Taking Politics and International Relations and English Language and Linguistics develops your understanding of communication from a global perspective, and gives you an insight into the mechanics of language. Politics and International Relations is an exciting, fast-changing, broad-based discipline. Our programmes are extremely flexible and offer extensive module choice, reflecting the research interests of our staff, including conflict resolution, federalism, comparative politics, European integration, ethnic conflict, terrorism, the theory of international relations, political theory, and the politics of countries such as China, Japan, Russia and the USA. Language is fundamental to everything we do: it helps us communicate ideas, express our feelings, persuade, and present ourselves to different audiences. English Language and Linguistics is therefore an ideal complement to subjects where an understanding of how language works is important. Combining theoretical and practical elements, the programme explores both the structure of language and its relationship with culture, society, and the mind. A broad choice of theoretical topics encompasses such areas as syntax, phonetics and phonology, morphology, sociolinguistics, language acquisition, semantics, pragmatics, literary stylistics and critical and cultural theory, while modules in language learning and teaching, creative and media writing, and language and media have a more vocational focus.