Durham Modern Languages and Cultures

20/10/2026

🌏 Interested in Asia? Two upcoming opportunities for students at Durham University!

🎓 Yenching Academy, Peking University
Discover a prestigious, fully funded, two-year, English-taught MA in China Studies at Peking University. Durham students are invited to an exclusive online information session with the Academy’s Associate Dean and Director of Admissions on 21 October 2026 at 12 noon UK time.

As a partner institution, Durham students benefit from an extended application deadline of 7 December 2026.

💮Exploring the World of Japanese Studies: Tracing the Past Forward
Join us at Durham University’s Oriental Museum on 4 November for the latest talk in the Japan Foundation’s Japanese Studies series. Explore historical, political and cultural traces of twentieth-century Japan and East Asia through three case studies on public opinion, art and dance, led by Durham researchers.

📩 For more information and registration for the Japanese Studies talk, please get in touch with Fusako Innami at [email protected].

📌 For the Yenching Academy information session and application details, visit the official Yenching Academy website.


Centre for Foreign Language Study

20/10/2026

The Society for Pirandello Studies is pleased to announce its annual conference, Pirandello and Popular Performance Cultures in Italy (hybrid), taking place on Saturday, 24 October 2026, in the Lindisfarne Room, St Cuthbert’s Society, 12 South Bailey, Durham University.

📌 Explore the full conference programme by scanning the QR code on the poster.

💻 The conference will also be available online via Microsoft Teams. To register for the event, either in person or online, and receive further details ahead of the day, including the Teams link, please contact Ale Toma at [email protected].

The conference is organised with the support of the Mazzini Garibaldi Foundation, Durham University, St Cuthbert’s Society, and the Society for Italian Studies, whose contributions have helped make the event possible.



Italian Studies at Durham

20/10/2026

JET Programme Information Session
Wednesday 28 October, 14:15–15:15
CLC407 (Kingsley Barret Room), Calman Learning Centre, Durham University

The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme is a Japanese government initiative that offers opportunities for people from around the world to live and work in Japan as Assistant Language Teachers or Coordinators for International Relations. (No Japanese language proficiency required. Even if you are not planning to apply this year, you are welcome to come and find out more.)

Staff from the Consulate-General of Japan in Edinburgh will visit Durham to provide an overview of the programme and answer your questions. The session is open to everyone - all are welcome.

Registration required. Please contact: [email protected]

Centre for Foreign Language Study

06/10/2026

🤖 New research from Dr Michael Barcomb

Dr Michael Barcomb, Assistant Professor in TESOL and Applied Linguistics, has recently shared two developments from his research on AI and language education.

📖 His new book chapter explores academic integrity and AI, in a volume edited by leading scholars Sarah Elaine Eaton and Rahul Kumar.

🌱 He has also presented research at the EUROCALL Spring Festival 2026 on environmental responsibility in CALL teacher education, examining how student teachers reflected on the environmental impact of their generative AI use.

Read the chapter and find out more about the EUROCALL presentation via the links in our bio.

06/10/2026

How can fascism shape not only what people think, but what they see, hear, read and experience?

Zoë Roth, Associate Professor of French at Durham, features in a new CBC Ideas radio documentary exploring fascism, aesthetics and the ways the far right draws on the history of fascism.

Zoë discusses how propaganda, censorship and collective rituals can restrict and homogenise sensory experience, a process she describes as ‘fascist anaesthesia’.

🎧 Listen to the documentary on CBC Ideas. Find the link in the first comment below.

06/10/2026

Prof Rosi Song, Professor of Hispanic Studies at Durham University, has edited the latest issue of Gastronomica

The Fall 2026 issue (26.3) explores migration and food networks, bringing together new research, creative nonfiction and photography on foodways, provisioning, nourishment and culinary mobility. It also features a special section on migrant foodways and culinary mobilities in Japan.

Prof Song also wrote the issue's Editorial Letter and discusses the story behind the issue in a new Gastronomica podcast with Melissa Fuster.

🎧 Listen to “The Next Issue: Fall 2026 (26.3)” and explore the new issue online: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/modern-languages-cultures/about-us/news/rosi-song/

06/10/2026

🎓 Could a scholarship help you make the most of your time at Durham?

Are you planning to start an undergraduate degree in Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham in October 2027?

The Helen Sharp Undergraduate Scholarship in Modern Languages offers eligible students up to £4,000 per year for up to four years, thanks to the generous support of MLAC alumna Helen Potts (née Sharp).

The scholarship is open to eligible Home students studying French, German, Hispanic Studies, Italian or Russian, with a household income below £42,875 and a full state-maintained UK education.

Applications from students of Black Heritage, care-leavers, refugees and asylum-seekers are particularly warmly welcomed.

📅 Applications close: 25 March 2027 at 23:59 BST

Find the full eligibility criteria, application form and details of the selection process here: https://www.durham.ac.uk/departments/academic/modern-languages-cultures/about-us/news/new-round-of-the-helen-sharp/

05/10/2026

Welcome to a new year at MLAC! 💜

A very warm welcome to all our new and returning students as we begin a new term in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.

Whether you’re a new or returning undergraduate or postgraduate student, studying Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian or Spanish, or exploring Visual Arts and Film, we’re delighted to have you as part of our community. 🌍🎬🎨

05/10/2026

Black History Month: an evening with Asma Elbadawi

Join us on 12 October, 6:30–8:30 p.m. at the Lindisfarne Centre for an inspiring evening with award-winning British-Sudanese spoken-word poet, visual artist and basketball player Asma Elbadawi.

Through poetry, visual art and conversation, Asma will explore creativity, identity, sport and activism, followed by a conversation with Professor Abir Hamdar, audience Q&A, and a reception with refreshments.

🏀 Asma has campaigned successfully for FIBA to lift its ban on religious headwear in professional basketball and has been recognised with the British Muslim Awards and the British Journal of Photography’s Female in Focus x Nikon Award.

📅 12 October
🕡 6:30–8:30 p.m.
📍 Lindisfarne Centre
🎟️ Free — registration required

Open to staff, students and the wider community. Places are limited, so please register via the link/QR code on the event poster.

Funded by the BAME Network/EDI Unit and St Aidan’s College.


Asma Elbadawi

30/09/2026