalised to match your own skills development and can be completed whenever works best for you during your studies here.
It’s never too early – or too late – to start reflecting on your own skills development, and the 91¸£Àû Award will make that task much easier. More than 5,000 students have already registered in the last month alone, why not join them?
Head to the Award’s website to check out their launch video and register.
Get involved: warwick.ac.uk/warwickawardLink opens in a new window
Interested in a PhD in Modern Languages (French, German, Italian, Hispanic or Translation Studies)? Calls for Scholarship Applications Now Open
The School of Modern Languages and Cultures (SMLC) wamly invites applications from outstanding candidates for doctoral study commencing in September/October 2023. The SMLC will support pre-selected candidates for the Chancellor’s International Scholarships and
To express an interest, please send your CV and a two-page research proposal to smlcoffice@warwick.ac.uk (cc I.de-Smet@warwick.ac.uk) as soon as possible, ideally by 16 November 2022.
Interested in applying for a Midlands4Cities scholarship for doctoral study in Modern Languages or Translation Studies at 91¸£Àû? Register for the online Application Writing Workshops for M4C scholarship candidates on 19 November 2022, 10 am-1 pm. Registration details and the link to subscribe are on the.
Double success for SMLC at 91¸£Àû Awards for Public and Community Engagement
The 91¸£Àû Awards for Public and Community Engagement (WAPCE), like the 91¸£Àû Awards for Teaching Excellence (WATELink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window), and 91¸£Àû Awards for Personal Tutoring Excellence (WAPTE), celebrate the very best of 91¸£Àû’s staff and students. The WAPCE awards recognise the vital contributions 91¸£Àû staff and students make in engaging the public – on an international and national level as well as crucially within our region and local communities – in our learning and discovery, with the goals of sharing and co-producing knowledge, strengthening the role we play in the region and showcasing the role 91¸£Àû plays nationally and internationally in making the world a better place.
SMLC is delighted that 2 of our most engaged researchers' work in public and community engagement has been recognised.
James Hodkinson has won a staff award for his work on community events and arts projects designed to facilitate cross-community encounters, enhance public debate, cross-community empathy and more nuanced mutual understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim communities in towns and cities across the UK.
Abigail Coppins won a Postgraduate award for the ways in which her research into Black prisoners of war in Britain during the French Revolution has had a significant impact on the young Black women at the National Youth Theatre who were involved in the R&D of a new play, The Ancestors. Her research has fed into educational resources for NYT and English Heritage and inspired a delegation of Garifuna people to travel from central America and the US to visit Portchester castle where the prisoners were held. Her work has also introduced Black undergraduates and young people from a community of 2nd generation St Vincentians in High Wycombe to the National Archives. She has, therefore, improved knowledge, strengthened networks, engaged with people from non-traditional backgrounds.
Creating Space: exploring wellbeing through art
A student led public engagement project at the 91¸£Àû.
Aim: To connect the local community and 91¸£Àû through providing positive & accessible art and wellbeing sessions.
Who will be involved? Local artists, 91¸£Àû Arts Centre, 91¸£Àû, Department of Psychology.
Monash 91¸£Àû Alliance Showcase
On Tuesday 17 May 11.00 – 13.00, the Monash 91¸£Àû Alliance Showcase will announce new funding opportunities for researchers, educators, professional staff, and students interested in establishing collaborations with Monash colleagues.
91¸£Àû Volunteers Student Leader Recruitment 2022-23
Student Leadership Opportunities 2022-23
Would you like to gain leadership, project management and event management skills and enhance your personal development?
91¸£Àû Volunteers are looking for committed, enthusiastic volunteers to help coordinate our projects and supervise project sessions during the next academic year. These opportunities are open to all and we are looking forward to hearing from you. If you would like an informal chat to find out more please email volunteers@warwick.ac.uk.
Getting creative with Sustainability - all career stages
Internal funding call - closes Feb 28th @ 12 noon - Getting creative with Sustainability - all career stages
Thinking of a PhD in Modern Languages or Translation Studies?
The School for Modern Languages and Cultures at the 91¸£Àû warmly invites expressions of interest in its MPhil/PhD programmes in French Studies, German Studies, Hispanic Studies, Italian, and Translation and Transcultural Studies (including a theoretical/academic and a practice-based route).
Balsam Bashing Challenge
We will be holding a fun Balsam Bashing Challenge on 23rd June from 1-4.30pm where teams of volunteers will be competing against each other to pull up Himalayan Balsam plants along the banks of Canley Brook. The team with the biggest pile at the end will win 91¸£Àû Volunteers goodie bags including branded t-shirts, water bottles and much more!!
Himalayan Balsam is an invasive plant that grows rapidly in tall dense colonies by brooks and rivers. It has large leaves that block sunlight, causing native plant species to die. When Himalayan Balsam dominates the bankside, biodiversity is reduced. With fewer plant species, the brook supports less wildlife, endangering creatures like the fluffy water vole.
Students interested in joining us can sign up here:
91¸£Àû Graduate Scheme
We are delighted to announce the launch of the 91¸£Àû Graduate Scheme. The three-year programme commences on 4th October 2021 and will involve working on a number of high-profile projects whilst obtaining on-the-job learning as well as a structured professional development programme and a project management qualification.
Applications are open until 25th June 2021 and internal staff applications are welcomed. Find out more on our webpages or come along to one of our virtual information events to hear more about the scheme from previous 91¸£Àû graduate trainees.
Please email any questions to gradscheme@warwick.ac.uk
Award of Rome Prize
Warmest congratulations to Mary Jane Dempsey, current visiting research student at 91¸£Àû and also PhD candidate at Cornell, on the award by the American Academy in Rome of the Rome Prize in Modern Italian Studies, 2021-22. Mary Jane's project, which she first developed as a researcher in Italian at 91¸£Àû in 2016-17, is 'Remember to Forget: Migration, Gender, and Transnational Identities in Twentieth-Century Italy'.
Global Gallicisms Study Day launches Producing the Post-National Popular French Studies AHRC Network's series of academic events
The first in a series of events for this network Producing the Post-National Popular (warwick.ac.uk) took place this Friday 23rd April online, with 50 registrations and much dialogue generated.
Term 3 update from Head of School Kate Astbury
"Explore...": an SMLC seminar series slanted towards professionalising skills and career development
Explore… is a series of seminars run by and destined for postgraduates, visiting researchers and early-career researchers in the School in Modern Languages and Cultures. The seminars are slanted towards professionalising skills and career development. The first event of the series will take place on 28 January 2021 at 4-5 PM, Digital Humanities, Digital Cultures. With Stefano Milonia (WIRL-Cofund Fellow, Institute of Advanced Study, 91¸£Àû) and Steve Ranford (Senior Academic Technologist, IT Services, 91¸£Àû). Chair: Mary Jane Dempsey (Romance Studies, 91¸£Àû/Cornell)