BA Beginners' Italian and Russian
About this course
Taking two languages from scratch at Oxford is one of the most intellectually stretching things a student can do. Italian and Russian are two of the major languages of Europe, each carrying a literary and cultural tradition of extraordinary richness. Italian opens the world of Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, the Renaissance, opera and contemporary Italian culture; Russian opens Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Pushkin, the Soviet experience, and one of the most geopolitically significant languages on the planet. Beginning both from scratch means committing to an intensive linguistic journey that takes you from nothing to a sophisticated level of understanding in four years. At Oxford this four-year programme is among the most demanding language degrees available anywhere. You will learn both languages simultaneously from the beginning, developing grammar, vocabulary and the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening in parallel. As your proficiency grows, the programme draws you deeper into the literary, cultural and intellectual traditions of Italy and Russia, with close reading of major texts forming the core of the academic work. Oxford's tutorial system means you will receive intense personal attention from scholars who are active researchers in the fields you are studying, and the university's extensive resources in both languages are exceptional. Graduates from Oxford's languages programmes go on to careers in diplomacy, international organisations, the civil service, translation and interpreting, publishing, journalism, arts and cultural institutions, international business and academia. The combination of Italian and Russian is particularly distinctive, reflecting a range and intellectual seriousness that marks graduates out. Many continue to postgraduate study in linguistics, literature, translation, cultural history or international relations. A degree that takes you from beginner to advanced in two major European languages in four years is an achievement that opens doors for the rest of a career.
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