Italian studies.
The Institute and the School
The School of Modern Languages and Cultures
The School of Modern Languages and Cultures is a leading centre of teaching and research in Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hispanic, Japanese and Russian Studies. Its community of academics, teachers, and support staff aims to foster a world-class student experience at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Our staff are engaged in research and teaching in language, literature, cultural history, cinema and visual culture, and translation studies. The School and its departments figure regularly in the top five in national league tables. The School is ranked in the top 60 language departments globally in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024.
The Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies
The Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies represents one of the largest and most diverse concentrations of medieval and early modern studies worldwide. It is also the academic hub for Durham's UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of Durham's flagship interdisciplinary University Research Institutes, it supports world-leading work on the global past from Late Antiquity to the late eighteenth century and across the disciplinary spectrum. To this end, it hosts research projects, houses an imprint, provides courses in advanced study and skills, and offers a range of public programmes. It sponsors cutting-edge research on the World Heritage Site and promotes public engagement with the World Heritage Site and its partners all over the world.
Inventing Futures
The Institute's new flagship programme of research, (IFs), emphasizes future-oriented consequences of the Institute's past-oriented study. Each of its constituent research projects addresses a particular global challenge related to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG). It uses the rich array of medieval and early modern resources at Durham - and beyond - to yield new responses to that challenge. Led by three Barker Senior Research Fellows (SRFs), working with colleagues from other institutions, this new wave of future-oriented research will offer a crucial yet frequently overlooked historical and cultural set of perspectives and tools. It will also provide funded opportunities for PhD students and early career researchers to work alongside academic leaders.
