Portuguese/English Literature

Portuguese is among the world's most widely spoken languages, carrying with it a vast and varied literary culture that stretches from medieval Iberian poetry to contemporary fiction from Brazil, Mozambique, Angola and Portugal itself. Pairing it with English Literature creates a degree that asks you to think about language, translation, literary form and cultural difference at every stage. English Literature here encompasses the full range from early modern to postmodern writing, with particular strengths in American, Irish and postcolonial traditions, critical theory, creative writing, and the relationship between literature and other arts, media and science.

This five-year programme at the University of Glasgow is structured to include both a sandwich year and a work placement, giving you extended periods outside the lecture hall where you develop practical skills and professional experience alongside your academic study. Over the full course of the degree you will build genuine bilingual competence in Portuguese and English while developing the skills of literary analysis, comparative reading and critical argument that mark a humanities education at its best. You will engage with postcolonial perspectives on both languages, which means thinking seriously about the histories of empire and migration that shaped the literary traditions you are studying.

Graduates combine fluency in two major world languages with strong analytical and writing skills, and with professional experience from the placement year. This makes them competitive for careers in translation, international business, publishing, journalism, diplomacy, education, arts administration and the civil service. The comparative and critical thinking that literary study develops also transfers well to law, communications and a wide range of graduate-entry professions.

Postgraduate study in comparative literature, translation studies, Lusophone studies or English literature is a natural next step for those wanting to specialise further.