Our Research

Research Areas

Academics in the department work across a range of areas, examining culture, identity and language in regional, national and international contexts. Broadly speaking, we have expertise in literature, travel writing, translation, film, performance, visual cultures, popular culture, socio-political change and the exchange between cultures. We work within the context of our language-specific disciplines but there is also considerable cross-disciplinary expertise in the fields of minority languages and cultures, travel studies, ecocriticism, popular culture, cultural transfer, and translation and socio-political change. Within these broad areas, academics investigate important questions around topics including postcolonial legacies; the politics of memory; power and critical discourse; national identities; crime and representations of crime; migration and exile; mobility and immobility; material cultures and material texts; and the exchange of ideas across cultures. The broad range of expertise within the department means that we are able to offer Postgraduate Research Students interdisciplinary as well as subject specific supervision.

Research in each language area

The following gives a flavour of research in each language area:

French and Francophone Studies

In the area of French and Francophone Studies, there is particular expertise in the field of postcolonial studies, exploring the impact of France’s colonial past on modern day society through memory, migration, film, sport and popular culture.

Hispanic Studies

In Hispanic Studies, the focus is on the Iberian periphery with expertise in Galician, Catalan and Basque identities and culture. Aspects of exile, migration and mobility are emphasised, as well as gender, politics and minority identities.

German Studies

In German Studies there is expertise in text, materiality and performativity, as well as cutting-edge practice-led research in performance. In addition, there is an established focus on travel writing, cultural transfer and nineteenth-century culture

Italian Studies

In Italian Studies, there is an emphasis on the cultures of Southern Italy, including representations of the Mafia, and contemporary Italian literature, culture and history

Chinese Studies

In Chinese Studies research centres on the representation of China in the British media.

Translation Studies

In Translation Studies, the emphasis in on the role of translation in intercultural negotiation, especially in relation to minority languages, as well as issues pertaining to power, gender and the role of translation in society.

Recent Research Projects

Here are some examples of recent projects led by academics in the department:

Here are some examples of recent projects led by academics in the department:

Main arts quad turret & tree

Our Research The Centre for Galician Studies in Wales

A world-leading research-led centre in its field, established at Bangor University in 2006 to promote and consolidate Galician studies research and teaching in Wales, the UK and internationally. Taking advantage of Bangor University’s prominent position in the field of Iberian Studies and its internationally renowned reputation as a research centre in minority languages and cultures, Celtic studies and bilingualism, the Centre for Galician Studies in Wales produces top-ranking research in areas such as mobility studies, Galician film, Galician women's writing and ecocriticism. It also organises social and cultural events for our undergraduate and postgraduate students of Galician throughout the year.

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