Introduction to Accounting

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1

This module is designed as an introduction to accounting and financial management for managers.

The module introduces accounting and financial management topics gradually, examining basic principles and underlying concepts before demonstrating how accounting statements and financial information can be used to improve business decision-making.

The module focus is for students of business and management as decision-makers and users of financial information.

Introduction to Business and Management

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1

Introduction to Business and Management is an introductory study of contemporary organisations and their management. It explores the types of purposes of organisations, their stakeholders (CSR) and changing environments together with their key managerial processes – entrepreneurship, organisational structure, leading, strategic planning and change.

The focus throughout is on helping you achieve a critical and reflective approach, and learning to apply relevant concepts, tools and models.

The coursework component of assessment requires you to choose an organisation that is of interest to you and to explore, critically, the way in which it handles a process of your choice. You are supported in this by the submission of a structured proposal on which formative feedback is given.

Seminar activities are participative and require preparatory work which is signposted though downloads and links on Study Direct well in advance.

Lectures are interactive, employing the use of quizzes and featuring clips from YouTube, such as Dragons' Den excerpts.

An unseen examination completes the assessment profile and you tackle a case study (which revisits keys concepts) in the final seminar as a formative exercise.

The module provides a platform for later study by encouraging skills in critical thinking, academic writing, concept acquisition and research. Introduction to Business and Management aims to facilitate the transition to university-level learning smoothly, meaningfully and enjoyably.

Introduction to Business Law

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1

This module aims to develop knowledge and skills in the understanding of the general legal framework, and of specific legal areas relating to business.

The module is divided into four parts:

1. the English legal system
2. contractual obligations
3. tortious liability; and
4. the contract of employment.

Introduction to Economics

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 1

This module provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of economics. The first half of the module deals with micro-economic issues, including the behaviour of individuals and firms, their interaction in markets and the role of government. The second half of the module is devoted to macroeconomics and examines the determinants of aggregate economic variables, such as national income, inflation, and the balance of payments, and the relationships between them.

Introduction to Marketing

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1

Introduction to Marketing explores various aspects of the marketing process, including environmental scanning (assessing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threat analysis, and competitor analysis), strategic development options, marketing mix (traditional and new media), customer relationship management (CRM), sales management and supplier management.

Through case study analysis and practical application, you will develop an appreciation of the practical applications of various marketing concepts and techniques, and learn to critically evaluate and select strategic and operational options available to marketing decision-makers to build a sustainable competitive position.

The objective of this module is to provide you with a clear and comprehensive understanding of the key foundational principles of marketing.

Principles of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 1

This module explores the causes and effects of human interaction in an organisation and how humans at individual, group and organisational level influence organisations. Organisational performance depends on appropriate incentives to individuals, developing effective teams, designing an attractive job environment and managing organisational structure.

Focusing on these issues, the module is divided into four themes based on the level of analysis:

• individual – we will look at the individual's contribution to organisation and the factors affecting their behaviour
• group – the nature and significance of groups in organisations will be discussed and the range of skills required for effective team work and factors affecting working in groups will also be explored
• organisational – organisational design and culture, inspiring workers through norms, beliefs and behaviour, and management in the work place will be explained
• human resource management – we will examine the aspects of developing human capital through recruitment, training, development and reward, which will create a sustainable commitment to organisational goals and to ensure high performance.

There will be two forms of assessment for this module with an equal weighting for coursework and an unseen exam. The coursework component will invovle a Group Report analysing concepts of human resource management and organisational behaviour in a chosen organisation. Formative feedback for this assessment will be provided by peers and tutors on the work-in-progress presentation of this report in seminars.

An unseen exam at the end of the term will cover the remaining assessment. You will participate in a role playing game in your final seminar analysing and discussing the concepts taught during the lecture as a formative exercise.

Information Systems

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2

The module introduces you to the application and management of information systems in an organisational environment. It adopts a management perspective to appreciate the identification, analysis, development, organisation and impact of appropriate information systems. Foundations of intra- and inter-organisational systems are examined along with their economic, social and organisational impacts.

International Business Environment

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2

This module examines the nature of the operating environment for international business today.  You will review the scale, scope and trends in international business activity and evaluate the various methods that firms can use to assess, enter and develop non-domestic markets. You will  consider the relevance of factors such as culture, psychic distance, host and home country perspectives and 'green' issues on the organisation and management of international business.

Throughout the module emphasis is placed on the business environment in key regions of the world, notably the European Union, North America, East and SE Asia and the transition economies of East and Central Europe. Finally, you will examine the impact of the evolving world economy, regional integration and globalisation on today's international firm.

International Business Strategy

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2

International business is concerned with how firms engage in transactions and value-adding activities outside of their national boundaries. The module examines the various elements of international business strategy (e.g. entry mode, partner selection in joint ventures, location) and how the organisational structure of the firm is best configured to its strategy. Consideration will also be given to the impact of foreign direct investment on host and home economies.

International Marketing

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 2

Few companies these days could claim to be purely domestic. While the firm may confine its activities to the domestic market, the market itself is unlikely to be so restricted and may be served by firms headquartered in or operating from a number of other countries or regions. Knowledge of international issues is therefore of importance to all firms whether they are actively involved in marketing in foreign markets or have foreign competitors at home. This module represents an introduction to international marketing and aims to develop knowledge of the international environment and international marketing. The increased scope, risk and complexity faced by the international marketer is due to the increased level of uncertainty from operating in diverse and less understood environments. Emphasis is placed on the identification of challenges presented by international marketing to equip students to deal with differences, opportunities and threats emerging from diverse economic, demographic, political/legal, cultural, technical and competitive environments. The impact of international issues is related during the module to the marketing decision-making task at three levels; the macro level at which country selection decisions are made; national level at which market entry decisions are made; and market level where marketing mix decisions are made.

Managing Global Supply Chains

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2

Research Methods for International Business

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 2

Comparative Business Organisation

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

The module aims to provide an investigation of the relationship between organisations and their stakeholder groups, and the social accountability and responsibilities that a corporation holds towards different stakeholders.

The module will introduce you to concepts of corporate governance, socially responsible investment and ethical issues relevant to contemporary business. It will be contemporary, interesting, stretching and relevant, and should build on and integrate with other modules that you have taken and/or are taking.

Global Strategy

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

International Human Resource Management

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to an analytical and critical approach to international aspects of HRM. Therefore, the module will examine, among other things: how power and politics are implicated in the internal dynamics of multinational corporations, how the 'ideal worker' as construed by strategic IHRM practices informs the expectations from workers, and if corporate social responsibility can possibly suffice to ensure a fair employment relationship in the absence of a transnational regulator.

Business Strategy Report

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

This module provides the opportunity for you to prepare a report on the strategic position of a business or organisation (governmental or not-for-profit) of your choice. You will have the chance to integrate the skills you have developed in your previous modules into one extended research project.

The project requires you to research the strategic position (including market environment, resources and cababilities) of an organisation. Based on this analysis, you will propose a strategy for the organisation over the next five years.

The final report should reflect your research skills and understanding of previous course material. During the first two weeks of the module, you will receive research methods training, supplementing the Research Methods module in the second year.

Critical Perspectives on Management and Organisations

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

This module aims to introduce you to a number of advanced topics in the field of organisation and management studies. It draws upon contemporary research and adopts a critical and analytical perspective to study complex issues that surround the management of organisations today.

Some of the topics that will be covered are:

1. Organising in post-modernity
2. Unpacking the foundations of institutions
3. The turn to (theory and strategy of) Practice
4. Managing boundaries
5. Organisational identity & Organising Identity
6. Sense making in organisations and organisational learning
7. Power/Knowledge, Resistance and Politics in organisations
8. Management fads & fashions

Developing Leadership

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

Organisations have traditionally conceived of leadership as a heroic attribute, appointing the few 'real' leaders to high-level senior positions in order to get them through the hard times. Many observers within organisations are questioning this approach and are beginning to think about the need to recognise and utilise a wider range of leadership practices. Leadership, they argue, needs to be conceived of as something that happens across functions and levels, and that is closely connected with social, cognitive and communicative skills such as those employed in negotiation and decision-making. New concepts and frameworks are needed in order to embrace this more inclusive understanding. This module adopts a systems approach, which focuses on method, people, context, and need. As such, the module offers a perspective that links the two dimensions of people and situation with two additional dimensions of process and content (methods and outcomes).

Entrepreneurship and Small Firms

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

The module provides you with a comprehensive understanding of the entrepreneurial process and the development of new ventures. Entrepreneurship is viewed as a process to provide sustainable economic, social and institutional change. Module content is limited to entrepreneurship in a small business context.

Innovation Systems

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

Science, technology and innovation (STI) play fundamental roles in our societies. STI are pervasive in our lifestyles and our social organisation and crucial for economic growth. However, until a few years ago science and technology had been regarded as external factors that social actors used at convenience without inquiring how they were created. 

In this module we will explore how science and technology are shaped by social forces and how science and technology shape social phenomena. The processes by which socio-economic and technological phenomena shape each other are complex and dependent on historical circumstances. In order to try to see through this complexity we will adopt systemic approaches taking on economic and sociological perspectives.

Innovation system and network approaches look into how various socio-economic actors (university, small spin-off firms, large corporations, governmental agencies, activist organisations and the wider public) interact with each other. For example, these interactions may lead to knowledge transfer, may result in the construction of new regulatory regimes or may lead to political conflicts. 

This module aims to 'open up' the black box of how science, technology and innovation (STI) to understand their emergence and show that STI can be created, directed and managed for diverse purposes, encouraging critical views on past and current STI uses.

International Entrepreneurship

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

Knowledge, work and organisations

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

This module looks at the pivotal role that knowledge workers play in the creation, application and diffusion of knowledge within and between firms.

You will consider new approaches to managing learning processes in the firm, including developments such as knowledge management and communities of practice, and the novel organisational structures that have emerged to coordinate knowledge-­work activity.

You will explore the diffusion of knowledge between firms through different types of knowledge-worker communities and networks, as well as the role of labour mobility. You will also consider how certain skills are emerging to play a critical role in the knowledge economy - for example, consulting services and knowledge brokering. Finally, you will consider how labour market institutions that impact careers, skills and training of knowledge workers, shape different approaches to knowledge generation. 

Law of Business Organisations

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

This module aims to develop knowledge and skills in relation to the law of business organisations including the formation and constitution of business organisations, the financing of companies and the management, administration and regulation of companies.

Managing Change

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

This module will provide you with detailed theoretical and practical knowledge of how to manage change in a variety of contexts. You will examine the principles of managing change at a number of levels, building progressively throughout the module from looking at individual change, to team change, and organisational change up to complex change at the meso-macro level in complex economic systems (eg large projects of regional, or even national importance).

Within this continuum, topics to be addressed include: cognitive and psychodynamic theories of change, the constitution of teams and their dynamics, models and approaches to organisational change (including cultural change, restructuring, and mergers/acquisitions). The application of specific tools for change will also be a key feature of the course, including tools for planning and project management, as well as team member/stakeholder engagement techniques.

You will engage with theoretical concepts and real-life, empircal case material. These will form the main focus of the interactive seminars, which will employ diverse methods (role-plays, debates, presentations, team-based problem solving) to discuss case studies and to help you gain practical skills from applying tools for managing change.

An assessed feasibility study project will provide an opportunity to operationalise course learning towards practical tasks as well as demonstrating your understanding and process ahead of the unseen exam. The Lecture titles are:

• Understanding Change in the Individual
• Change in Teams and Teams for Change
• From Ad hoc to Scientific Management (the Classical School)
• From Certainty to Contingency
• In search of new paradigms
• Critical perspectives on organisational theory - postmodernism, realism and complexity theory
• Culture, Power Politics and Choice
• Planned and Emergent Change
• A Framework for Change
• Manging Change, Managing Choice
• Technological transitions
• Technological revolutions

New Venture Creation and Business Planning

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

This module delivers a systematic understanding of the integrated component parts that constitute a start-up enterprise. It begins with an overview of the entrepreneurial attributes that underpin the development and implementation of an enterprise. Theoretical perspectives of entrepreneurship and models for assessing added value will form the basis of analysis of the process of start-ups. The module assists students in understanding strategic issues using appropriate frameworks to critically evaluate how entrepreneurs undertake the development of functional processes and to make informed strategic decisions. The theoretical underpinnings will also facilitate analysis of start-ups in a global market environment. Leading on from this, students will develop a critical understanding of the key processes involved in start-ups including web design, marketing, customer relationships, security and legal and ethical issues. The academic rigour of the module is enhanced by the linking application with the use of theory as presented in business models, and business plans.

Outline content

The business planning process
Idea generation / development / evaluation
Market identification including exposure to market players
Researching the resources required including equipment, people, funding, seed corn, angle funds,
Segmentation / positioning & differentiation / targeting
Developing the marketing mix (7 P's),
Use of technology to enable the business
Financial planning leading to development of financial statements and realistic related assumptions
Government, Regional and professional organisations/body support systems

Project Management

15 credits
Spring teaching, Year 3

The aim of this module is to introduce students to the concept of project management as a way of managing. The role of project management as a key resource in the process of managing at the strategic level and the management of change in general will be examined and developed. Project Management concepts, the roles and responsibilities of project managers, organisational structures within which project management operates, project implementation, project teams, project leadership, project communication, relationships with clients, end-users and funding bodies, client briefing and network analysis will all be scrutinised. Qualitative and quantitative aspects and approaches will also be introduced and critically examined and developed.

Public and Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

This module provides an introduction to organization and management in the public and nonprofit sectors. It combines perspectives from organization studies, management, economics, sociology, political science, and public policy. The first part of the module aims to develop insights into why public action is needed and how it is implemented including the governance of courses and projects, their budgeting and management, and the demonstration of their effectiveness. The second part of the module will examine the nonprofit sector. In addition to comparing the scope of activity, means of delivery and approaches to evaluation in this sector with the public sector, the second part of the module will examine the problems of mobilising support for nonprofit activities including fundraising, the enrolment of volunteers, and the role of professional staff. Seminars will develop more deeply the topics treated during the lectures by considering specific experience in both Anglo-American and more international contexts.

Research Project (International Business)

30 credits
Autumn & spring teaching, Year 3

Strategy

15 credits
Autumn teaching, Year 3

This is a final-year integrative module in strategy, which develops your understanding and skills as a prospective future manager, specifically for formulating an organisation's overall strategic direction.

The module will help you to develop an understanding of the different approaches to strategy: how choices are made between different possible approaches; the content in which choices are made; and how strategies and structures are designed and implemented.

This module will complement and build on the various management skills already developed through earlier business and management modules.

A Sociology of 21st Century Britain

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

A Sociology of 21st Century Britain will use Britain today as an empirical base for exploring wider sociological perspectives and the insights that social science can bring into key problems and debates about contemporary life.

During the module you will explore the relationship between empirical research and theory using examples from recent sociological work, drawing from studies no older than 5 years, to look at a range of issues in 21st century Britain, including work and employment, family, sport, intimacy, life online, nationalism, death and wealth.

The module is designed to demonstrate the capacity of sociology to explore the social world in interesting, challenging and critical ways, but will be relevant to anyone who wishes to learn more about contemporary Britain, from the perspective of insider or outsider.

American Identities

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

'What is an American?' Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur asked in the 18th century, when the American colonies were on the verge of revolution. That question has never really gone away. Whether as a self-proclaimed Republic, a slave-holding society, a 'nation of immigrants' or an imperial world power, America has had to invent and re-invent its national identity time and time again, from colonial times to the present.

On this module we study how Americans in different periods and different regions have thought, written, debated and talked about themselves in relation to their country in autobiography, poetry, fiction, and film. We ask how race, gender, and sexuality impact on notions of American citizenship, and we find out how to become an American, now and in the past. We will come across contradictory conceptions of American identity that may surprise us, as well as stereotypes and familiar tropes of optimism, individualism, and the right to bear arms.

Applying Psychology to Everyday Problems

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module introduces you to a variety of ways in which psychological knowledge is applied to everyday problems. It covers topics such as understanding mental health problems and how they can be treated, how psychology can be used to influence health and well-being, the role of psychology in the workplace, the relevance of psychology to educational practice – including understanding why ‘bullying’ occurs and how we can prevent it, and how psychological knowledge about face recognition can be used to aid criminal investigations.

You will learn about some of the research and theories that support these applications of psychology to everyday problems and will be introduced to the areas of professional applied psychology that underpin them.

Arabic Ab initio A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This stage 1 module is an introduction to the foreign language for students with little or no prior knowledge of the target language (TL). The module aims to:

• enable students to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in the TL, in everyday situations at an elementary level
• provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an elementary level
• introduce fundamental elements of the TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, and provide a solid foundation for progression in the TL
• introduce the background culture of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A1 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

Art and Artists

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This is a twelve-week level-one module taught in the autumn term. It deals with one of the issues central to art history: how did ‘great artists’ gain their reputation both during their lifetime and subsequently? Some artists’ reputations have waxed and waned, while others have been admired for very different reasons at different times.

This lecture series looks at a variety of cases presenting different ‘histories’ of the artist, from the ancient world to the Renaissance. We will focus on a particular set of issues surrounding the conceptualization of the artist and artistic creativity in the classical, Byzantine and/or mediaeval periods: the issue of anonymity, the artist versus the craftsman, and related issues of historiography.

The module may cover painters, printmakers and sculptors as well as artists whose achievements were in the applied arts. It complements, but is not a pre-requisite for, Art and Artists II.

British Political History

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module will give you an overview of the key questions, concepts and controversies in modern British political history, with a particular emphasis on the period since 1945.

You will gain an understanding of both academic and political debates on topics such as the postwar 'consensus', Thatcherism and New Labour, and will also be introduced to some of the ways in which politicians throughout this period have presented their own interpretations of British political history.

British Sign Language and Deaf Culture 1

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

Chinese Ab initio A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This stage 1 module is an introduction to the foreign language for students with little or no prior knowledge of the target language (TL).

The module aims to:

• enable students to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in the TL, in everyday situations at an elementary level
• provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an elementary level
• introduce fundamental elements of the TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, and provide a solid foundation for progression in the TL
• introduce the background culture of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A1 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

Education for Development: Aid, Policy and the Global Agenda

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

Education, Education, Education; Theory, Practice and Politics

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

English for Business and Professional Purposes Intermediate

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module offers training in all the communication skills required to undertake academic business and professional studies and to participate or interact in business and other working environments. It will focus on the extended reading and writing skills required in essays, reports, assignments, and general business and professional communication. It will also offer training in the listening and speaking skills required to understand and contribute to seminars, tutorials and lectures on business and professional subjects and to prepare you for oral communication in business and professional practice.

Pre-requisite – You will not have English as your first language

English Language Accuracy and Academic Practice

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

The module aims are twofold: to enable you to further improve your language, and to provide further practice and development in your academic skills.

In the language, you will extend your range of vocabulary and grammar structures and develop your formal accuracy. In the academic skills, you will work on tasks to develop your written and oral communication skills within the context of your own disciplines, and integrate reading and listening skills to these tasks.

Pre-requisite – You will not have English as your first language

English Language Teaching 1A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module will provide students with an introduction to the social, political, linguistic and pedagogic issues involved in the teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages and the principles and practice of a range of methods and approaches.

Ethnographic Film

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

Film Analysis (E)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module draws upon both 20th-century and contemporary film texts to explore the diverse uses filmmakers have made of such key techniques of cinematic expression as narrative, cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, sound, and special effects. We consider not simply how such techniques are accomplished (ie the creative choices available to filmmakers) but also the potential they have for generating meaning and pleasure when combined together to produce filmic texts. The module also examines links between technological change and film aesthetics.

French Ab initio A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This stage module is designed for:

• beginners, assuming no previous knowledge
• false beginners with prior experience of the language at an elementary level, including those who have up to grade C at GCSE

The module aims to:

• enable students to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in the TL, in everyday situations at an elementary level
• provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an elementary level
• introduce fundamental elements of the TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, and provide a solid foundation for progression in the TL
• introduce the background culture of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A1 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

French For Professional Purposes 1A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module is designed for advanced learners who have a good A level pass, or equivalent.

The module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts;
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, including common professional themes, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level;
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL;
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, professional, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include presentations and discussion, text handling and writing activities such as summarising and reporting etc., based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials.
Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B1-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

French Intermediate A Year 1

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This stage 3 module is for students with some basic knowledge and experience of the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level A2 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR] the module aims to:
- enable you to understand key information and to communicate effectively in the TL, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations, at a standard level
- provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
- consolidate and develop the range of key elements of TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, to allow progression in the TL
- present the background culture and society of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, e.g. text; audio; audio-visual; digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A2-B1 (Basic-Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Gender Equality

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module provides an introduction to the relationship between law and gender. It will explore different areas where law interacts with, and regulates, gender relations while also providing a basic introduction to feminist legal theory. Substantive areas of study will include issues such as reproductive rights (abortion, surrogacy, new reproductive technologies), sexual violence, body image and pornography, prostitution, parity democracy, and maternity rights.

German Ab initio A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This stage 1 module is an introduction to the foreign language for students with little or no prior knowledge of the target language (TL). The module aims to:

• enable students to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in the TL, in everyday situations at an elementary level
• provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an elementary level
• introduce fundamental elements of the TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, and provide a solid foundation for progression in the TL
• introduce the background culture of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A1 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

Global Cultures, Local Lives

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module explores anthropology as an exciting, 'living' subject, alive to the concerns of different communities and populations living across the globe, and as cutting edge in terms of the research conducted by anthropologists at Sussex as they actively engage with issues of social, cultural and global transformation. This is accomplished through a module structure which revolves around 5 core themes considered central to the subject that capture anthropological thinking on the subjects of culture, identity and representation: kinship; self and body; economy as culture; religion and politics; and work on the global-local interface.

Global Issues

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

The module aims to introduce you to the study of global politics and global political economy. To do so, we will examine problems, issues and dynamics that have come to shape contemporary political life at the international, transnational and global levels. This introduction will set the scene for later modules that offer an in-depth analysis of these issues, as well as a thorough examination of the theoretical and conceptual tools used by scholars.

International Business Environment

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

Introduction to Economics (Elective)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module provides an introduction to the fundamental principles of economics. The first half of the module deals with micro-economic issues including the behaviour of individuals and firms, their interaction in markets and the role of government. The second half of the module is devoted to macroeconomics and examines the determinants of aggregate economic variables, such as national income, inflation, and the balance of payments, and the relationships between them.

Introduction to Human Rights

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module will introduce you to the diversity of human rights issues and the different approaches that disciplines take in this field. Each week, a member of faculty drawn from one of a number of departments (including law, anthropology, politics and history) will consider a different human rights theme in which they have specific expertise. Subjects may include human rights and immigration, reproductive rights, rights to sexual orientation, genocide, women's rights, children's rights, minority rights and the United Nations human rights institutions.

Introduction to Music Studies (E)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module relates repertoires and areas of study in music to compositions and performances across many styles and periods, connecting contemporary insights with historical studies. You will discover and develop a command of issues in contemporary musicology, and also learn to evaluate and compare sources and texts. Many questions relevant to musicians working today are opened up and debated during our seminars.

You will be taught how to interpret and connect examples of music ranging from the 12th century to today. You will demonstrate your command of the ideas and techniques inscribed in these examples through practical exercises and an essay.

Italian Ab initio A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This stage 1 module is an introduction to the foreign language for students with little or no prior knowledge of the target language (TL). The module aims to:

• enable students to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in the TL, in everyday situations at an elementary level
• provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an elementary level
• introduce fundamental elements of the TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, and provide a solid foundation for progression in the TL
• introduce the background culture of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A1 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

Japanese Ab initio A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This stage 1 module is an introduction to the foreign language for students with little or no prior knowledge of the target language (TL). The module aims to:

• enable students to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in the TL, in everyday situations at an elementary level
• provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an elementary level
• introduce fundamental elements of the TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, and provide a solid foundation for progression in the TL
• introduce the background culture of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A1 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

Leadership Foundations

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

Mathematics Demystified

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

What makes the world work? Logic, algorithms, connected graphs (the London Underground), elementary number theory, encryption, error correction.

This module is suitable for anyone with GCSE-level maths and an interest in graphs and numbers.

Our Place in the Universe(s)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

Astronomy, the study of space and its contents beyond the earth, is both the oldest science, and one in which new discoveries are being made on a daily basis. It is used to explain such familiar phenomena as the tides, eclipses and meteor showers, as well as much more exotic objects such as black holes and exoplanets. The observable universe also provides a laboratory for testing physical theories at extreme energies that are unachievable on earth.

This elective will provide non-science students with a broad, non-mathematical understanding of astronomy from our solar system, via stars and galaxies, to the universe as a whole, all to appreciate our place in the universe(s).

Papyrus to Pixel: Language and technology

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module will start by looking at the very beginnings of written language on stone and slate, examining how the move from ephemeral to permanent language allowed the human race to begin the development of culture and art. It will follow the progress of written language of scribes using ink on paper and the dependence on a small minority of literate people to spread information as well as entertainment.

The advent of the printing press will be addressed, examining the huge impact of spreading literacy and allowing new sections of the population to not only read what others wrote, but ultimately to write and publish themselves.The impact on literature, society (politics) and the language itself will be examined.

Finally, the module will come right up to date, looking at the new technologies. The impact of text, email etc. on everyday language is examined as well as how the world of literature has been affected. And with a final twist we will look at whether the rapid rise of MP3 audio books is taking us full circle back to the days of the story teller.

Paradox and Argument

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

Principles of Finance (Elective)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module provides an introduction to financial markets, instruments and concepts, and is designed for students with no previous knowledge of finance.

It begins with an overview of different financial institutions, and the products that they commonly provide and trade. Major historical events in the financial markets are also discussed, illustrating their importance in the wider economy. Reference will also be made, where appropriate, to skills and products contributing to personal financial literacy.

Topics include:

• concepts relating to equity
• loan and bond markets
• beginning with interest rates
• returns
• time value of money
• discounting
• present value.

Questioning the Media E

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module introduces the study of media forms, texts and systems and their contribution to social life. You will begin to explore the breadth of media studies through attention to the ways in which media matter. In what ways, and how significant are the media in the formation of individual identities and in the practices of everyday life? In the more public world, to what extent are media key to providing knowledge and enabling the debate necessary to the practices of democracy? The module enables you to build on your own experiences of media as a consumer and user. But it also encourages critical attention to how the field of media studies has historically been forged: through argument and contestation between different academic approaches and disciplines.

Reading as a Creative and Critical Writer

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module invites you to explore how critical and imaginative thinking work productively together. In regular workshops, you develop your own writing, both of essays and creative texts.

The module is divided into three units. In the first, `Close Reading and Creativity', you are introduced to writing that describes and performs the experience of reading, looking at work by authors such as Ali Smith, Marcel Proust, John Ruskin, and William Wordsworth. This unit encourages you to examine what is meant by `close reading', and to explore links between reading and creativity.

In the second unit, `Intertextuality and Creative Writing', we consider literary influence, examining works that are shaped by earlier texts. You will study texts by authors such as Angela Carter, Hélène Cixous, J. M. Coetzee, Nalo Hopkinson, Alice Walker and/or Virginia Woolf. From both a practical and theoretical point of view, we consider what these writers can teach us about the use of reading to create new works.

In the third unit, `The Critic as Writer', you will study writers for whom acts of critical reading and writing overlap and co-habit with creative work. We consider writers such as Sigmund Freud, Denise Riley, Salman Rushdie, Edmund Spenser and/or W. B. Yeats. The creative potential of critical forms (such as the essay and biography) will be explored.

The three units help you develop key skills as a reader and writer of literary texts, building up to the creative-critical portfolio which you will produce by the end of the module. Each week you will have a lecture, followed by a seminar-workshop in which you discuss your critical thinking and creative practice in small groups.

Religion and Culture in the Middle East and North Africa 1700-2000

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

Spanish Ab initio A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This stage course is designed for:

• beginners, assuming no previous knowledge
• false beginners with prior experience of the language at an elementary level, including those who have up to grade C at GCSE

The course aims to:

• enable students to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in the TL, in everyday situations at an elementary level
• provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an elementary level
• introduce fundamental elements of the TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, and provide a solid foundation for progression in the TL
• introduce the background culture of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the course is equivalent to level A1 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages.

Spanish for Professional Purposes 1A

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module is designed for advanced learners who have a good A level pass, or equivalent.

The module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts;
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, including common professional themes, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level;
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL;
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, professional, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include presentations and discussion, text handling and writing activities such as summarising and reporting etc., based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials.
Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B1-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Spanish Intermediate A Year 1

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module is designed for:

• lower-intermediate learners who have a recent grade A/B at GCSE, or a D/E pass at AS-Level, or equivalent
• intermediate learners who have a good AS grade, or perhaps a low D/E pass at A-Level, or equivalent

The module aims to:

• enable you to understand key information and to communicate effectively in Spanish, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations at a standard level 
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in Spanish using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level 
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of the structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation of Spanish, to allow progression
• present the background culture and society of the Spanish-speaking world through a variety of contextualised activities and materials in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, and digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A2-B1 (Basic-Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The Making of Modern Europe

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module provides you with an understanding of the historical development of the idea of Europe as it has evolved from the middle ages until the present day. In particular we shall trace the relationship between, on the one hand, ideas and ideals of European cooperation, integration and unity and, on the other, the realities of European economic, political and social development and conflict.

The module explains the different dimensions of the idea of Europe and places them in their contemporary context, highlighting aspects of continuity and change. It further examines the inherent tension between unity and diversity in European history and explores how this tension has been manifest in the political struggles and the philosophical arguments which have characterised Europe over time.

The first half of the module considers the development of Europe as idea and reality over the long run while the second half examines how these aspects have interacted in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Natural World (Elective)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This interdisciplinary module provides you with a foundation for studying physical geography and ecology. After introducing systems theory and major evolutionary and ecological questions, it considers geology (Earth's structure and composition, continental drift, plate tectonics, geological time), setting a framework for studying macro-evolution (patterns and processes, history of life, major extinctions and radiations, historical biogeography). This is followed by an introduction to earth system science, focusing on the hydrosphere and biosphere, and leads into macro-ecology, where we discuss local to global patterns of biodiversity, factors controlling species distribution and abundance, and biogeography.

The Politics of Language

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

Thinking Like a Criminologist

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This modules aims to introduce students to the key skills involved in thinking like a criminologist. It places a joint emphasis on gaining both a theoretical and practical understanding of criminology as a discipline.

You will develop skills in interpreting crime statistics, critically assessing definitions of crime and engaging with media debates about crime and justice. These will be informed by introductory criminological theory to provide a foundation, including positivism and classicism, Durkheim and the Chicago School.

Key topics will include:

• What is crime?
• Who is a criminal?
• How can we use crime statistics?
• The history of crime
• Media representations of crime
• The use of official reports and policy documents.

Truth and Morality: The Meaning of Life

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module is concerned with central issues of morality, examining both the kinds of considerations which might be appealed to in moral arguments, and the status of moral arguments themselves.

What should we bear in mind when deciding whether to eat meat, or whether to help someone, or whether to fight a war? In what sense are the decisions we make right? How can a moral argument be a good argument? Are some people wiser than others? Is there any truth in moral relativism? These and related issues will be tackled from a range of theoretical positions.

Understanding Law

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module introduces students to English law by exploring the way in which law is made, interpreted and applied within the broader context of human rights and EU law. It also provides you with an opportunity to critically examine the structures and personnel of the English legal system.

Westerns and the History of Ideas

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module provides an introduction to one of the most enduring genres in American cultural history: the Western.

In both film and literature, the genre has transformed the experience of the 19th-century American ‘Old West’ into a crucible for remarkable and often abstract treatments of some of the most controversial ideas in modern cultural, social and political life. Above all, it has been the most important modern vehicle for one of the oldest and most troubling of American cultural myths: the myth of the frontier.

The module introduces you to the ideas behind the Western by surveying the development of the genre and setting it in historical and cultural context. In addition to viewing 6 or more feature films, we will study some of the pre-cinematic sources of Western themes and images (novels, paintings), and trace the history of the Western in the American literary tradition.

As the title of this module suggests, however, this module is equally concerned with placing the genre of the Western back into its historical and intellectual contexts. The module will allow you to grasp the political, historical, and cultural forces that shaped the development of the Western film genre. We will focus on the role of allegory and metaphor, and explore the importance of themes of law, justice, gender, race, immigration, imperialism, and environmental degradation. It will conclude by exploring the continuing legacy and appeal of the Western in unexpected literary forms, in global cinema, and as a still contested symbol for American’s global dominance.

What is Cultural Studies? (E)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 1

This module introduces the relevance and excitement of using cultural studies approaches to explore pertinent aspects of life in the globalised world of the 21st century. The first few weeks are devoted to describing, debating and historicising key areas of cultural life: home, work, leaisure, city. In the second half of the term you are introduced to cultural concepts that are fundamentally contested within society. Concepts such as taste, individualism, and humanity will be discussed and debated, and you will use your crosscultural and historical skills (developed in the first half of the module) to explore issues pertinent to these concepts. You will be guided to undertake focused interdisciplinary study through carefully directed research tasks and reading on these topics. Teaching and learning will involve a mix of lectures, seminars, workshops, screenings, individual and group work.

Arabic Ab initio B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This stage 2 module is a post-beginner module for students with basic prior knowledge of the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level A1 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR] the course aims to:
- enable you to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in the TL in everyday situations, at a simple level
- provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a basic level
- introduce fundamental elements of the TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, and continue to provide a solid foundation for progression in the TL
- present the background culture of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, e.g. text; audio; audio-visual; digital.

Successful completion of the module is at least equivalent to level A2 (Basic User) of the CEFR for languages.

British Sign Language and Deaf Culture 2

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Chinese Ab initio B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module builds on the basic grammatical structures taught in Foundation Chinese 1A to improve grammatical accuracy, oral and written fluency, lexis, and listening and reading comprehension in a variety of everyday situations. You will gain an insight into the culture and society of China appropriate to the framework of your language studies and, wherever possible, through authentic materials.

Comedy

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module considers the nature and reception of comic texts, focusing particularly on the effects such texts produce on their readers. The module is not limited to comedy as a dramatic genre, but will consider a range of comic forms, which may include physical theatre practices, novels, television sitcoms and films.

While a historical profile of comedy and its reception will emerge, the module will not adhere to a chronological structure. Instead, the module is organised thematically around critical issues which affect the interpretation and reception of comic works. Central to this will be a consideration of key theories of humour, such as those developed by Kant, Freud and Bergson, among others, who have shaped our understanding of how comic texts function. You will also be introduced to a range of critical and theoretical frameworks through which to explore the social value of comic texts, which often exceeds that of simple pleasure or entertainment.

Cross Cultural Perspectives on Teaching, Learning and Assessment

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module is a 15 credit undergraduate module to be offered to Year 1 students in term 2, either as part of an Education 60 credit Pathway or an International Education & Development 60 credit Pathway.

The module aims to introduce theoretical and conceptual approaches to the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment while encouraging you to critically reflect on your own learning and to know and usefully compare how different countries draw up their curricula, how they teach it and how they assess student learning.

The module begins by focusing in on how you learn, making direct links to the previous module and situating that learning in your own context. Theories of learning will frame the module. From here, the module explores pedagogical models originating from theories of learning within the UK, Europe and internationally. The following two sessions focus on assessment, discussing your own experiences of being assessed at school and in higher education and drawing in, and critiquing, international comparisons of student learning from surveys such as Progress in Student Assessment (PISA) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS).

The module will then look more closely at how the curriculum is constructed, bringing in political economy, politics, culture and history and will look internationally at different curriculum models in upper, middle and low-income countries. A third session on the curriculum will provide a critical look at alternative curricula for learning such as those in Montessori and Steiner schools, at Free Schools in the UK, and at Complementary Education Programmes for marginalised children in low-income countries. The module will examine who is included in the curriculum and who is excluded, in the UK and in low-income countries.

The module concludes by looking at global policy drivers for the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.

The module will cover:

1. How do you learn? (Re)Visiting theories of learning
2. Pedagogical practices in the UK: now and then
3. Critical pedagogies for social transformation
4. Pedagogical practices internationally: From Finland to India
5. Measuring what you have learnt: formative and summative assessment
6. International comparisons of student learning and their implications for the UK and beyond
7. Who decides what you learn, when, how & why? Foundations of curriculum construction
8. Evaluating curriculum models in developed and developing countries
9. Breaking the rules: alternative curricula in the UK and globally
10. Meeting the needs of individuals in the curriculum in the UK
11. International comparison of inclusion and exclusion in developing countries
12. Global policy drivers for curriculum, pedagogy and assessment

Culture in Global Contexts: Debating the Postcolonial

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This elective will introduce you to some of the key debates in postcolonial studies by studying a selection of short texts across a range of genres including visual images (painting, film and photography), poetry, short stories, essays, music, journalism and interviews. Drawing on a range of theoretical essays (Fanon, Said, Spivak, Lazarus, Mohanty, Gilroy, among others), it will explore the varied ways in which contemporary culture continues to be shaped by colonial history in volatile and complex ways.

Topics include: 'race', the autobiographical, tourism, eco-criticism, language, sport, resistance and cultures of consumption.

Debates in Media Studies E

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

In this module the stress is on different theoretical approaches to the study of media and the debates circulating around those approaches. Media can be analysed as ritual, (global) industry, meaning-maker, technology, dreamworld, everyday life, work place, or sensual pleasure machine. Focus can switch from media production and organisation, to analysis of media output, to exploration of consumption and use, to the bigger issue of media in society.

Early Modern Philosophy

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module introduces some assumptions, arguments and ideas from the following major philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries that ground the empiricist and rationalist traditions: Descartes, Locke, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Spinoza.

The module will examine these assumptions, arguments and ideas in the context of contemporary discussions of the issues, in order to promote understanding both of the concerns which lie at the heart of much contemporary philosophy and of the history of those concerns.

English for Business and Professional Purposes Post-Intermediate

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

The English for Business and Professional Purposes module offers training in all the communication skills required to undertake academic business and professional studies and to participate or interact in business and other working environments. It will focus on the extended reading and writing skills required in essays, reports, assignments, and general business and professional communication. It will also offer training in the listening and speaking skills required to understand and contribute to seminars, tutorials and lectures on business and professional subjects and to prepare you for oral communication in business and professional practice, at a post-intermediate level of English language competence.

English Language Accuracy and Academic Practice

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

The module aims are twofold: to enable you to further improve your language, and to provide further practice and development in your academic skills. In the language, you will extend your range of vocabulary and grammar structures and develop your formal accuracy. In the academic skills, you will work on tasks to develop your written and oral communication skills within the context of your own disciplines, and integrate reading and listening skills to these tasks.

Pre-requisite - You will not have English as your first language

English Language Teaching 1B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module will focus primarily on supervised lesson planning and teaching practice. A small number of plenary sessions will further address the evaluation and selection of teaching materials and the principles of lesson planning as well as generally exploring issues arising out of the teaching practice classes. You will be invited to reflect on and evaluate their own classroom practice and that of their peers.

Environmental Risks and Hazards (Elective)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module introduces the risks and hazards associated with the Earth's natural environments. It considers the timescales, magnitudes and frequencies of the associated processes, and the assessment and management of resultant risks and hazards. These are illustrated from a number of case studies, which may include hazards arising from tectonic, mass movement, climate, ice and snow, atmospheric and sea-level processes. A particular focus of the module will be on hazards and risks in cold regions, where environmental change is particularly rapid and where there are growing pressures from resource exploration and extraction.

Everyday Life: Ordinary and Extraordinary (E)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Everyday life is something we take for granted. The phrase tends to refer to the ordinary and unremarkable, to the bedrock activities constitutive of how we live but which are often regarded as tedious or a chore. This module opens up this notion offering an understanding of the everyday as simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary, localised and tied into the bigger dynamics of capitalism and globalisation.

Introducing you to the interdisciplinary perspectives of cultural studies, you will explore everyday life through a series of case studies. These may include dressing or exercising the body, food, car culture, 'going green', love, 'living through media', and shopping. Each case study variously explores the historical development of everyday life, its textures and experiences, hardships and highs. If the emphasis is so-called modern everyday life in the rich global north, you will be encouraged to understand the ways our everyday life is tied to and impacts on the everyday lives of those in the much poorer global south. 

Emphasis is placed on the ways everyday life practices may be conservative (reproducing gender relations for example) or utopian – in their creativity suggesting other ways of living beyond the constraints of neoliberal capitalism. What happens in the everyday – its struggles and its changes – is integral to a bigger global politics.

This module gives you opportunity to reflect on your own lives and those of others. It encourages you to develop an anthropological eye and feel for the details of everyday life, to collect media and other material that speaks about everyday life, and above all to be self-reflective and critical about the specificity of your own ways of doing things. Assessment is through an illustrated learning diary, which allows you to demonstrate your creative as well as academic skills. 

Foundations of International Relations (pathway elective)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module introduces you to the conceptual history of international relations and outlines the specific characteristics of International Relations (IR) as a distinct scholarly discipline. We will consider what constitutes its core conceptual and methodological coordinates at the present time by looking at historical development of IR through a series of conceptual and methodological debates which will allow you to theoretically frame the global issues discussed in the first semester. Classically these debates are conceived of as tracing a path from idealism via realism to a pluralist methodological position. Understanding these debates, the circumstances that have given rise to them, and the methods they have generated will give you a good basic orientation in the disciplinary terrain of IR.

French Ab initio B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module builds on the basic grammatical structures taught in Foundation French 1A  to improve grammatical accuracy, oral and written fluency, lexis, and listening and reading comprehension in a variety of everyday situations. You will gain an insight into the culture and society of France within the framework of your language studies and, wherever possible, through authentic materials.

French For Professional Purposes 1B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module is designed for advanced learners who have completed French for Professional Purposes 1A.

Building on existing levels of proficiency, the module aims to:

• enable you to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in French with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity in a variety of contexts;
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, including common professional themes, for practice of understanding and communication in French, using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary in French to allow further accuracy and control in use
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, professional, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio,visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (speaking, listening, reading and writing), and to encourage autonomous use of French. These will include presentations and discussion, text-handling and writing activities such as summarising and reporting, based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills.

Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of Francophone countries, society, and communities, through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audiovisual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to focus on a topic or text of special interest to you.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B2 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

French Intermediate B Year 1

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module is desigend for intermediate learners who have completed an intermediate A module.

The module aims to:

• enable you to understand key information and to communicate effectively in French, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations at a standard level 
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in French, using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation of French, to allow continued progression
• present the background culture and society of French and the Francophone world through a variety of contextualised activities and materials in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, and digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

From Quarks to the Cosmos

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This elective provides an overview of state-of-the-art research in fundamental physics for non-physicists, covering:

1. Physics of the quantum world
2. Particle physics and the search for the fundamental constituents of matter
3. Cosmology and the large-scale structure of our world
4. The quest for the fundamental forces of nature.

The elective is non-mathematical and suitable for non-scientists as well as scientists from other disciplines.

Gender Across Cultures

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module focuses on the centrality of gender as a factor structuring, ultimately, all social relations.

The module will therefore explore:

1. Relationships between men and women, men and men, women and women, as personal and sexual relations, within the household, the labour market, the state
2. How gender relations and practices are performed in different cultures
3. The role of gender in processes of social transformation
4. The impact of industrialisation and migration on gender relations

Gender and the Life Course

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Students taking this elective will learn to think critically about inequalities in our societies as they emerge across the life course, especially those relating to gender. Through engaging with key moments in the life course (including birth and the ascription of gender identity; childhood and education; sexual reproduction, parenting and families; paid and unpaid work; illness and health; old age) students will build on their own experiences and observations to develop new perspectives and insights on this key issue in contemporary society.

Throughout the module, we will explore key theoretical frameworks as well as a series of concrete cases and problems in which researchers apply such theories to gender issues in social policy, health, education and psychology. By the end of the module you should have gained an understanding of gender and the concept of inequality and be able to provide critical accounts of the links between gendered social relations, cultural settings and individual behaviour and experiences.

German Ab initio B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

You build on the basic grammatical structures taught in part one to improve grammatical accuracy, oral and written fluency, lexis and listening and reading comprehension in a variety of everyday situations. You will gain an insight into the culture and society of Germany within the framework of your language studies and, wherever possible, through authentic materials.

Global Politics of the Environment

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

The question of whether current forms of economic and political organisation in international society are capable of responding to the challenge of sustainable development is more pertinent than ever before. Questions are being asked about how development can be redefined to accommodate ecological challenges or whether we need to fundamentally rethink notions of growth and progress.

This module takes a critical look at the actors and issues implicated in the emerging global debate on sustainable development. It engages with competing theoretical perspectives about the drivers of environmental change and how best to explain the nature of international cooperation on the environment and its limits, but also aims to provide you with a detailed understanding of the defining issues and tensions that constitute the struggle to define future notions of development.

The module will address empirical case studies such as climate change, biodiversity and biotechnology and deforestation, as well as the relationship between trade and the environment, finance and the environment and production and the environment in a context of globalisation. You will gain an understanding of the key actors in these debates from governments and international institutions to civil society organisations and corporations and the ways their power and influence can best be understood.

The module begins with an overview of the shifting nature of the relationship between environment and development in world politics before looking at the key actors in global debates about sustainable development. From there it sets out a range of theoretical tools for understanding the global politics of these issues, before focusing in on a range of issue areas (listed above). It concludes with reflection on prospects for change and the viability of alternative proposals for better addressing the environment and development in world politics.

Historical Controversy

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Inter-cultural Encounters

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module seeks to promote cultural awareness and intercultural comprehension. You will define what is meant by 'culture' and analyse your own cultural backgrounds and attitudes. You will consider how and why cultural characteristics arise and whether generalisations (such as national or cultural stereotypes) are ever valid. In particular you will reflect upon the ways in which culture and language are linked, and on how cultural values and attitudes are encoded in language. You will sample various theoretical approaches to these issues by way of original lectures, prepared seminar questions, academic essays and a range of audiovisual sources.

International Business Strategy (Elective)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Introduction to English Language Teaching and Learning

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module will provide you with an introduction to the social, political, linguistic and pedagogic issues involved in English language teaching and learning, and will explore the principles and practice of a range of methods and approaches.

Introduction to the European Union

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module will provide an introduction to the origins, institutions and main policies of the European Union, including the introduction of European citizenship and attempts by EU institutions to forge a European identity.

Issues in Global Cinema E

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module looks at international film of the last five decades. A range of films will be studied in order to explore: genre and art cinema; post-colonialism and political cinema; gender and feminist cinema; and globalisation and popular cinema.

We will study important movements in post-war film culture, including Third Cinema from Brazil and political cinema from Senegal. We will address the relationship between gender, history, allegory and national cinema (examples may include films from Tunisia, Iran and Argentina). We will also examine the aesthetics and economics of the blockbuster in a global film culture (case studies may include contemporary films from South Korea, China, India and Australia).

Italian Ab initio B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This course builds on the basic grammatical structures taught in part one to improve your grammatical accuracy, oral and written fluency, lexis, and listening and reading comprehension in a variety of everyday situations. You will gain an insight into the culture and society of Italy appropriate to the framework of your language studies and, wherever possible, through authentic materials.

Japanese Ab initio B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

The module builds on the basic grammatical structures taught in part one to improve grammatical accuracy, oral and written fluency, lexis, and listening and reading comprehension in a variety of everyday situations. You will work in Hiragana and Katakana and begin studying Kanji characters. You will gain an insight into the culture and society of Japan within the framework of your language studies, and, wherever possible, through authentic materials. An essential part of the module is independent work carried out in the Language Learning Centre.

Justice, Equality and Society

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Justice, Equality and Society

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

In this module, special attention is given to justice, equality and rights. You will be introduced to theory, which is then explored though a number of case studies focusing in particular on the development of non-discrimination and equality law in English Law. The module will encourage you to think about contemporary issues from the perspectives of justice, equality and rights.

Language, Mind and Brain

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module focuses on linguistic ability as a unique quality of humans. How does human language differ from animal communication systems? How is the human body, particularly the brain, adapted for language? Is language a special kind of cognition, or the product of general higher cognitive abilities?

We further investigate how humans understand and produce speech in such a speedy and efficient way, using a variety of evidence to evaluate theories of how the mind is structured for speech. We'll ask questions like: How are words stored in the mind so that we can find them? Why are grammatical sentences like 'The horse raced past the barn fell' actually very difficult to comprehend? Why are words sometimes 'on the tip of the tongue'?

Leading Groups and Teams

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Microeconomics 1 (Elective)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module develops consumer and producer theory, examining such topics as consumer surplus, labour supply, production and costs of the firm, alternative market structures and factor markets. It explores the application of these concepts to public policy, making use of real-world examples to illustrate the usefulness of the theory.

Music and Site Specific Art (E)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This is a practice-based module that will engage you in the making of site-specific performance in public spaces. You will explore through lectures and practical workshops the relation of space, place and sound, and the social meanings of specific locations. The module will examine a range of contemporary artistic approaches and theoretical ideas, as well as introducing you to practical methods for making site-specific work with music.

Music and Society (E)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Music does not exist in isolation from society. Many cultures in the world have no word for music conceived as an entity distinct from the contexts in which it takes place, contexts such as social or religious ritual, dance or performance. Only in modern western culture has the idea of art music as something autonomous and removed from the everyday world evolved. 

Why is music meaningful to us, and how can we understand how music has meaning at all? What is the function of art music in cultures dominated by commercial values? How can we grasp the relationships between the multiplicity of musical forms that are available in a modern globalised culture? How can we evaluate the impact of the different media and technologies by which music is disseminated and consumed? These are some of the questions that this module seeks to address.

The module also aims to introduce you to different intellectual approaches to these questions, and to broaden your engagement with the issues through independent research. The module charts recent musical history both in terms of technical innovation and social and aesthetic concerns of the composers involved. The aim of the module is to stimulate awareness of recent musical thinking and also to use that awareness to re-examine more conventional musical views and habits.

Objects of Art

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module introduces you to a vital skill in the analysis and understanding of art history: how to engage with a single work of art or piece of material culture in great detail.

Each lecture is based on very specific object – for example, a picture, a sculpture, a photograph, or a piece of ceramics – and builds outwards from them. You will consider a series of key issues, including the materials used, the subject represented, decisions made by the producer of the object, the different contexts in which it has been displayed, the functions it may have performed, and questions of meaning.

Philosophy, Politics and the Middle East

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Contemporary Middle Eastern politics raises many intricate philosophical questions. The aim of this course is to address some of them. Topics to be studied include:

• jihad and just war theory
• liberalism vs Islam
• democracy and freedom of speech
• freedom of belief
• what, if anything, is wrong with extremist beliefs?
• what, if anything, is wrong with conspiracy theories?
• democracy and religion
• patriotism and personal identity
• the ethics of immigration.

Psychology Now: Contemporary Approaches to Understanding Behaviour

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module introduces you to a wide range of research themes in contemporary psychology. Internationally recognised researchers will help you learn about work at the cutting edge of this dynamically changing discipline, covering topics such as the psychology of gender differences, the effects of drugs on our thinking and behaviour, the mechanisms involved in hypnosis, and the role of psychology in environmental issues.

You will evaluate diverse approaches to understanding human behaviour, from comparative perspectives that help us revisit assumptions about the human-animal divide, through to social psychological explanations of why we interact with other people in the ways that we do. This module does not require any prior knowledge of psychology – all are welcome.

Society, State and Humanity

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

The module surveys a number of fundamental answers given by Western thinkers to the question 'what is society?', exploring them in conjunction with answers to the questions 'what is the state?' and 'what is a human being?'. There will be a particular focus on the question of whether humans can be said to exist prior to society or only as constituted by it. Conceptions of society, state and humanity studied may include those of Plato, Aristotle, St. Paul, Hobbes, Smith, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Durkheim, Freud, and feminist and postmodern critiques of these.

Please note: this module has some overlap in content with the second year module 'Modern Political Thought', which is a core module for students studying Politics.

Spanish Ab initio B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module is designed for for post-beginners who have completed the ab-initio A module.

The course aims to:

• enable you to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in Spanish in everyday situations, at a simple level 
• provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in Spanish using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a basic level 
• introduce fundamental elements of the structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation of Spanish, and continue to provide a solid foundation for progression
• present the background culture of Spanish and the Spanish-speaking world through a variety of contextualised activities and materials in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, and digital.

Successful completion of the course is at least equivalent to level A2 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Spanish for Professional Purposes 1B

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module is designed for advanced learners who have completed Advanced for Professional Purposes 1A.

Building on existing levels of proficiency the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in Spanish with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, including common professional themes, for practice of understanding and communication in Spanish using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex the structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary in Spanish to allow further accuracy and control in use
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, professional, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, and digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and to encourage autonomous use of Spanish. These will include presentations and discussion, text-handling and writing activities such as summarising and reporting, based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills.

Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of Spanish-speaking countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audiovisual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to focus on a topic or text of special interest to you.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B2 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Spanish Intermediate B Year 1

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module is desigend for intermediate learners who have completed an intermediate A module.

The module aims to:

• enable you to understand key information and to communicate effectively in Spanish, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations at a standard level 
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in Spanish using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of the structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation of Spanish, to allow continued progression
• present the background culture and society of the Spanish-speaking world through a variety of contextualised activities and materials in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, and digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The Anthropology of Exchange, Money and Markets (Elective)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

The study of human relatedness and kinship has been central to the history of British social anthropology. This module introduces you to classic and new debates in kinship studies drawing upon material from a wide range of ethnographic contexts to examine the ways in which societies organise and conceptualise human relationships. It is concerned with the transformation of social structures and processes as well as the connections between kin organisations and power in developing and post-industrial societies. The module considers both accepted and more novel ways in thinking about human kinship: how we become related through 'substance', emotion, place and technology, for example. It covers both historical ground as well as the contemporary debates in the study of human relatedness.

The Look of America

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

This module takes as its premise the notion that ever since the explosion of mass media and mass society in the industrial age, the United States has taken an increasingly dominant place in the global visual imagination. This process reached its peak at the beginning of the 20th century, America henceforth generating for the world innumerable iconic and hegemonic visual representations of its own cultural narratives.

The task of the module will be to investigate and deconstruct some of the products of this visual field, along with the ideologies and narratives that sustain and refract them. Hence we begin by introducting you to visual theory, especially as it applies to the American context, and provide you with the critical tools necessary for the module. We then locate the period under scrutiny (1860-2001) within a broader visual and cultural prehistory, illuminating the roots of the modern world and its visual scene. After this, the module concentrates more particularly on the culture of the late-19th and 20th centuries.

Following a more or less thematic pattern, the module examines the issues that emerge over the course of the 20th century, referring forwards and backwards in order to generate connections where appropriate (for example, linking the Farm Security Administration projects to Matthew Brady's Civil War photographs). The intention here is to introduce you to aspects of visual culture and its criticism, as well as to defamiliarise and explore some of the more familiar American iconography surrounding us.

The World Economy Since 1945

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Theory of Investments (Elective)

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

Understanding the Criminal Justice System

15 credits
Year 1, Term 2

A Sociology of 21st Century Britain

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

A Sociology of 21st Century Britain will use Britain today as an empirical base for exploring wider sociological perspectives and the insights that social science can bring into key problems and debates about contemporary life.

During the module you will explore the relationship between empirical research and theory using examples from recent sociological work, drawing from studies no older than 5 years, to look at a range of issues in 21st century Britain, including work and employment, family, sport, intimacy, life online, nationalism, death and wealth.

The module is designed to demonstrate the capacity of sociology to explore the social world in interesting, challenging and critical ways, but will be relevant to anyone who wishes to learn more about contemporary Britain, from the perspective of insider or outsider.

American Identities

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

'What is an American?' Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur asked in the 18th century, when the American colonies were on the verge of revolution. That question has never really gone away. Whether as a self-proclaimed Republic, a slave-holding society, a 'nation of immigrants' or an imperial world power, America has had to invent and re-invent its national identity time and time again, from colonial times to the present.

On this module we study how Americans in different periods and different regions have thought, written, debated and talked about themselves in relation to their country in autobiography, poetry, fiction, and film. We ask how race, gender, and sexuality impact on notions of American citizenship, and we find out how to become an American, now and in the past. We will come across contradictory conceptions of American identity that may surprise us, as well as stereotypes and familiar tropes of optimism, individualism, and the right to bear arms.

Applying Psychology to Everyday Problems

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module introduces you to a variety of ways in which psychological knowledge is applied to everyday problems. It covers topics such as understanding mental health problems and how they can be treated, how psychology can be used to influence health and well-being, the role of psychology in the workplace, the relevance of psychology to educational practice – including understanding why ‘bullying’ occurs and how we can prevent it, and how psychological knowledge about face recognition can be used to aid criminal investigations.

You will learn about some of the research and theories that support these applications of psychology to everyday problems and will be introduced to the areas of professional applied psychology that underpin them.

Arabic Advanced A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This stage 5 advanced module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL).

Building on existing levels of proficiency at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Arabic Intermediate A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This stage 3 module is for students with some basic knowledge and experience of the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level A2 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR] the module aims to:

• enable students to understand key information and to communicate effectively in the TL, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations, at a standard level
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, to allow progression in the TL
• present the background culture and society of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A2-B1 (Basic-Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Art and Artists

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This is a twelve-week level-one module taught in the autumn term. It deals with one of the issues central to art history: how did ‘great artists’ gain their reputation both during their lifetime and subsequently? Some artists’ reputations have waxed and waned, while others have been admired for very different reasons at different times.

This lecture series looks at a variety of cases presenting different ‘histories’ of the artist, from the ancient world to the Renaissance. We will focus on a particular set of issues surrounding the conceptualization of the artist and artistic creativity in the classical, Byzantine and/or mediaeval periods: the issue of anonymity, the artist versus the craftsman, and related issues of historiography.

The module may cover painters, printmakers and sculptors as well as artists whose achievements were in the applied arts. It complements, but is not a pre-requisite for, Art and Artists II.

Before Modern Art (circa 27BC - circa AD1700)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module considers artistic production over the period 27BC–AD1700. It explores the role of art within society, raising questions about the nature and function of images and art objects within their social, political, economic and historical contexts, and dealing with a variety of theoretical and conceptual issues about the production and perception of art in this period, such as gender, class and imperialism.

British Political History

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module will give you an overview of the key questions, concepts and controversies in modern British political history, with a particular emphasis on the period since 1945.

You will gain an understanding of both academic and political debates on topics such as the postwar 'consensus', Thatcherism and New Labour, and will also be introduced to some of the ways in which politicians throughout this period have presented their own interpretations of British political history.

British Sign Language and Deaf Culture 3

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Chinese Advanced A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This stage 5 advanced module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Chinese Intermediate A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This stage 3 module is for students with some basic knowledge and experience of the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level A2 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR] the module aims to:

• enable students to understand basic information and to communicate effectively in the TL, in everyday situations at an elementary level
• provide opportunities across a variety of general topics for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an elementary level
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, to allow progression in the TL
• present the background culture and society of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A2-B1 (Basic-Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Cities and Urban Lives

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

The module introduces you to literature and debates in the fields of urban anthropology and anthropology of the city. It explores historical processes of urbanization, focusing on the spatial, cultural, political and social characteristics of the modern cities, as well as on the experiences of everyday urban life in cities across the world. A comparative analysis of the diversity of urban forms and experiences based on specific case studies is deployed to engage with theories ascribing universal characteristics to modern urban society and culture.

Topics covered in this module include:

• Urban anthropology and anthropology of the city: methodological and epistemological challenges
• From nomadism to modern city: the long march of urbanization
• Pre-modern cities: spiritual economies and cosmopolitan spaces
• The colonial and the colonised city: the spatialization of hierarchies
• Capitalism, (de)industrialization and the modern city: urban economies
• Modern urban cultures: from street corner society to urban gangs
• Modern urban politics: revolutions, revolts and protests
• Globalisation, neo-liberalism and the city: the (re)making of class privilege and exclusion
• Post-modern cityscapes: skyscrapers, shopping malls and slums
• Materialities of urban life-worlds: crowds, traffic, leisure, etc.

Contemporary Debates in Social Policy: Theory and Practice

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Crime and Criminal Justice

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Criminology in Theory and Perspective

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module will familiarise you with the main theories, perspectives and concepts associated with major traditions in sociological criminology. It builds on two first year modules, Thinking Like a Criminologist and Criminological Classics, which are prerequisites.

You will examine a range of criminological perspectives, from those prevalent in the mid twentieth-century to contemporary, cutting edge theories. You will be encouraged to take a critical approach to these perspectives and to situate them within their wider social and political contexts.

In particular, the module will cover the following:

• Strain Theory
• Labelling Theory
• Radical and Critical Criminology
• Left Realism
• Right Realism
• Feminist Criminology
• Masculinities and Crime
• Psycho-Social Approaches
• Cultural Criminology, and
• Green Criminology.

Economic Crisis and World Politcs

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

The module focuses on the impact of the current economic crisis on the global distribution of power and wealth.

First, it examines the nature of the current economic crisis that started with the subprime crisis in the US in 2007. We examine a number of different explanations, including national economic policies in systemically important economies, global imbalances, macro-historical explanations related to the nature of capitalism, financialisation, geopolitics, and cultural political economy explanations. We also assess the complementary and competing aspects of these explanations. Finally, we analyse the Eurozone crisis and the austerity vs. growth debate.

Second, the module focuses on the geopolitical impact of the crisis. Here we examine how the economic crisis challenges and changes the traditional relations between the ‘global North’ and the ‘global South’. We discuss the new ‘global politics of debt’, the resilience demonstrated by the BRIC economies, the global implications of the Eurozone crisis, and the potential impact that the US economic recovery on emerging economies and international economic stability.

Third, we assess the impact of the crisis on the global economic governance, especially in the areas of trade and investments. The objective of the module is to generate sound knowledge about the causes and the nature of the global economic crisis and its multiple and diverse impact on world politics.

No prior knowledge of economics is required.

English for Business and Professional Purposes Intermediate

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module offers training in all the communication skills required to undertake academic business and professional studies and to participate or interact in business and other working environments. It will focus on the extended reading and writing skills required in essays, reports, assignments, and general business and professional communication. It will also offer training in the listening and speaking skills required to understand and contribute to seminars, tutorials and lectures on business and professional subjects and to prepare you for oral communication in business and professional practice.

Pre-requisite – You will not have English as your first language

English Language Accuracy and Academic Practice

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

The module aims are twofold: to enable you to further improve your language, and to provide further practice and development in your academic skills.

In the language, you will extend your range of vocabulary and grammar structures and develop your formal accuracy. In the academic skills, you will work on tasks to develop your written and oral communication skills within the context of your own disciplines, and integrate reading and listening skills to these tasks.

Pre-requisite – You will not have English as your first language

English Language Teaching 2A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module will build on and further develop knowledge and awareness of lexical, grammatical, functional and phonological issues in the teaching and learning of English, and will explore the formal and informal assessment of language knowledge and language skills. The module will also review and further explore principles and best practice in lesson and module planning and delivery in a variety of teaching contexts.

Ethnographic Film

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Film Analysis (E)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module draws upon both 20th-century and contemporary film texts to explore the diverse uses filmmakers have made of such key techniques of cinematic expression as narrative, cinematography, mise-en-scene, editing, sound, and special effects. We consider not simply how such techniques are accomplished (ie the creative choices available to filmmakers) but also the potential they have for generating meaning and pleasure when combined together to produce filmic texts. The module also examines links between technological change and film aesthetics.

French Advanced A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module is designed for students who have completed both intermediate A and B modules.

The module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

French Advanced A (B)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This Stage 5 module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL) at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include presentations and discussion, text handling and writing activities, such as summarising and reporting, based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills.

Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials. Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B1-B1+ (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

French for Professional Purposes 2A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module is designed for advanced learners who have completed Advanced for Professional Purposes 1B.

Building on existing levels of proficiency the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a range of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a proficient level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow consistent accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of important aspects of the general social and cultural background of the language in a professional context, through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include subject-specific presentations and discussion, text handling and analysis, writing activities such as letter-writing, summarising and reporting, etc. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to focus on your employment profile and/or workplace simulation activities.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

French for Professional Purposes 2A (B)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This Stage 7 module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with autonomy in the target language (TL) at level B2 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Building on existing levels of proficiency the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a range of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a proficient level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow consistent accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of important aspects of the general social and cultural background of the language in a professional context, through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include subject-specific presentations and discussion, text handling and analysis, writing activities, such as letter-writing, summarising and reporting. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to focus on your employment profile and/or workplace simulation activities.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

French Intermediate A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module is designed for:

• lower intermediate learners who have a recent grade A/B at GCSE, or a D/E pass at AS level, or equivalent
• intermediate learners who have a good AS grade, or perhaps a low D/E pass at A level, or equivalent.

The module aims to:

• enable students to understand key information and to communicate effectively in the TL, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations, at a standard level
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, to allow progression in the TL
• present the background culture and society of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A2-B1 (Basic-Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

German Advanced A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This stage 5 advanced module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

German Intermediate A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This stage 3 module is for students with some basic knowledge and experience of the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level A2 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR] the module aims to:

• enable students to understand key information and to communicate effectively in the TL, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations, at a standard level
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, to allow progression in the TL
• present the background culture and society of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A2-B1 (Basic-Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Ideas of History

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This core module is taken by all second year students on the History degree. It offers an introduction to key analytical concepts, schools of historiography, and influential historians through the centuries, and explores the major theories, methods, and historical interpretations that characterize historical scholarship.

The module is an essential intellectual pivot in your degree. On the one hand, it picks up themes rehearsed in the first-year Historical Controversies modules, where the nature of an individual instance of historical disputation was explored; equally, it looks forward to the third-year Special Subjects, with their accompanying dissertations, where a sound grasp of historiographical context is essential. The module is taught by means of lectures and seminar readings designed to illuminate not simply different schools of historical thought, but also the social, cultural and intellectual environments that produced them. By the end of the module you should have an understanding of both the philosophy of history and the way the practice of historical enquiry has developed over the centuries.

Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Education

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module is a 15 credit undergraduate module to be offered to Year 2 students in term 1, as part of an Education 60 credit Pathway. The module provides an opportunity to explore what is meant by inclusion and exclusion and the implications of these concepts for education policies, systems and practices in England and internationally. The module will include an in-depth focus on how constructions of gender, ‘race’, social class, poverty, disability sexuality and behavioural norms contribute to the inclusion and/or exclusion of particular groups of young people. Each session will adopt a case study approach and provide an overview of the key issues involved in ensuring equality of access, provision and learning. There will be a strong focus on the evidence relating to each case and approaches at practice level.

The module will be assessed by a case study, providing an opportunity for students to apply their understanding of issues relating to the inclusion and/or exclusion to ao a group and context which they consider to be of particular interest. The case study will include a discussion of strategies used to promote inclusion and evidence of their effectiveness drawn from a range of secondary sources and conclude with recommendations for policy and practice drawn from the evidence presented.

Module content by week

1. Introduction to the module and to key concepts: inclusion, diversity and equity
2. The power of ‘the norm’
3. Who is vulnerable – and to what?
4. Including girls – excluding boys?
5. Ethnicity and exclusion
6. Sexuality
7. Barriers to the inclusion of parents and carers
8. SEND
9. Maximising the impact of teaching assistants
10. Learning outside mainstream contexts: models of inclusion?
11. Global perspectives on inclusion: overcoming barriers in context
12. Developing inclusive educational systems: implications for future policy and practice

International Marketing (Elective)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module represents an introduction to international marketing and aims to develop knowledge of the international environment and international marketing. The increased scope, risk and complexity faced by the international marketer is due to the increased level of uncertainty from operating in diverse and less understood environments. Emphasis is placed on the identification of challenges presented by international marketing to equip you to deal with differences, opportunities and threats emerging from diverse economic, demographic, political/legal, cultural, technical and competitive environments. The impact of international issues is related during the module to the marketing decision-making task at three levels; the macro level at which country selection decisions are made; national level at which market entry decisions are made; and market level where marketing mix decisions are made.

Introduction to Sustainability

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Italian Intermediate A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This stage 3 module is for students with some basic knowledge and experience of the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level A2 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR] the module aims to:

• enable students to understand key information and to communicate effectively in the TL, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations, at a standard level
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, to allow progression in the TL
• present the background culture and society of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A2-B1 (Basic-Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Japanese Advanced A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This stage 5 advanced module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Japanese Intermediate A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This stage 3 module is for students with some basic knowledge and experience of the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level A2 (Basic User) of the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR] the module aims to:

• enable students to understand key information and to communicate effectively in the TL, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations, at a standard level
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, to allow progression in the TL
• present the background culture and society of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A2-B1 (Basic-Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Mathematics Demystified

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

What makes the world work? Logic, algorithms, connected graphs (the London Underground), elementary number theory, encryption, error correction.

This module is suitable for anyone with GCSE-level maths and an interest in graphs and numbers.

Migrant and Refugee Well-Being: Theory and Practice

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module offers students the opportunity to examine the well-being of migrants and refugees. Well-being is defined as multidimensional and incorporates the political, economic, health, environment and social contexts in which migrants and refugees exist.

In the module students examine the historical and political contexts in which different groups of migrants are placed, including the specific situations of asylum seekers and refugees. These are shown to have distinct impacts on the health and social care services migrants receive, and on particular issues of entitlement and access. The welfare contexts of different receiving societies are examined including the impact of current debates on welfare provision for migrants and refugees across the globe. Within these contexts contemporary services for migrants and refugees are examined, including the roles played by central government, local authorities and NGOs. Models of good practice in health and social care are examined as are the prospects for the transfer of good practice across countries.

Our Place in the Universe(s)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Astronomy, the study of space and its contents beyond the earth, is both the oldest science, and one in which new discoveries are being made on a daily basis. It is used to explain such familiar phenomena as the tides, eclipses and meteor showers, as well as much more exotic objects such as black holes and exoplanets. The observable universe also provides a laboratory for testing physical theories at extreme energies that are unachievable on earth.

This elective will provide non-science students with a broad, non-mathematical understanding of astronomy from our solar system, via stars and galaxies, to the universe as a whole, all to appreciate our place in the universe(s).

Papyrus to Pixel: Language and technology

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module will start by looking at the very beginnings of written language on stone and slate, examining how the move from ephemeral to permanent language allowed the human race to begin the development of culture and art. It will follow the progress of written language of scribes using ink on paper and the dependence on a small minority of literate people to spread information as well as entertainment.

The advent of the printing press will be addressed, examining the huge impact of spreading literacy and allowing new sections of the population to not only read what others wrote, but ultimately to write and publish themselves.The impact on literature, society (politics) and the language itself will be examined.

Finally, the module will come right up to date, looking at the new technologies. The impact of text, email etc. on everyday language is examined as well as how the world of literature has been affected. And with a final twist we will look at whether the rapid rise of MP3 audio books is taking us full circle back to the days of the story teller.

Paradox and Argument

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Philosophy of Religion

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Political and Social Change in Contemporary Europe

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module analyses the broad social changes which have occurred in Western Europe since 1945, and in postcommunist European countries since the collapse of communism. It does this by using the social scientist's notion of 'cleavages', to explore divisions in society derived from factors such as religion, class, gender and ethnicity, and their impact on political behaviour. It also looks at the role played by nationalism, populism, regionalism and postmaterialism in driving social change and political affiliation. We also consider recent demographic trends such as declining birth rates and ageing populations, and the impact of these trends on social and political behaviour.

Whilst the module has a theoretical underpinning in social science, it is taught in a way which is accessible to students from any discipline. It is particularly enriched by the participation of students from a wide range of nationalities and cultures, and visiting and exchange students are most welcome on this module.

Psychology of Forensic Analysis and Investigation

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module is concerned with the application of psychological theory and research to criminological and forensic contexts. You will learn about how psychology can be used to understand and enhance aspects of criminological and security investigations, such as eyewitness testimony and the identification of suspects. In addition, you will learn to evaluate connections between crime and mental illness. The kinds of specific questions you will encounter during the module include:

• What is wrong with current face recall systems such as Photofit, Identikit and E-fit?
• How reliable are eyewitnesses’ accounts of what they have seen, and their identifications of faces they have encountered?
• Why is that faces of other races are more likely to be misidentified in police lineups?
• Can people be recognised reliably from ID cards, passports and CCTV?
• Do children make reliable witnesses, or is their testimony not to be trusted?
• How is memory affected by stress, and why do some individuals develop post-traumatic stress disorder?
• How can deception be detected by investigators?
• What kinds of biases and errors affect investigators of serious crimes?
• What is the relationship between mental illness and crime?
• To what extent does the media portrayal of ‘psychopathy’ have any basis in psychological research?

Reading as a Creative and Critical Writer

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module invites you to explore how critical and imaginative thinking work productively together. In regular workshops, you develop your own writing, both of essays and creative texts.

The module is divided into three units. In the first, `Close Reading and Creativity', you are introduced to writing that describes and performs the experience of reading, looking at work by authors such as Ali Smith, Marcel Proust, John Ruskin, and William Wordsworth. This unit encourages you to examine what is meant by `close reading', and to explore links between reading and creativity.

In the second unit, `Intertextuality and Creative Writing', we consider literary influence, examining works that are shaped by earlier texts. You will study texts by authors such as Angela Carter, Hélène Cixous, J. M. Coetzee, Nalo Hopkinson, Alice Walker and/or Virginia Woolf. From both a practical and theoretical point of view, we consider what these writers can teach us about the use of reading to create new works.

In the third unit, `The Critic as Writer', you will study writers for whom acts of critical reading and writing overlap and co-habit with creative work. We consider writers such as Sigmund Freud, Denise Riley, Salman Rushdie, Edmund Spenser and/or W. B. Yeats. The creative potential of critical forms (such as the essay and biography) will be explored.

The three units help you develop key skills as a reader and writer of literary texts, building up to the creative-critical portfolio which you will produce by the end of the module. Each week you will have a lecture, followed by a seminar-workshop in which you discuss your critical thinking and creative practice in small groups.

Religion and Culture in the Middle East and North Africa 1700-2000

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Short Period: The Middle East and North Africa since 1908

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This course will examine the key political, social, cultural and economic themes in Middle Eastern and North African history since 1908.

1. The politics of reformism
2. The impact of World War One
3. The rise of pan-Arab nationalism
4. The impact of World War Two
5. The foundation of Israel
6. The end of British and French Empires
7. Suez and the politics of pan-Arabism
8. The rise of political Islam
9. Social tensions – women
10. Social tensions – youth
11. The ‘Arab Spring’

Spanish Advanced A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module is designed for studens who have completed both intermediate A and B modules.

The module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Spanish Advanced A (B)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This Stage 5 module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL) at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Building on existing levels of proficiency at level the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• introduce and develop the range of complex elements of TL language structures, syntax, and vocabulary to allow continued progression in the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include presentations and discussion, text handling and writing activities, such as summarising and reporting, based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B1-B1+ (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Spanish for Professional Purposes 2A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module is designed for advanced learners who have completed Advanced for Professional Purposes 1B.

Building on existing levels of proficiency the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts;
• provide opportunities, across a range of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a proficient level;
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow consistent accuracy and control in use of the TL;
• facilitate the analysis of important aspects of the general social and cultural background of the language in a professional context, through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, e.g. text; audio; audio-visual; digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include subject-specific presentations and discussion, text handling and analysis, writing activities such as letter-writing, summarising and reporting etc. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to focus on your employment profile and/or workplace simulation activities.
Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies. This module is at level B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Spanish for Professional Purposes 2A (B)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This Stage 7 module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with autonomy in the target language (TL) at level B2 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Building on existing levels of proficiency the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a range of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a proficient level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow consistent accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of important aspects of the general social and cultural background of the language in a professional context, through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW) and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include subject-specific presentations and discussion, text handling and analysis, writing activities, such as letter-writing, summarising and reporting. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to focus on your employment profile and/or workplace simulation activities.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Spanish Intermediate A

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module is designed for:

• lower intermediate learners who have a recent grade A/B at GCSE, or a D/E pass at AS level, or equivalent
• intermediate learners who have a good AS grade, or perhaps a low D/E pass at A level, or equivalent.

The module aims to:

• enable students to understand key information and to communicate effectively in the TL, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations, at a standard level
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, to allow progression in the TL
• present the background culture and society of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level A2-B1 (Basic-Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

The African American Experience

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module examines the history of African-American political, cultural, and social developments from 1863 onwards. You will become famaliar with the debates that African Americans have had among themselves between emancipation and the present day, thus establishing a deep historical understanding of the ongoing freedom struggle in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. You will assess intraracial arguments over the relationship of blacks to the US government in war and peace, over racial and class identities, and over diverse tactics and strategies for the advancement of the race.

Although particular attention is given to the longrunning campaign to destroy de jure segregation in the southern states (culminating in the successful nonviolent direct action campaigns of the 1960s), the module takes as its foundation the fact that racial prejudice was a national not a regional phenomenon. Through lectures and seminars, you will examine the connections between African-American history and culture. Emphasis is given to well-known black leaders like Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and Martin Luther King, as well as to female activists and the unsung black masses themselves, who also receive close attention.

The Making of Modern Europe

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module provides you with an understanding of the historical development of the idea of Europe as it has evolved from the middle ages until the present day. In particular we shall trace the relationship between, on the one hand, ideas and ideals of European cooperation, integration and unity and, on the other, the realities of European economic, political and social development and conflict.

The module explains the different dimensions of the idea of Europe and places them in their contemporary context, highlighting aspects of continuity and change. It further examines the inherent tension between unity and diversity in European history and explores how this tension has been manifest in the political struggles and the philosophical arguments which have characterised Europe over time.

The first half of the module considers the development of Europe as idea and reality over the long run while the second half examines how these aspects have interacted in the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Politics of Language

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Theories of Language Learning

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This elective module offers an overview of various perspectives on how second or foreign languages are learnt. Linguistic, psychological and social models of second language acquisition (SLA) are examined, along with some of the implications for our broader understanding of the nature of language and communication. Applications for language teaching and learning are considered, in both naturalistic contexts and classroom settings.

Theory, Taste and Trash (E)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

Truth and Morality: The Meaning of Life

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module is concerned with central issues of morality, examining both the kinds of considerations which might be appealed to in moral arguments, and the status of moral arguments themselves.

What should we bear in mind when deciding whether to eat meat, or whether to help someone, or whether to fight a war? In what sense are the decisions we make right? How can a moral argument be a good argument? Are some people wiser than others? Is there any truth in moral relativism? These and related issues will be tackled from a range of theoretical positions.

Westerns and the History of Ideas

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module provides an introduction to one of the most enduring genres in American cultural history: the Western.

In both film and literature, the genre has transformed the experience of the 19th-century American ‘Old West’ into a crucible for remarkable and often abstract treatments of some of the most controversial ideas in modern cultural, social and political life. Above all, it has been the most important modern vehicle for one of the oldest and most troubling of American cultural myths: the myth of the frontier.

The module introduces you to the ideas behind the Western by surveying the development of the genre and setting it in historical and cultural context. In addition to viewing 6 or more feature films, we will study some of the pre-cinematic sources of Western themes and images (novels, paintings), and trace the history of the Western in the American literary tradition.

As the title of this module suggests, however, this module is equally concerned with placing the genre of the Western back into its historical and intellectual contexts. The module will allow you to grasp the political, historical, and cultural forces that shaped the development of the Western film genre. We will focus on the role of allegory and metaphor, and explore the importance of themes of law, justice, gender, race, immigration, imperialism, and environmental degradation. It will conclude by exploring the continuing legacy and appeal of the Western in unexpected literary forms, in global cinema, and as a still contested symbol for American’s global dominance.

What is Cultural Studies? (E)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 1

This module introduces the relevance and excitement of using cultural studies approaches to explore pertinent aspects of life in the globalised world of the 21st century. The first few weeks are devoted to describing, debating and historicising key areas of cultural life: home, work, leaisure, city. In the second half of the term you are introduced to cultural concepts that are fundamentally contested within society. Concepts such as taste, individualism, and humanity will be discussed and debated, and you will use your crosscultural and historical skills (developed in the first half of the module) to explore issues pertinent to these concepts. You will be guided to undertake focused interdisciplinary study through carefully directed research tasks and reading on these topics. Teaching and learning will involve a mix of lectures, seminars, workshops, screenings, individual and group work.

Advertising (E)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module engages with the historical development of advertising and opens up a critical understanding of its contemporary place within the media (and its economies), culture and society.

In the 21st century advertising has been transformed by the rise of branding, the maturing of the internet and the emergence of new media forms like social media. Traditional advertising forms and the funding model for media which advertising has provided are now under threat.

This module will introduce you to current thinking about advertising and demonstrate various approaches to the analysis of its many forms.

American Cities: New York City

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

From New Amsterdam to 9/11 and beyond, New York has always been iconic. We experience the Big Apple through the sight and sounds that came before us: the movies, the music, the literature, the songs. But what goes on behind these images of ceaseless activity and glamour?

Now the hub of global finance, New York was also a haven for immigrants, with Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty sitting right there in its harbour. As a result of its diversity of population and ever-changing urban development, in this module we will be looking at the city from many perspectives, and find that to study its history and culture is to discover that the city that never sleeps never ceases to pose questions either.

Arabic Advanced B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This stage 6 advanced module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow further accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Arabic Intermediate B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This stage 4 intermediate module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some independence in the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level A2-B1 (Basic/Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference [CEFR] the module aims to:
- enable you to understand key information and to communicate effectively in the TL, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations, at a standard level
- provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level
- consolidate and develop the range of key elements of TL language structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation, to allow continued progression in the TL
- present the background culture and society of the TL through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, e.g. text; audio; audio-visual; digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Art of the Modern Era (c1700 - the present)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module considers artistic production over the period 1700–the present. It explores the role of art within society, raising questions about the nature and function of images and art objects within their social, political, economic and historical contexts, and dealing with a variety of theoretical and conceptual issues about the production and perception of art in this period, such as gender, class and imperialism.

British Sign Language and Deaf Culture 4

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Chinese Advanced B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This stage 6 advanced module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow further accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Chinese Intermediate B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module will build on the skills and structures studied in part 2A. Your aim is to improve elementary/intermediate skills inreading, writing, speaking and listening. You study Chinese characters, Pinyin and grammatical functions in more depth. Essential elements of cultural awareness in Chinese society are studied within the framework of the language module and using authentic materials. This part of the module will involve more independent learning.

Comedy

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module considers the nature and reception of comic texts, focusing particularly on the effects such texts produce on their readers. The module is not limited to comedy as a dramatic genre, but will consider a range of comic forms, which may include physical theatre practices, novels, television sitcoms and films.

While a historical profile of comedy and its reception will emerge, the module will not adhere to a chronological structure. Instead, the module is organised thematically around critical issues which affect the interpretation and reception of comic works. Central to this will be a consideration of key theories of humour, such as those developed by Kant, Freud and Bergson, among others, who have shaped our understanding of how comic texts function. You will also be introduced to a range of critical and theoretical frameworks through which to explore the social value of comic texts, which often exceeds that of simple pleasure or entertainment.

Contemporary Issues in Law

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Culture in Global Contexts: Debating the Postcolonial

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This elective will introduce you to some of the key debates in postcolonial studies by studying a selection of short texts across a range of genres including visual images (painting, film and photography), poetry, short stories, essays, music, journalism and interviews. Drawing on a range of theoretical essays (Fanon, Said, Spivak, Lazarus, Mohanty, Gilroy, among others), it will explore the varied ways in which contemporary culture continues to be shaped by colonial history in volatile and complex ways.

Topics include: 'race', the autobiographical, tourism, eco-criticism, language, sport, resistance and cultures of consumption.

Early Modern Philosophy

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module introduces some assumptions, arguments and ideas from the following major philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries that ground the empiricist and rationalist traditions: Descartes, Locke, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Spinoza.

The module will examine these assumptions, arguments and ideas in the context of contemporary discussions of the issues, in order to promote understanding both of the concerns which lie at the heart of much contemporary philosophy and of the history of those concerns.

English for Business and Professional Purposes Post-Intermediate

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

The English for Business and Professional Purposes module offers training in all the communication skills required to undertake academic business and professional studies and to participate or interact in business and other working environments. It will focus on the extended reading and writing skills required in essays, reports, assignments, and general business and professional communication. It will also offer training in the listening and speaking skills required to understand and contribute to seminars, tutorials and lectures on business and professional subjects and to prepare you for oral communication in business and professional practice, at a post-intermediate level of English language competence.

English Language Accuracy and Academic Practice

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

The module aims are twofold: to enable you to further improve your language, and to provide further practice and development in your academic skills. In the language, you will extend your range of vocabulary and grammar structures and develop your formal accuracy. In the academic skills, you will work on tasks to develop your written and oral communication skills within the context of your own disciplines, and integrate reading and listening skills to these tasks.

Pre-requisite - You will not have English as your first language

English Language Teaching 2B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module will focus primarily on lesson planning and teaching practice. Plenary sessions will cover the evaluation, selection and use of published teaching materials and the principles of lesson and module planning, as well as addressing key issues in teaching and learning arising from their classes. You will be required to reflect on and critically evaluate their own classroom practice and that of their peers.

Ethnography of the Middle East and Central Asia

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Europe in the International Economic Order

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module introduces you to main developments in the world economy and its governance arrangements since 1945 as they affect Europe, including its relations with the US and the developing world. Debates on globalisation, the role of multinational firms and the role of the World Trade Organisation will be covered, and we will follow the evolving international financial crisis.

Everyday Life: Ordinary and Extraordinary (E)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Everyday life is something we take for granted. The phrase tends to refer to the ordinary and unremarkable, to the bedrock activities constitutive of how we live but which are often regarded as tedious or a chore. This module opens up this notion offering an understanding of the everyday as simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary, localised and tied into the bigger dynamics of capitalism and globalisation.

Introducing you to the interdisciplinary perspectives of cultural studies, you will explore everyday life through a series of case studies. These may include dressing or exercising the body, food, car culture, 'going green', love, 'living through media', and shopping. Each case study variously explores the historical development of everyday life, its textures and experiences, hardships and highs. If the emphasis is so-called modern everyday life in the rich global north, you will be encouraged to understand the ways our everyday life is tied to and impacts on the everyday lives of those in the much poorer global south. 

Emphasis is placed on the ways everyday life practices may be conservative (reproducing gender relations for example) or utopian – in their creativity suggesting other ways of living beyond the constraints of neoliberal capitalism. What happens in the everyday – its struggles and its changes – is integral to a bigger global politics.

This module gives you opportunity to reflect on your own lives and those of others. It encourages you to develop an anthropological eye and feel for the details of everyday life, to collect media and other material that speaks about everyday life, and above all to be self-reflective and critical about the specificity of your own ways of doing things. Assessment is through an illustrated learning diary, which allows you to demonstrate your creative as well as academic skills. 

French Advanced B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module is designed for students who have completed and advanced A module.

The module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in French, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in French, using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary of French to allow further accuracy and control in use
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of French and the Francophone world through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, digital.

Successful completion of the course is equivalent to level B2 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

French Advanced B (B)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This Stage 6 module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL) at level B1+ (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Building on existing levels of proficiency at level the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow further accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include presentations and discussion, text handling and writing activities, such as summarising and reporting, based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills.

Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to focus on a topic of special interest to you.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B1+-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

French for Professional Purposes 2B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module is designed for advanced learners who have completed Advanced for Professional Purposes 2A.

Building on existing levels of proficiency, this module aims to:

• enable you to understand the main ideas and detail within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in French with fluency, confidence and spontaneity in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a range of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in French using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a proficient level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary in French to allow consistent accuracy and control in use
• facilitate the analysis of important aspects of the general social and cultural background of the language in a professional context through a variety of contextualised activities and materials in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, and digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and to promote autonomous use of French. These will include subject-specific presentations and discussion, text-handling and analysis, writing activities such as letter-writing, summarising and reporting, based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills.

Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of Francophone countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audiovisual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to specialise and report on professional matters or on topics in your field of expertise.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B2-C1 (Independent-Proficient User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

French for Professional Purposes 2B (B)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This Stage 8 module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with autonomy in the target language (TL) at level B2 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Building on existing levels of proficiency the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas and detail within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a range of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a proficient level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow consistent accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of important aspects of the general social and cultural background of the language in a professional context, through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to promote autonomous use of the TL. These will include subject-specific presentations and discussion, text handling and analysis, writing activities, such as letter-writing, summarising and reporting, based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to specialise and report on professional matters or on topics in your field of expertise.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B2-C1 (Independent-Proficient User) of the CEFR for languages.

French Intermediate B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

From Quarks to the Cosmos

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This elective provides an overview of state-of-the-art research in fundamental physics for non-physicists, covering:

1. Physics of the quantum world
2. Particle physics and the search for the fundamental constituents of matter
3. Cosmology and the large-scale structure of our world
4. The quest for the fundamental forces of nature.

The elective is non-mathematical and suitable for non-scientists as well as scientists from other disciplines.

Gender Across Cultures

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module focuses on the centrality of gender as a factor structuring, ultimately, all social relations.

The module will therefore explore:

1. Relationships between men and women, men and men, women and women, as personal and sexual relations, within the household, the labour market, the state
2. How gender relations and practices are performed in different cultures
3. The role of gender in processes of social transformation
4. The impact of industrialisation and migration on gender relations

Gender and the Life Course

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Students taking this elective will learn to think critically about inequalities in our societies as they emerge across the life course, especially those relating to gender. Through engaging with key moments in the life course (including birth and the ascription of gender identity; childhood and education; sexual reproduction, parenting and families; paid and unpaid work; illness and health; old age) students will build on their own experiences and observations to develop new perspectives and insights on this key issue in contemporary society.

Throughout the module, we will explore key theoretical frameworks as well as a series of concrete cases and problems in which researchers apply such theories to gender issues in social policy, health, education and psychology. By the end of the module you should have gained an understanding of gender and the concept of inequality and be able to provide critical accounts of the links between gendered social relations, cultural settings and individual behaviour and experiences.

Gender, Space and Culture (E)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Gender: Rethinking Politics

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module interrogates how an understanding of gender helps us ask critical questions about the spaces and practices of politics, indeed about the nature and emergence of ‘the political’. In order to achieve this, it examines a number of theories of gender, including:

• biological
• psychological
• social constructivist.

Moreover, it surveys the historical evolution of feminism as critical theory and practice and the theorization of masculinity.

From such theoretical bases it then examines the gendered nature of central political institutions, such as:

• ‘the state’
• law
• democracy
• citizenship

as well as political practices:

• war
• security
• the extension of human rights
• development.

This module is assessed by a 3000-word essay.

German Advanced B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This stage 6 advanced module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow further accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

German Intermediate B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

You will be introduced to more complex grammatical structures. You will improve grammatical accuracy, oral and written fluency, lexis, and listening and reading comprehension through the study of a variety of topics and integrated grammar. There is an emphasis on the summarising and handling of authentic texts and a chance to study the literature, culture and society of Germany.

Global History 1500-2000: Trade, Science, Environment and Empire

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Global history has emerged as an innovative and powerful approach to understanding the past and its implications for the present and future. Global history is a history of connections. It addresses the contexts and the structures through which societies and communities interacted with one another. The overarching theme of global history is the emergence of an ever-more integrated global society, but the field looks to explain and understand particular circumtances as well as universal experiences.

The topics of global history transcend any particular national or local history. You study a theme for between two and three weeks, and lectures support the thematic concerns of the topics. The module looks at several topics in detail:

• communication and war
• race, slavery and anti-slavery
• colonial encounters and environments
• civil and human rights
• global order and disorder
• empire, science, trade and environment.

Alongside these themes the course addresses particular questions such as the emergence of the 'great divergence': the widening gap in the 19th century between living standards in the Atlantic basin and those in the rest of the world and the global expansion of European empires.

Global Politics of the Environment

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

The question of whether current forms of economic and political organisation in international society are capable of responding to the challenge of sustainable development is more pertinent than ever before. Questions are being asked about how development can be redefined to accommodate ecological challenges or whether we need to fundamentally rethink notions of growth and progress.

This module takes a critical look at the actors and issues implicated in the emerging global debate on sustainable development. It engages with competing theoretical perspectives about the drivers of environmental change and how best to explain the nature of international cooperation on the environment and its limits, but also aims to provide you with a detailed understanding of the defining issues and tensions that constitute the struggle to define future notions of development.

The module will address empirical case studies such as climate change, biodiversity and biotechnology and deforestation, as well as the relationship between trade and the environment, finance and the environment and production and the environment in a context of globalisation. You will gain an understanding of the key actors in these debates from governments and international institutions to civil society organisations and corporations and the ways their power and influence can best be understood.

The module begins with an overview of the shifting nature of the relationship between environment and development in world politics before looking at the key actors in global debates about sustainable development. From there it sets out a range of theoretical tools for understanding the global politics of these issues, before focusing in on a range of issue areas (listed above). It concludes with reflection on prospects for change and the viability of alternative proposals for better addressing the environment and development in world politics.

Historical Controversy

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Inter-cultural Encounters

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module seeks to promote cultural awareness and intercultural comprehension. You will define what is meant by 'culture' and analyse your own cultural backgrounds and attitudes. You will consider how and why cultural characteristics arise and whether generalisations (such as national or cultural stereotypes) are ever valid. In particular you will reflect upon the ways in which culture and language are linked, and on how cultural values and attitudes are encoded in language. You will sample various theoretical approaches to these issues by way of original lectures, prepared seminar questions, academic essays and a range of audiovisual sources.

International Human Resource Management (Elective)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to an analytical and critical approach to international aspects of HRM. Therefore, the module will examine inter alia: how power and politics are implicated in the internal dynamics of multinational corporations, how the ‘ideal worker’ as construed by strategic IHRM practices informs the expectations from workers, and if corporate social responsibility can possibly suffice to ensure a fair employment relationship in the absence of a transnational regulator.

Topics include:

• Introduction to the Course and Overview
• Comparative Human Resource Management: Convergence or Resilient Differences?
• International Human Resource Management Strategy: Global Integration vs. Local Responsiveness
• Managing Across Borders I: Culture’s Consequences
• Managing Across Borders II: Global Staffing and International Assignments
• Global Talent Management
• Institutions, Actors and Micropolitics
• IHRM and Organizational Flux: Mergers, Acquisitions and Offshoring
• Gender and IHRM
• Global Diversity Management
• Global Labour Regulation, Corporate Social Responsibility and IHRM
• Summary and Review

Introduction to Energy Transitions

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Introduction to English Language Teaching and Learning

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module will provide you with an introduction to the social, political, linguistic and pedagogic issues involved in English language teaching and learning, and will explore the principles and practice of a range of methods and approaches.

Introduction to the European Union

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module will provide an introduction to the origins, institutions and main policies of the European Union, including the introduction of European citizenship and attempts by EU institutions to forge a European identity.

Issues in Global Cinema E

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module looks at international film of the last five decades. A range of films will be studied in order to explore: genre and art cinema; post-colonialism and political cinema; gender and feminist cinema; and globalisation and popular cinema.

We will study important movements in post-war film culture, including Third Cinema from Brazil and political cinema from Senegal. We will address the relationship between gender, history, allegory and national cinema (examples may include films from Tunisia, Iran and Argentina). We will also examine the aesthetics and economics of the blockbuster in a global film culture (case studies may include contemporary films from South Korea, China, India and Australia).

Italian Intermediate B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Japanese Advanced B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This stage 6 advanced module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL). Building on existing levels of proficiency at level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow further accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media, e.g. text; audio; audio-visual; digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Japanese Intermediate B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module will build on the skills and structures studied in part 2A, aiming to improve elementary/intermediate skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening. You study Japanese characters in more depth and grammatical functions are studied in greater detail in this part. Essential elements of cultural awareness in Japanese society are studied within the framework of the language module and using authentic materials.

Knowledge and Society; Education, Identity and The (late) Modern State

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module forms part of the Education Pathway and allows you to critically engage through a variety of theoretical perspectives with the development of institutionalised education in modern times. It explores how this is associated with the forging of the nation state. It uses the English state as an example, indicating how this was underpinned initially by the ideals of Western Enlightenment thought, and latterly by neoliberal ideologies and the increasing imperative in contemporary globalised societies for education to serve economic ends. It effectively traces the move from a welfare to a post-welfare state and notes how these different formations were contextualised by imperialism, industrialisation and latterly by globalised economic relations of exchange and competition. This leads to questions about the positioning of education as a state institution within these different political and moral economies.

In particular the module introduces a range of social theorists to consider education in post-welfare societies, addressing both contexts of schooling and higher education. It takes a particular interest in the problematic relationship of institutionalised education and issues of social justice and equity across different education sectors from primary through to higher education. This includes an introduction to the equation of rationality with bourgeois masculinity, enabling a critical understanding of how other identities are often excluded within modern thought, producing deficit accounts of black, female and working class subjects. Reversing this pathological gaze, the module explores the reproduction of gender, race and social class inequalities in contemporary education systems in terms of power relations and the vested interests at stake in maintaining this account.

Indicative topics

1. Education and the Modern State
2. Education Policy and Politics
3. Progressive Education and Social Reproduction
4. The Politics of the Curriculum – the post-war social democratic consensus and its exclusion
5. Structures of Knowledge – reason and its exclusions
6. The politics of the curriculum – neoliberal instrumentalisms and the curriculum of the dead
7. Education and the Economy
8. Contemporary education and the reproduction of social inequalities: Intersections of race, class and gender.
9. The reconstruction of initial teacher education and its knowledge structure
10. Widening participation, meritocracy and fair access to higher education
11. Moral panics and absent presences: the construction of gender in schooling and higher education
12. Education and citizenship – revisiting the relationship of education and the nation state

Language, Mind and Brain

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module focuses on linguistic ability as a unique quality of humans. How does human language differ from animal communication systems? How is the human body, particularly the brain, adapted for language? Is language a special kind of cognition, or the product of general higher cognitive abilities?

We further investigate how humans understand and produce speech in such a speedy and efficient way, using a variety of evidence to evaluate theories of how the mind is structured for speech. We'll ask questions like: How are words stored in the mind so that we can find them? Why are grammatical sentences like 'The horse raced past the barn fell' actually very difficult to comprehend? Why are words sometimes 'on the tip of the tongue'?

Music and Site Specific Art (E)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This is a practice-based module that will engage you in the making of site-specific performance in public spaces. You will explore through lectures and practical workshops the relation of space, place and sound, and the social meanings of specific locations. The module will examine a range of contemporary artistic approaches and theoretical ideas, as well as introducing you to practical methods for making site-specific work with music.

Narrating Lives: Theory and Practice

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module will explore contemporary cultural practice and history-telling. You will analyse classic and contemporary true lives in historical context and as they have been discovered, interpreted, shaped and debated.

You will explore:

• autobiographies
• biographies
• letters
• diaries
• audio/visual portraits
• digital lives
• microhistories, and
• oral histories

through themes of:

• self
• identity
• agency
• memory
• time
• secrets
• truth
• inheritance
• narrative, and
• ethics.

We look especially at how to relate an individual to collective story, at narrative elements of selfhood and at the art of non fiction. We will be locating life narratives in their specific historical periods and within a sense of the evolution of self-writing.

These themes are introduced in historical perspective, from the rise of life writing in the 17th century to today’s interest in stories of turning points and traumas. We will consider the effects of philosophical scepticism about self and identity on the representation of individual lives, and new paradigms that consider the self as formed through relationships with others. We will also explore the autobiography and discuss the social uses of life narrative, from legal testimony to medical case history, and the pervasive ethical dilemmas that arise from a form of narrative that is so often implicated in personal relationship.

Module texts may include Aubrey’s Brief Lives, 18th century criminal mugshots, Virginia Woolf’s Moments of Being, 19th century working class autobiography, excerpts from Mass Observation diaries in the University’s Special Collections as well as recent classics, such as Jenny Diski’s Skating to Antarctica, Gillian Wearing’s video portraits, Grayson Perry’s portrait pots, the online game Second Life, the digital resource London Lives and oral history collections at The British Library.

The module will include opportunities to produce and discuss one’s own life narrative, whether in autobiographical or biographical mode, or a mix of the two, as part of the creative exercise to be submitted in a portfolio at the end of the module. You may choose to do this in written form, or to explore edited or curated letters or diaries, oral historical interview, portraiture or digital representation, within the technological capacities available. This creative exercise will allow further exploring, through practice, the challenges of narrating and interpreting lives including the historiographical, ethical and formal demands involved, as well as the contracts involved in producing and consuming autobiography, biography and other life narrative genres.

Objects of Art

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module introduces you to a vital skill in the analysis and understanding of art history: how to engage with a single work of art or piece of material culture in great detail.

Each lecture is based on very specific object – for example, a picture, a sculpture, a photograph, or a piece of ceramics – and builds outwards from them. You will consider a series of key issues, including the materials used, the subject represented, decisions made by the producer of the object, the different contexts in which it has been displayed, the functions it may have performed, and questions of meaning.

Perspectives on Global English

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This elective module addresses current issues concerning the spread and use of English in various forms and for diverse purposes around the world. The increasingly international profile of the language, its learners and teachers are reflected in higher education, business and research, and raises challenging questions. Linguistic issues of standards, variation and models are considered, as well as more sociocultural aspects relating to language and identity, lingua franca communication, multilingualism, intercultural competence, technology and language education policy.

Philosophy of Science

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

The philosophy of science explores, among other things, the distinctive character of scientific investigation and of how science progresses, the nature of scientific explanation, laws and evidence, and realism/anti-realism about the entities posited by scientific theories. This module will introduce you to these issues and some of the central arguments involved. It will also explore notions integral to science and the study of it: evidence, induction, falsification, underdetermination, evolution, and different conceptions of space and time.

Philosophy, Politics and the Middle East

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Contemporary Middle Eastern politics raises many intricate philosophical questions. The aim of this course is to address some of them. Topics to be studied include:

• jihad and just war theory
• liberalism vs Islam
• democracy and freedom of speech
• freedom of belief
• what, if anything, is wrong with extremist beliefs?
• what, if anything, is wrong with conspiracy theories?
• democracy and religion
• patriotism and personal identity
• the ethics of immigration.

Postcolonial Africa

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

The module explores debates over key postcolonial political, economic and sociocultural dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa. It encourages you to think critically about dominant representations of the subcontinent in the West, and to understand different, often conflicting accounts of postcolonial continuities and transformations.

Topics include debates over some of the following:

• the character of the postcolonial state and governance, nationalism and ethnicity
• borders
• the politics of land and natural resources
• processes of urbanisation
• mobility and new forms of transnational connection between Africa, Europe and China.

Psychology Now: Contemporary Approaches to Understanding Behaviour

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module introduces you to a wide range of research themes in contemporary psychology. Internationally recognised researchers will help you learn about work at the cutting edge of this dynamically changing discipline, covering topics such as the psychology of gender differences, the effects of drugs on our thinking and behaviour, the mechanisms involved in hypnosis, and the role of psychology in environmental issues.

You will evaluate diverse approaches to understanding human behaviour, from comparative perspectives that help us revisit assumptions about the human-animal divide, through to social psychological explanations of why we interact with other people in the ways that we do. This module does not require any prior knowledge of psychology – all are welcome.

Punishment and Penology

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module will examine both the theory and practice of punishment, and will encourage you to take a critical approach to analysing these. The focus will mainly be on England and Wales, but comparison will be drawn with other countries, such as those in Europe, North America and Australasia, where relevant.

After exploring a range of theoretical approaches in relation to the justifications for and purposes of punishment, you will consider a range of empirical examples. The latter will be largely contemporary, but historical examples will also be used.

Topics will include:

• justifications for punishment
• Durkhemian, Marxist and Foucauldian perspectives on punishment
• Garland's (2001) culture of control and the new penology (Feeley and Simon, 1992)
• contemporary imprisonment
• women in prison
• children and young people in custody
• immigration detention centres
• alternatives to imprisonment
• radical critiques, such as abolitionism and feminist jurisprudence.

Society, State and Humanity

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

The module surveys a number of fundamental answers given by Western thinkers to the question 'what is society?', exploring them in conjunction with answers to the questions 'what is the state?' and 'what is a human being?'. There will be a particular focus on the question of whether humans can be said to exist prior to society or only as constituted by it. Conceptions of society, state and humanity studied may include those of Plato, Aristotle, St. Paul, Hobbes, Smith, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Durkheim, Freud, and feminist and postmodern critiques of these.

Please note: this module has some overlap in content with the second year module 'Modern Political Thought', which is a core module for students studying Politics.

Spanish Advanced B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module is designed for students who have completed and advanced A module.

The module aims to:

• enable you to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in Spanish with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in Spanish using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of the complex structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary in Spanish to allow further accuracy and control in use
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B2 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Spanish Advanced B (B)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This Stage 6 module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with some autonomy in the target language (TL) at level B1+ (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Building on existing levels of proficiency at level the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with increasing fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at an advanced level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow further accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of some aspects of the general social, political and/or cultural background of the language through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW), and to encourage autonomous use of the TL. These will include presentations and discussion, text handling and writing activities, such as summarising and reporting, based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to focus on a topic of special interest to you.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B1+-B2 (Independent User) of the CEFR for languages.

Spanish for Professional Purposes 2B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module is designed for advanced learners who have completed Advanced for Professional Purposes 2A.

Building on existing levels of proficiency the module aims to:

• enable you to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in Spanish with fluency, confidence and spontaneity in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a range of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in Spanish using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a proficient level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary in Spanish to allow consistent accuracy and control in use
• facilitate the analysis of important aspects of the general social and cultural background of the language in a professional context through a variety of contextualised activities and materials in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, and digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (speaking, learning, reading and writing) and to encourage autonomous use of Spanish. These will include subject-specific presentations and discussion, text-handling and analysis, writing activities such as letter-writing, summarising and reporting.

Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of Spanish-speaking countries, society, and communities through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audiovisual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to focus on your employment profile and/or workplace simulation activities.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B2 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Spanish for Professional Purposes 2B (B)

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This Stage 8 module is for students who have already acquired the capacity to function with autonomy in the target language (TL) at level B2 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR).

Building on existing levels of proficiency the module aims to:

• enable students to understand the main ideas within extended discourse and to communicate effectively in the TL, with fluency, confidence and spontaneity, in a variety of contexts
• provide opportunities, across a range of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in the TL using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a proficient level
• consolidate and develop the range of complex TL language structures, syntax, and specialised vocabulary to allow consistent accuracy and control in use of the TL
• facilitate the analysis of important aspects of the general social and cultural background of the language in a professional context, through a variety of contextualised activities and materials, in a range of media – eg text, audio, audio-visual, digital.

Your classes will consist of a variety of activities to develop your practical skill in all four communicative competencies (SLRW) and to promote autonomous use of the TL. These will include subject-specific presentations and discussion, text handling and analysis, writing activities, such as letter-writing, summarising and reporting, based on themes, grammatical structures and language skills. Working individually and in groups, you will have opportunities to develop your knowledge and understanding of TL countries, society, and community through both authentic and specially prepared textual and audio-visual materials. In this module you will have the opportunity to specialise and report on professional matters or on topics in your field of expertise.

Seminar activities are complemented by guided independent study, and will make use of Study Direct and other technologies.

This module is at level B2-C1 (Independent-Proficient User) of the CEFR for languages.

Spanish Intermediate B

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module is desigend for intermediate learners who have completed an intermediate A module

The module aims to:

• enable you to understand key information and to communicate effectively in Spanish, sometimes spontaneously, in less routine situations at a standard level 
• provide opportunities, across a variety of topics, for practice of understanding and communication in Spanish using the four language skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing, at a standard level 
• consolidate and develop the range of key elements of the structures, vocabulary, syntax and pronunciation of Spanish, to allow continued progression
• present the background culture and society of the Spanish-speaking world through a variety of contextualised activities and materials in a range of media, eg text, audio, audiovisual, and digital.

Successful completion of the module is equivalent to level B1 (Independent User) of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

The Anthropology of Sexuality

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

The module will familiarise you with anthropological work on sexuality, and will develop your understanding of this in respect to themes such as gender, health, heteronormativity and social change. The module will examine the history of sexuality as a contested subject within anthropology, and also in terms of new and emerging scholarship in the field. In particular the module will seek to widen your understanding of sexuality as implicated in a wide range of social issues – beyond the biology of sexuality per se, and as relevant to core anthropological/social scientific concepts, such as culture, kinship, globalisation and political economy.

Teaching will be organised in respect of the following subject matter:

1. Sex, Sexuality and Anthropology

This section will examine key themes and module content, eg social constructionism and sexuality, emphasis on and denial of sexuality in anthropology, and the history of sexuality.

2. Researching the Sexual

This section will locate anthropological debates on sexuality within wider research. The section will cover critical sexuality studies and research methods.

3. Sexuality, Subjectivity and Embodiment

You will be introduced to theories of sexual identity and sexual acts. You will learn about phenomenology and theories of sexual subjectivity, exploring ways of conceptually engaging with ‘the body’ and ‘the sexual’.

4. Sexuality, Globalisation and Neo-liberalism

You will explore sexuality as associated with modernity and social changes and will consider why changes in socio-sexual values are so accented in studies of globalisation. Associations between sexual individualism and modernity will be questioned.

5. Development and Sexual Rights

The promotion of sexuality in development work will be explored, as connected to gender and development and feminism. International mechanisms for the promotion of sexual rights will be critically explored with an emphasis on women’s sexualities as subjects of development discourses and an examination of ‘sex workers’ rights’.

6. Governance, Bio-politics and Sexuality

This section will consider sexualities as linked to forms of surveillance in society both new and old. You will examine sexuality as related to moral control and ‘technologies of self’.

7. Sexuality, Kinship and Care

This section will examine intimate connections between, and transgressions beyond, kinship and sexuality. We will consider whether anthropology has tended to ignore sexuality in favour of kinship. You will examine ‘non-heteronormative’ analyses of kinship and their implications for anthropological theories of care and relatedness.

8. Same-sex sexualities

You will examine ethnographic material pertaining to the study of same-sex sexual subjectivities and practices and will consider the broader relevance of this literature. We will explore new discourses of homophobia (eg in Uganda) along with new and positive changes in laws and rights pertaining to same-sex sexualities globally.

9. Religion, Morality and Sexuality

This section will examine the relationship between sexuality and moral crises in past and contemporary societies, particularly those associated with religious belief. You will examine ways in which normative and ‘alternative’ sexualities have complex relations to practical contexts of religious morality.

10. Media, sexuality, and social change

This final section will ask whether globalising and democratising media are changing attitudes toward sexualities. You will examine whether exploring and charting changes in beliefs and attitudes regarding sexuality may offer wider and productive insights into the enduring and changing characteristic of cultures and societies.

The Far Right and the Politics of Immigration

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module explores the far right and the increasingly contested politics of immigration in liberal democracies. The module begins by looking at the rise of the far right political parties in contemporary Europe and their relationship to public opinion, mainstream parties and immigration policies. It then examines a number of cases including countries in which the far right has been more and less successful. You will gain an understanding of the causes and consequences of the rise of far right parties and an understanding of their impact on immigration politics and policies.

The Look of America

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module takes as its premise the notion that ever since the explosion of mass media and mass society in the industrial age, the United States has taken an increasingly dominant place in the global visual imagination. This process reached its peak at the beginning of the 20th century, America henceforth generating for the world innumerable iconic and hegemonic visual representations of its own cultural narratives.

The task of the module will be to investigate and deconstruct some of the products of this visual field, along with the ideologies and narratives that sustain and refract them. Hence we begin by introducting you to visual theory, especially as it applies to the American context, and provide you with the critical tools necessary for the module. We then locate the period under scrutiny (1860-2001) within a broader visual and cultural prehistory, illuminating the roots of the modern world and its visual scene. After this, the module concentrates more particularly on the culture of the late-19th and 20th centuries.

Following a more or less thematic pattern, the module examines the issues that emerge over the course of the 20th century, referring forwards and backwards in order to generate connections where appropriate (for example, linking the Farm Security Administration projects to Matthew Brady's Civil War photographs). The intention here is to introduce you to aspects of visual culture and its criticism, as well as to defamiliarise and explore some of the more familiar American iconography surrounding us.

The Transformation of Contemporary Europe

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This module examines the changes in the political and economic systems of Europe, East and West, since 1945, with particular reference to the impact of the Cold War and its aftermath.

Understanding Education: UK, European and Global Perspectives

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

Understanding Global Migration

15 credits
Year 2, Term 2

This interdisciplinary module focuses on the profound impact of human migration on the world we live in. You explore a range of geographical, economic, political, social and cultural issues surrounding migration. The module introduces the key theories, concepts and ideas used to define and understand migration, and covers the main types, causes and consequences of migration. Following a roughly chronological sequence in order to foster a sense of historical continuity and change, you covers topics such as labour migration, refugees, irregular migration, integration and exclusion, migration and development, and the impact of gender on the migration process.