Portuguese is the official language of eight countries across four continents, and is spoken by over 200 million people. This means that speaking Portuguese opens up possibilities to understand amazing cultures, societies and histories. Portugal and Brazil are just the beginning. The countries that make up the Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) world are home to a range of art, culture and traditions which include the vibrancy of the carnaval, the spirited sadness of the morna or fado songs, the literature of Saramago, Pessoa and Lispector, or the fusion of East meets West cultures in Asia.

In this video, one of our former final year students talks about why he chose to study Portuguese language and culture modules, and why it was a great decision to make. 

MDL105 An Introduction to the Social and Political History of Iberia & Latin America , which examines the historical trajectory of Spain and Portugal, their emergence as states in the Iberian Peninsula, their imperial expansion overseas into Africa, Latin America and beyond, the eventual independence of the colonies and their development and consolidation into the various modern-day states we know today. The module will explore the social, political, linguistic and cultural characteristics of these states and its peoples and highlight the importance of understanding their complex history in the formation of their identities, their languages and their cultural and political values.