BA PHILOSOPHY AND HISTORY

What am I? What kind of world am I in? How can I know about it? How should I live my life? In this module, you’ll grapple with fundamental philosophical questions that have great personal significance for each of us. You’ll focus on perspectives from the history of modern philosophy (ca. 1650 to 1950). You’ll get to debate the ideas of key thinkers, which might include Descartes, Locke, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, as well as other less well-known figures. This module will be suitable for you with or without prior experience of philosophy, and whether or not you are studying philosophy as part of your degree. It is a useful accompaniment to work in early modern history and English literature.

What do we mean when we say an argument is well-reasoned? What makes an argument either watertight, or unreliable? We can start to answer these questions by distinguishing between, on the one hand, the individual claims that occur in an argument and, on the other hand, the relationships between those claims (which is the argument’s logical structure). During this module you'll study philosophical reasoning, looking in close detail at the role played by logical structure such that we have an argument which has not only a true conclusion, but one which is firmly supported. As a result, you’ll arm yourself with indispensable tools for rigorous philosophical thought, for identifying problems in the arguments you encounter, and for defending your views effectively within and beyond academic philosophy. You’ll study what we call “validity in particular, gaining techniques for identifying valid arguments. As you discover how to break down the components of an argument, you’ll sharpen your skills in argument-analysis and deepen your understanding of some key logical concepts, central to philosophy. In addition you’ll master specific methods for examining validity in abstraction from natural language contexts. You’ll strengthen these skills via a combination of seminars, lectures, workshops, and independent study. We'll focus heavily on practice exercises. The study of logic and reasoning will make you a better philosopher, whatever your specialism or area of interest. It will enable you to judge your own arguments and those of others more easily and effectively, and help you to organise your thoughts and communicate your ideas more effectively.

In this module, we study some of the most original thinkers of the twentieth century, in order to reflect in unconventional ways on the ideas of human association and community as well as evaluate the loss of autonomy produced by cultural invasion and the institutionalisation of values. The basic goal of Radical Philosophy is to present you with a constellation of styles of thinking and forms of criticism that will stimulate you to examine in a rigorous way several thought-provoking perspectives on the idea of social transformation.

In this module you’ll explore the ways in which human beings have, from time immemorial, used narratives and poetry to create their models of the universe, and to think about issues relating to mankind’s place within it. You’ll focus on ancient texts from a variety of major civilisations over the last four millennia, many of them still treated as living sources of wisdom and insight, spiritual guidance and moral vision. It has become customary in modern philosophy to privilege rational discourse, in prose, as the acceptable way of doing philosophy, and to imagine that to be human is to be rational. But is it irrational to explore our world and discover the deeper truths through narrative? Is that even non-rational enquiry? Might it actually be one of the key ways in which philosophy can reach and engage every human being? And might that be why all civilisations have stories and poetry as their foundational texts, not philosophical arguments? In this module you’ll acquire a basic knowledge of some key texts (including Homer, key parts of the King James Bible and the Quran) that any citizen of the world should know.

This module conveys the rich complexity of twentieth-century Europe, encouraging you to look afresh at the period. In hindsight, the epithet ‘age of extremes’ best describes the contradictory characteristics of a century during which total war and genocide were accompanied by growing humanitarianism, state health care and the advance of human rights. Naturally, developments during the first decades of the twenty-first century have forced historians to reconsider and revise once-accepted narratives about European modernization. Just as the trend toward increasing integration, harmonization and homogenization seems questionable in light of the crisis of the European Union, Islamism and Islamophobia believe the idea that modernization resulted in secularization and tolerance. Similarly, the demonstrable power of international finance and supranational assemblies counters narratives of popular empowerment through the triumph of representative democracy. The lectures examine themes in their respective chronological contexts: the age of catastrophe; the age of the post-war ‘economic miracle’; and the making of contemporary Europe. Rather than dwelling on familiar aspects of the century that you may have previously studied, the module will also expose you to the history of Europe after 1945, Central and Eastern Europe, and developments in the US and colonies that shaped the continent. Instead of focusing narrowly on high politics, international relations and warfare, the module also aims to allow you to re-examine the century through the study of the history of population movements, land uses, urban planning and attitudes toward the past.

The importance of visual and material sources as historical evidence, as witnesses to history, has long been recognised by historians. Relics, buildings, maps, paintings, photographs, and films are all visual and material sources from which historians can elicit meaning. Paintings, photographs, and films in particular propose to give us unique access to the ideological, physical and emotional content of a specific historic moment. But visual evidence also challenges us to consider where we as historians draw the line between the mediated and unmediated ‘truth’ of the past. History is always an interpretation of the past that changes. Our aim is to introduce students to the analysis and interpretation of a wide range of visual and material evidence. Furthermore, students will examine the manifold ways in which audiovisual historical representations shape and reshape our collective memory and understanding of the past from the medieval to the contemporary.

This module challenges you to reflect on the nature of history: what it means for historians; what it means for the wider public and contemporary society; and what it has meant in the past. You’ll explore the key approaches to the study of history and the conduct of historical research. You’ll consider how historians have written history in the past and how they engage with it in the present, the relevance and challenges of sources and evidence, how historians present their interpretations, and the ways in which they debate amongst themselves. You’ll come away with an understanding that history is rarely about the ‘right’ answer, but rather a series of ways of understanding and interpreting the past. You’ll focus in particular on historical debate and how you can effectively analyse and interpret it. Through a mixture of both historical interpretation and historiography, you’ll develop key study and transferable skills.

The fourteenth century represents a major watershed in the course of global history, and the major contours of change are explored through this outline study of events in England between c.1300 and c.1400. Foremost among those changes stands the Black Death of 1348-9, which is now recognised as the worst single catastrophe in documented history. The second plague outbreak of 1361-2 represents the second greatest health crisis of the second millennium. The pathogen that caused both epidemics has the dubious honour of being the worst killer in history. It is still present in five continents of the world, and, if antibiotics do become ineffectual during the course of our own century, then the Black Death will represent the greatest pathogenic threat to humanity. Historians have long debated whether the Black Death was a major turning point in history or a mere accelerator of trends already in motion. Part of the difficulty in assessing its impact is that it was just one of a number of major catastrophes to strike during the fourteenth century. The others were the Great Famine of 1315-17, the worst famine of the last millennium; the great cattle epizootic of 1318-19, the worst livestock disease of the millennium; and the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381, the worst civil uprising in English history. Modern science has cast new light upon the causes of these extreme epidemics and famines, and in doing so has revealed the dramatic instability of the climate as world temperatures cooled and the Little Ice Age began. Catastrophes of this magnitude and frequency reveal to the historian a great deal about human society, its beliefs and responses, and the resilience of its institutions. This was also a period of political turmoil. In 1326 Edward II was the first king to be removed violently from the throne since Harold in 1066, and a similar fate befell Richard II in 1388. Both were murdered subsequently. Despite these catastrophic events, English kings waged war as if nothing had happened and the English government greatly extended its powers to regulate the life of ordinary people in new and contentious ways. The foundation stones of modern state finance and labour legislation were laid in the fourteenth century. Central institutions of English life—such as the pub and the magistrate—also emerged. Catastrophes create opportunities, too, and the English response to those opportunities was markedly different to many other parts of Europe. At the start of the century, its society, economy and political institutions all lagged behind developments in the leading regions of Europe. At the end of the century, however, England was one of the regions diverging from the rest of the continent and taking the first tentative steps towards modernity. Some historians argue that women’s work and marriage patterns were transformed after the Black Death, and the modern nuclear family emerged. This module provides you with an entertaining, fresh and fascinating introduction to medieval history, whilst revealing how some of the most significant institutional features of modern Britain began to take shape during this period. The assessment regime includes a group presentation to encourage collaboration with other first year historians.

The objective of this module is to understand how human rights developed as a global and transnational idea and set of practices in the post-1776 period. The module looks at the emergence of human rights as a set of ideas from their conception in the eighteenth century, through the development of political rights and humanitarianism in the nineteenth century, through to the United Nations of Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and into the post World War Two period of decolonisation and sustainable development goals. In the seminar discussion, we will focus on key texts, examine crucial political events and following the ideas of important thinkers.

You will examine the history of early modern Europe through the history of witchcraft, witch-beliefs, and especially witchcraft prosecutions after 1500. Through learned demonology and folk traditions, you will explore the development of the idea of the witch, and see how during the turbulent era of the Reformation this thinking translated into legal trials and, occasionally some savage witch-panics. You will look in detail at subjects such as gender, fear and anxiety, state building, and scepticism, ranging across early modern Britain, continental Europe and colonial America.

You will be introduced to a number of programming concepts at the start of your programming career, using a modern programming language common to many digital industries. We structure learning through lectures, delivering core materials, and tutor supported exercises to reinforce learning, preparing you for programming in your following studies.

This module introduces key concepts and findings from behavioural economics and investigates how economics can be used to understand the behaviour of consumers, workers and managers. Providing you with a means to introduce key developments in economic analysis, from neuroeconomics to the economics of emotion, the focus is on how such economic insights can ultimately improve business and managerial decision-making.

Striking a balance between societal development, economic growth and environmental conservation has proven challenging and contentious at many scales and over time. The concept of `sustainable development’ was coined to denote processes aiming to achieve this balance. This module introduces sustainable development, and examines the challenges and opportunities to achieving this, drawing together social and ecological dimensions. Drawing upon the social sciences, this module examines the theory and practice of sustainable development. From an ecological perspective, the module covers a range of concepts relevant to the structure and functioning of the biosphere, and topics ranging from landscape and population ecology to biodiversity conservation. This module is assessed by coursework and an examination.

Parlons français ! This module will help you to further your basics of French language and communication in order to enable you to cope with concrete situations. This module is perfect for you if you have taken Beginners’ French I – A1 CEFR, or if you have some experience of French language. Throughout the semester, you’ll develop reading, listening, speaking and writing skills at the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This means that you’ll be able to cope in a number of situations, including some you may encounter when travelling. You’ll be able to talk and write about yourself and your immediate surrounding environment in some detail, and you’ll work on handling short social exchanges. You’ll be taught in an interactive and friendly environment, and will often work in pairs or small groups. Your two-hour seminar will focus on listening, reading and writing skills, while the oral hour will help you to develop your confidence in speaking. We’ll tackle some grammatical notions in class, but always as a means for you to improve your communication skills. You’ll also have opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where French is spoken, thanks to the various documents we will use to develop your linguistic skills (songs, podcasts, short articles and videos…). You’ll be assessed by two course tests: the first will cover listening, reading, and writing skills and the second will cover your speaking skills. On successful completion of the module, you’ll be able to understand and use expressions related to areas of immediate relevance, or that you may encounter when travelling. You’ll be able to communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a direct exchange of information. You’ll be able to describe in simple terms aspects of your background, immediate environment and needs. Please note that you should not have a level of French that exceeds the level of this course. This module may not be appropriate for you if you have a recent French GCSE at grade B or above, if you have studied French abroad for a long time, or if you have learnt French in an informal setting (such as in your family). If you have such experience, please contact the Module Organiser as soon as possible to complete a level test..

Do you want to refresh and further develop your basic German skills? Would you like to converse with a native speaker beyond the first introductions? Or do you simply want to understand a little more about what makes the Germans, the Swiss or Austrians tick? This follow-on course is perfect if you have completed the Beginners 1 module or have very basic knowledge of the language. You will gain more confidence in using German in conversation as you become ever more familiar with essential German grammar. You will learn how to express opinions, wishes and requests, and how to master the skill of congratulating and complimenting other people. During this module you will also gain further awareness of German traditions and ways of thinking to help you make sense of a country that is deeply rooted in the heart of Europe. In a relaxed environment you will participate in classroom-based activities, working in pairs and groups to try out and be creative with new words and phrases. The fun of language learning will never be far away and promises to give you the confidence to maintain a conversation and express yourself to a target audience in writing. As well as speaking and listening to each other you will apply a range of strategies to help you make sense of authentic German texts. A solid beginners’ course in German will enable you to add a vital skill to your CV. At this crucial political and cultural moment in time the study of the German language and culture will without doubt make you a more attractive graduate and informed global citizen, whatever your specialism or area of interest. Please note that your current level of German language should not exceed the level of this course.

Have you ever taken any basic Spanish course? Do you want to carry on studying this well spoken language after taking Beginners´ Spanish I? Do you feel that learning a language might be a relevant skill for your career? Then, Beginners´ Spanish II is what you really need. This module will improve your academic education and will provide you with the confidence to advance towards upper intermediate and advanced levels. But, how will you make it? Thanks to this module, you will work on your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. You will get the personal feedback on every single of your efforts. You'll take part in classroom-based activities, working in pairs and small groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in the process of improving this language. You'll also be able to focus on real life situations as well as the ability to communicate effectively in those situations. There will also be opportunities to explore aspects more carefully of the cultures where Spanish is the mother tongue. By the end of this module you will be able to understand commonly used, everyday phrases and expressions related to areas of experience especially relevant to them (basic information about themselves, and their families, shopping, places of interest, work, etc.). If you have a recent Spanish GCSE grade B or above, or an international equivalent, then this module is probably not appropriate for you - please contact the module organiser as soon as possible to be sure).

This is the second part of a beginners' course in Arabic following on from Beginners' Arabic I. Students with a basic knowledge of Arabic writing and speaking may join this module.

Having gained an insight in communicating using a 'visual' language, how would you relate a story, a narrative or a conversation using more than two people? How would you describe where something is in a room, the room itself or give directions involving a map? This module builds on your studies in British Sign Language giving you confidence and further skills in communicating with the deaf. Teaching and learning strategies continue to involve a more fluent signed conversation, role-play, and lots more games and exercises embedding your learning that makes this an exciting module to take! In this module you will continue to look at deaf culture, address and look at various equipment that assists the Deaf in their everyday life. For example, how do they know someone is at the door? Can they communicate over the telephone? What would happen if you were in a building on fire? On successful completion of this module you will have developed knowledge and skills that will enable you to communicate confidently with a Deaf person. Your will broaden your knowledge and understanding of a truly unique and amazing form of communication and a culture so very different than what you may have encountered before. Please note that very occasionally subsidiary language modules may be cancelled due to low enrolment. Students who are found to have a level of knowledge that exceeds the level for which they have enrolled may be asked to withdraw from the module, at the Teacher's discretion.

Greek is one of the official languages of the EU and is spoken by about 11 million people in Greece, Cyprus, and in various communities throughout the world. You’ll be surprised by the number of Modern Greek words that are already familiar to you, including scientific and technical vocabulary. Greek also opens the door to a unique and fascinating culture. UEA is one of the few British Universities offering Modern Greek, so stand out from the crowd and go for Greek. If you have a GCSE grade C or below (or equivalent experience, i.e. Beginners Greek I) this module is for you. The module has three contact hours per week. You’ll develop your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. You’ll be equipped with the linguistic understanding of a number of real life situations, as well as the ability to communicate effectively in those situations. You’ll also have opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where Greek is spoken. Particular emphasis will be placed on your acquisition of a sound knowledge of grammar. By the end of this module you’ll be able to converse/read and write on the following topics: 1. Information gathering 2. Travel 3. Accommodation 4. Meeting people and talking about the past, holidays etc. 5. Offering hospitality (informal/formal) 6. Initiating/receiving phone calls/phone messages (social/business) 8. Writing letters (informal/formal) Please note that if you are found to have a level of knowledge in a language that exceeds the level for which you have enrolled, you may be asked to withdraw from the module at the Teacher’s discretion. Please note that this is a subsidiary language module. Very occasionally, subsidiary language modules may need to be cancelled if there are low levels of enrolment.

Have you ever taken any basic Beginners' Japanese I? Then, the Beginners’ Japanese II is what you really need. You will continue to study the different tenses and grammatical structures while improving your spoken Japanese and honing your listening skills. By the end of this module you will be able to understand commonly used, everyday phrases and expressions related to areas of experience. Please note that very occasionally subsidiary language modules may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Please note that students who are found to have a level of knowledge that exceeds the level for which they have enrolled may be asked to withdraw from the module at the Teacher’s discretion.

Winston Churchill once said that ‘Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’. Russia gave the world Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Shostakovich, Chagall and borsch! Would you like to know more about the largest country in the world and unwrap some of the mysteries of its history, culture and politics through its language? Before enrolling on this course you’ll need to be acquainted with the Russian alphabet, able to read and write in Russian, and to know a few initial items of grammar and vocabulary (skills that will be learnt in the Beginners' Russian I module). At the end of the course you’ll know all the basics of Russian grammar, you’ll be able to read more complex texts and you’ll have improved your speaking skills in real-life situations (in case you find yourself lost in Red Square)! You’ll participate in classroom-based activities, often working in pairs and groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in your exploration of the language. You’ll be able to improve and develop your grammar and vocabulary skills through watching Russian films, reading newspaper articles and short stories, discussing their content and expressing your opinion. Having a Russian language course on your CV will give you an advantage over other graduates, and it will also provide work opportunities in Eastern Europe, Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. This course will also help you to become a more informed global citizen whatever your specialisation or area of interest. Please note that you should not have a level of knowledge in Russian that exceeds the beginners’ level specified above when enrolling on this course, or you may be asked to withdraw from the module (at the Teacher’s discretion). Please contact us if you’re unsure.

Do you need help in organising your writing and expressing your thoughts clearly? Would you like to gain the tools and confidence to write more clearly and fluently, leading to better grades and greater satisfaction with your work? In this module you will learn how to structure academic essays and how best to write logically organised paragraphs. You will have practice in summarising and paraphrasing material from sources that you have read to ensure you can capture the essential points of a writer’s argument and avoid any form of plagiarism. This will include help with ways to manage the referencing of sources. There will be a focus on vocabulary throughout the course and you will be set tasks to direct you to appropriate academic language; and you will have help in using a range of cohesive devices to link ideas within and between paragraphs. It is also likely that the class will need some remedial work on a specific area of grammar occasionally, and the tutor will allow time in class to deal with such issues. Naturally, you will be required to complete weekly homework assignments in addition to any reading and writing you do in the classroom, and you will receive regular feedback. Please note that very occasionally subsidiary language modules may be cancelled due to low enrolment. This module is not open to native or near-native speakers of English and would not be suitable for International students who have already had considerable experience in English essay writing. Students who are found to have a level of knowledge that exceeds the general level of the module may be asked to withdraw from the module, at the Teacher's discretion.

Do you want to explore what makes the French so French? Is there any such thing as a French cultural exception? How has society and the relationship between the French and the French state or religion evolved over time and how has that shaped social behaviours, attitudes, laws, and values in France? These are some of the questions that will be the subjects of this module, which is available to students with or without some prior knowledge of the French language. By taking this module, taught and assessed in English, you will gain a deeper understanding of French society and important aspects of its institutions. You will understand France's attempts to retain its cultural identity, despite trends of homogenisation. You will look at themes such as education, arts, politics, literature, thought, and examine questions such as the role of the state, the support of the film industry, the history and legacy of Cartesian reasoning, and centralisation and universalism. Those themes will be discussed, sometimes challenged, through the exploration of a range of illustrations, documents and readings. By the end of this module, you'll have developed awareness of important and structuring features of French culture, and you'll have developed intercultural skills. If you are a student in international relations, you will have a better understanding of what influences social and political representations, constructions and decisions. As a student of languages, you will be able to support your comprehension and expression skills by a thorough understanding of the French culture.

From salsa to samba, fútbol to capoeira, telenovelas to Tex-Mex: Latin American popular cultures combine Indigenous, African and European elements in unique ways found nowhere else on earth. You will examine several Latin American popular cultural forms, and the historical, religious, social and political significance they have for Latin Americans.

Global Politics 2 explores the most important controversies and debates in contemporary international politics. Because international politics is constantly changing, we review this module every year, altering the precise mix of topics to reflect the world that you see around you. All of our topics involve questions of power, ethics, transnational cooperation and security. Recently we have explored terrorism, nuclear weapons, our moral obligations to foreigners, as well as migration, the fate of the environment, and emerging powers in the international system.

Would you like to explore Japanese culture and society? Are you curious and would you like to travel to Japan? Your module is designed to offer a critical overview of changes occurring in contemporary Japanese culture and society. Taught in English, you will be introduced to major aspects of the history, society, cultures, and global position of Japan. You’ll take a fresh look at stereotypes associated with Japan. You will be provided with a good all-round basic knowledge of Japan that will be of value both to students intending to major in Japanese and those interested in Japan. No knowledge of Japanese language is required. Topics such as overview of Japanese history from ancient to modern times, geography, contemporary politics and economics, society, education, and traditional and contemporary culture will be considered. Exercises and discussions in class will enhance your understanding and motivation to studying Japan in its global and cultural context.

Trump’s Tweets, Corbyn’s “fans”, and personalised campaign messages sent by algorithms…political communication has changed drastically in the last five years. Pundits and some scholars warn of serious dangers to democracy. What are the tricks of the trade in modern political communication and how different are they from those of the past? How does one now succeed to get across a message and gain support? Should we be worried about the implications for political discourse and decision-making? This module will enable you to critically assess the role of communication in national and international politics and help you understand the dynamics among political actors, media and citizens in opinion formation and decision-making. This is a professional practice module in which you will gain skills relevant to the conduct of political communications and to many other work environments, as well as experience working in a team on a task that requires critical thinking and collaborative strategizing. This module is ideal for anyone interested in working in politics, diplomacy, journalism, marketing, or for advocacy or activist civil society groups. Ideas about the power of communications and the ways that various political actors use that power are at the heart of this module. You’ll examine how these actors use the media in political communications. Lectures and readings will cover media effects, how political communication has changed with changes in media technology, branding and celebrity in politics, and soft power with political communication at the international level, as well as the tools used by various political actors, such as political parties or civic movements. Lectures are interactive, using an audience response system and open discussion. Seminar activities include practical tasks as well as ones to enhance understanding of the readings. The first assessed work is a group project in which you will play the role of junior analysts in a communications consultancy and you will work together to assess the political communications of a real political actor, your “client”, producing a report and presentation that includes recommendations for improvement. The second is an essay that gives you the chance to develop your ability to analyse and synthesise. By the end of this module you will be able to identify and describe the actors and their interests in a given political communications contexts, as well as formulate and articulate clear arguments about the relationships between political actors and the media in relation to power and agency. You will have gained experience in a simulated work scenario that will give you skills transferable across a number of professions as you will have delivered analysis and recommendations in a professional-style presentation and report. You will also be able evaluate political communications’ role in an international context, something increasingly necessary in the ever more globalized world both for political and corporate actors.

Religion is a phenomenon that is hard to define, and yet clearly integral to the entire history of human existence and across many cultures. Traditional philosophy of religion as practised in the modern Western philosophical tradition tends to focus on Christian belief and classical theism, yet there are also strong traditions of philosophy in other cultures with other religious traditions, such as the Islamic and Jewish thinkers who were at least as important as the Christian ones in the history of Medieval thought, and philosophy in Classical India and China has links with other non-Christian traditions such as Buddhism and Hindu thought.

Students often say that spending a semester abroad expands their horizons and improves their career prospects. You will be able to judge this claim for yourself by completing this module. You’ll experience a different educational culture and develop new perspectives on learning. Assessed formatively and summatively by the host university and on successful completion of the semester abroad, you’ll have developed the knowledge and skills to study in a foreign academic environment with more confidence. Assessment will be in the foreign institution and you might be assessed via different methods depending on the institution you attend. To check eligibility criteria it is important that you liaise with our Study Abroad Team.

In this module you will be invited to engage with some of the key issues that figure in Philosophy of Mind and in Philosophy of Language, and to identify the interconnections between the two. Some major thinkers in the field, both recent and from earlier periods of the Western canon of philosophy, will be studied, and chosen set texts may be selected for close attention as relevant. Topics might include the mind-body problem, the nature of mind and its relation to the brain, issues connected with meaning and understanding, how (if at all) language governs, limits or facilitates thought, and the relation between language and the things about which we use it to talk. By taking this module in your second year you will explore a selection of these topics. A further selection of these topics is available in the complementary Level 6 Mind & Language module, which you can take in your third year.

What is morality? And in what ways does it impinge on our lives, in deciding what to do? There are issues relating to ethics that are theoretical and meta-ethical, about what kind of judgements are being made and what is their basis in fact or in some realm of values; there are normative issues, about how, if at all, a theory can help to predict or decide what a person ought to do or which dispositions are commendable; and there are practical issues, about the real dilemmas of life and death, about fairness, love and compassion, as we face them in the world, and not just in imaginary trolley-problems . To complete a course in ethics you would want to explore all these aspects of the subject, and during this module you’ll engage with a selection of these, focusing either on the theoretical aspects, including attention to some major historical figures, or more on practical ethics. This module can be taken as a stand-alone module, but you are also encouraged to enrol for the complementary Level 6 module, which will be available in your third year, so as to compile a more complete study of the whole range of these topics.

Epistemology examines what knowledge is. Science is concerned with the acquisition of secure knowledge, and philosophy of science considers what counts as science, what objects the scientist knows about, and what methods can be used to attain such knowledge; logic uses formal tools to investigate different forms of reasoning deployed to acquire knowledge. You will be given an opportunity to explore a selection of these areas of philosophy, through teaching informed by recent and ongoing research: which ones will be explored on this occasion will be selected in the light of the lecturers’ current research interests and their general appeal.

Philosophy has much to say about the arts, and much to learn from them. In this module you will have a chance to explore some aspects of this relationship. Some issues that arise fall into what we would call aesthetics and the philosophy of art: we can ask about the value of art, aesthetic experience and judgement, artistic creativity, interpretation and representation, and we can investigate the views of many past thinkers on these matters. On the other hand, we can also use art to illuminate philosophy, and for this purpose we have chosen to focus primarily on cinema (while “literature and philosophy” investigates similar questions in connection with literature”). This module will focus on one or other of these two aspects of the encounter with beauty and the arts, but you may also wish to take the complementary module at level 6, in your third year, in order to cover both aspects of the subject.

How can we avoid environmental catastrophe? How can philosophy help? The relationship between human beings and the natural world is the basis of everything we are and yet we do not seem to have found a way to avoid destruction, degradation and potential catastrophe. In this module we will examine various ways in which philosophy can examine our relationship with the natural world and contribute to the fight to protect the planet. Topics may include the ethics of climate change; value theory and nature; human-animal relationships; the ways science, art and politics affect our relationships with the natural world. This module will cover a selection of these topics, and students may wish to continue the course by taking the complementary Level 6 module in their third year.

The history of philosophy, from ancient times to our own, is richly studded with exciting and innovative thinkers, whose ideas still spawn a vast volume of research and reflective criticism. These great minds are our partners in many fascinating slow-motion dialogues that extend over decades, centuries and even millennia. We converse with them about some of the most significant issues in the field. In this module you’ll join in this discussion by taking part in seminars focused on reading and discussion of some more of the original texts (in English translation, if that is not the original language), under the guidance of a research expert in the field. Texts will be selected by the seminar leader, to complement your other second and third year modules, and will not include precisely the same texts as are included elsewhere in the philosophy Honours programme. Rather we’ll aim to focus on thinkers whose work is insufficiently addressed in the other modules. Examples of thinkers that will be most likely to appear in the seminars for this module include Plato, Aristotle, the Presocratic Philosophers, Ancient Sceptics, Enlightenment thinkers such as David Hume, Immanuel Kant, René Descartes, George Berkeley, thinkers from early Analytic philosophy, early or late Wittgenstein, Simone Weil or Iris Murdoch. During this module you’ll be taught in a seminar/reading group style, with each group meeting on a weekly basis for twelve weeks. One or more such seminar groups may meet, depending on student enrolments and staff availability, and each group will be reading a different text or texts, from a different period or school of thought. You’ll be enrolled into whichever group interests you most (you’ll need to say which one you want to attend when you sign up for the module). Seminar groups will run with a minimum of ten students in the group: if you choose a group with less than 10 participants, you’ll be offered a choice of a different seminar group or a different module. This is a free-standing module that can be taken by itself. However, by taking this module in year 2, and the complementary Level 6 module in year 3, you can create a two semester course, exploring a selection of historical thinkers and adding a fitting supplement to the topical modules that you’ll be taking over these two years.

How can we make sense of the vast and complex world we are plunged into at birth? What happens when we become alienated from the world and its everyday meaning? If there is no absolute meaning assigned to human life by divine authority, does life have any meaning at all? Are we absolutely free to make sense of the world in any way we choose? Does death present an ultimate limit to human existence and freedom? Existential philosophers have grappled with these questions and in the process developed new ways of thinking about art, science, politics, divinity and every aspect of human life. Friedrich Nietzsche is one of the key founders of existential philosophy and his work began an important tradition that influenced thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. This module will focus either on the explosive work of Nietzsche himself or on the existential tradition he inspired, so you may also wish to take the complementary module at level 6, in your third year, in order to cover both aspects of the subject.

On this module you’ll study the development of the English landscape from early prehistoric times to the late Anglo Saxon period. You’ll learn to identify and interpret key landscape features from the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages before moving on to study Roman and Anglo Saxon landscapes. Lectures, seminars and field trips will provide you with an introduction to the approaches and sources used by landscape historians and landscape archaeologists. You’ll develop your understanding of landscape history through the study of key sites such as Stonehenge, Hadrian’s Wall and Sutton Hoo. The chronological approach of the module will provide you with an understanding of long term landscape change, telling the story of the English landscape from prehistory to the eve of the Norman Conquest.

You’ll examine the development of the English countryside during the Middle Ages. You’ll discuss the nature of rural settlement, high status buildings and landscapes and 'semi-natural' environments.

This module provides an introduction to the linguistic skills in medieval Latin which enable students to read administrative documents such as charters, accounts, court rolls, etc. It is particularly suited for those who intend on proceeding to postgraduate study in aspects of the past, such as medieval history, which require a reading knowledge of Latin. This course is not intended for students who have already studied Latin to A level or equivalent.

The Anglo-Saxon period spanned 600 years from the end of Roman Britain to the Norman Conquest. It was a period of turmoil, seeing waves of immigration, the clash of peoples and religions, and kingdoms jockeying for control. Out of this crucible England emerged. This is the story of how it came to be. Using contemporary sources, you will learn to handle evidence and reconstruct the worldview of people who lived over a thousand years ago. Anglo-Saxon history teaches you to go a long way with a little evidence; to use your imagination to fill in the gaps. Whether it's new to you or something you've studied before, you'll achieve a deeper and richer understanding of how the nation was formed. Via lectures, seminars and private study, you'll discover the Romans, Saxons and Vikings; the strange treasure they left behind; the cryptic and conflicting chronicles (learning to read between the lines), and debates we still haven't resolved today. Developing your powers of argumentation, you'll run into questions with no certain answer. Building with fragmentary evidence will boost your creativity, and you'll encounter ancient artefacts. (Trips have included West Stow Anglo-Saxon village and Norwich Castle Museum.) At the end of the module you'll command an overview of how England came into being. You'll also have built your ability to see other people's points of view, even if they lived a thousand years ago. This is a crucial ability whether in personal or professional relationships. Also learning to argue with evidence as fragmentary as the evidence we'll explore will hone your problem-solving skills to an unusual degree.

This module examines a critical period in English History. We begin with the Conquest of England by the Normans and look at the ways in which as a consequence England was drawn into European affairs. The mid point is the loss of those continental lands in 1204 and the Magna Carta crisis of 1215. We then explore the domination of Britain by the English kingdom and end with the start of England’s next great European adventure, The Hundred Years War.

You will explore one of the most turbulent and dynamic periods in English history: c.1400-1485. In addition to exploring the narrative of events as it unfolded chronologically you will also learn about topics such as: theories of medieval kingship, the relationship between church and state, the relationship between England and Continental Europe, medieval warfare, chivalry and knighthood, the relationship between national and local concerns, and the opportunities for people of all genders to participate in political struggle. You will have the opportunity to read a wide range of primary sources as well as considering key historiographical debates. Upon completion of your module, you should have a more nuanced understanding of the exercise of power in the 15th century and how the deeds and decisions of those in charge impacted the lives of people further down the social spectrum. You should also have honed your skills in primary source analysis and historiographical scrutiny.

You will examine Britain's expansion and decline as a great power, from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the mid-twentieth century. During this module, you will consider the foundations of British power, the emergence of rivals, Britain's relationship with the European powers and the USA, and the impact of global war. You will also investigate the reasons for Britain's changing fortunes, as it moved from guarding the balance of power to managing decline.

This module surveys the history of the British Empire from the mid-19th century to the years of decolonization. How did Britain come to rule the largest empire in world history and what factors brought about the empire's eventual demise? At its height in 1919, the British Empire stretched over a quarter of the globe and included almost a third of humanity, with a staggering 458 million people spread across 13 million square miles. In this module, you will be introduced to the diverse groups of British people who manned the empire - including missionaries, soldiers, settlers and colonial civil servants – and to the various ways that colonised people survived and contested British colonial domination. You will discover what everyday life was like under British colonial authority in the 19th and 20th centuries. We will investigate key moments of crisis in the empire, from the Indian Rebellion of 1857 to the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya in the 1950s, considering the local and global causes of these events, what people in these anti-colonial movements were fighting for, and how they came to transform global understandings of political sovereignty, citizenship and racial equality.

This module deals with the rivalries of the Great Powers from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the onset of the Cold War and its end with collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. We shall be examining topics such as the Vienna system; the Crimean War; Italian and German unification, the origins of the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War period.

We will introduce you to German history in the twentieth century, which was characterised by various radical regime changes and territorial alterations. Topics include German world policy and nationalism in the late imperial period; imperialism and expansionism during the First World War; the challenges of modernity in the Weimar Republic; the rise of Hitler and the formation of the Nazi empire in Europe; the post-war division of Germany and the legacy of the Third Reich; the nature of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) dictatorship and the problem of West German terrorism; as well as the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification. Special attention will be given to questions of nationalism and national identity, issues of history and memory, and Germany’s role in Europe and the world. On completion of this module you will have developed a solid understanding of one of the most dramatic periods of German history when the country oscillated between the two extremes of war and repression, on the one hand, and the return to peace and democracy, on the other.

What shapes our view of history and heritage? How do we balance academic approaches with the need to engage an audience? How do we assess the significance of historic buildings and sites? On this module you’ll explore these questions by studying the ways in which history is presented in the public sphere, in museums and galleries, at heritage sites and historic buildings, in the media and online. Through lectures, seminars and field trips you’ll gain an understanding of different current approaches to history and heritage, exploring themes such as the role of museums, the commemoration of historic events and the development of digital heritage.

You'll explore the experiences and fortunes of the peoples of the western peninsula of Eurasia between the rule of the Emperor Constantine I in the 330s and the call to crusade in the 1090s. At the beginning of the period, the lands centred on the Mediterranean and much of its hinterland were situated within the Roman empire. Yet, within three hundred years, this empire had disintegrated and been replaced by a number of successor states, ruled by competing dynasties. These states included Visigothic Hispania, Vandal Africa, and Merovingian Francia. Another—in fact, the longest lived of all the successor states—was the eastern empire centred on Constantinople, long known to historians as ‘the Byzantine empire’. By the close of the 7th century, many of these states had themselves been conquered by Arabic and African warriors committed to the new religion of Islam and been incorporated in the Caliphate centred on the city of Damascus—an empire which easily rivalled the might, spread, and power of Rome before its own collapse and fission in circa 1000. What Islamic rulers could do, so too could Christian ones. In 800 the son of a Frankish usurper, Charlemagne, was crowned emperor of the West. The actions and ambitions of this emperor were as formative and as formidable in the history of 9th and 10th century Europe as those of Napoleon in the 18th and 19th. The heirs and successors of Charlemagne—whether Frankish, Ottonian, or Scandinavian—were long compelled to negotiate his legacy and memory. By the 11th century, even the Roman pontiffs, now advancing a new programme of reform and renewal, were looking to situate themselves in relation to his Salian successors. The summons to liberate Jerusalem and rescue the Greek empire in the east, carefully tailored to the aspirations of the new élites of Francia and Catalonia, was perhaps the most explosive strategy advanced by these Roman pontiffs. This course is thus broad in chronological scope, covering more than eight hundred years, and extensive in geographical range, taking us from the Atlantic to the Euphrates, from the Atlas mountains to the North Sea. In the course of this journey we'll meet many warriors, saints, and rulers, both female and male.

Between the sixteenth and the early nineteenth centuries, the English crossed the oceans and claimed territory on every continent other than Antarctica. This module surveys the creation and growth of British Empire, examining its origins and its impact on an array of peoples. In the context of studying how the empire spread and functioned, we will consider the varied experiences of Africans, Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, Protestant refugees from the continent of Europe, the peoples of India, the Irish, and British settlers across the globe. The complex, intimate, and often violent interactions of these groups led to ideological battles pitting loyalism against republicanism, for example, and imperial “civilization” against an array of indigenous cultural revivals. At first glance these struggles may seem to place the British against the subject peoples of their empire, but on closer examination it becomes apparent that they fractured nearly every population within the imperial domains. The creative energy of the British Empire stemmed in large part from collaborations between British groups and individuals and segments of their purported imperial subjects in building, reforming, or in some cases seeking to destroy the structures of imperialism

We will look at the modern history of the Middle East, primarily concerning the political history of the region as well as relations between Middle Eastern countries and Western powers. Our aim is to encourage you to think critically about historical processes of state formation, the legacy of colonialism/imperialism, the role of culture and identity, and the significance of natural resources and economic factors.

This module introduces you to the history and theory of propaganda, and its role in society. You’ll consider what constitutes and defines propaganda. Focusing on the 20th century, we examine propaganda in a range of political settings, both totalitarian and democratic, in the local context of the relationships of power and communications. The module is structured chronologically, starting with the development of propaganda during World War I and finishing with a consideration of propaganda in the 21st century.

The Great War transformed domestic expectations and ushered in an age of Mass Democracy and economic hardship. After 1945 the welfare state and full employment saw rising affluence, accompanied by the emergence of youth cultures, a sexual revolution and new forms of radicalism and identity politics. The economic crisis of the 1970s sped-up deindustrialisation whilst the neoliberalism of Thatcher and her successors deepened inequalities and stoked nationalist sentiment. We explore the social, political and economic history of these tumultuous years.

You will be introduced to an eventful period of history during which France exercised a preponderant role over European affairs and culture. The module will provide you with the essential background knowledge of political events, revolutions and wars but it will also encourage you to explore deeper social and cultural trends. In the first weeks we will reconsider ‘Old regime’ France, drawing attention to its dynamism and cultural richness before turning to the crises that discredited Bourbon absolutism. In subsequent weeks we will focus on the Revolutionary-Napoleonic epoch: our endeavour here will be to explain why the Revolution was revolutionary in theory, violent in practice and dictatorial in consequence. We will then reflect on the Restoration. Using extracts from Hugo’s Les Misérables as our starting point, we will look at how rapid industrialization generated social tensions that successive ministries tried to diffuse through repression and reform. Next, we will look at the France of the Second Republic and Second Empire; our focus here will be Napoleon III’s modernization initiatives and dramatic remodelling of Paris. Finally, we will approach the history of the Third Republic between 1870 and 1914 from three angles: its success in making the populace feel French; science, art and culture; and its nationalistic foreign policy, which contributed toward undermining the general European peace. The seminars for this module will provide us with an opportunity to analyse and discuss in depth an eclectic range of primary sources, including textual documents (in English translation) ranging from constitutions to period fictional writings, maps, advertisements, artwork, extant material and architectural evidence, and music.

Since the unification of the states of the Italian peninsula, the history of modern Italy has been the subject of intense historical debate. Modern Italy has often been cast as a ‘weak’ state and ‘fragile’ nation, riven by particularism and by competing secular and religious ideologies, ‘economically backward’, less successful than its national neighbours, and ‘the least of the Great Powers’. More recent historiography has sought to challenge or modify these perceptions in a number of ways, and this course examines modern Italian history from unification to present day, in the light of these ongoing historiographical debates. a) Italian nationalism, the process of Italian unification and the attempts to create national unity after 1870; b) the relationship between socio-economic change and political development in Liberal Italy; c) the impact of the First World War on Italian society and politics; e) the nature of the Fascist regime and its impact on Italian society; f) the radicalisation of the regime, its racial policies and the quest for Empire; g) Italy’s role in World War II, the reasons for the collapse of the Fascist regime, and the emergence of civil war. h) Italian history since 1945

We will explore female involvement in politics, from the Duchess of Devonshire’s infamous activities in the 1784 Westminster election until 1919, when Nancy Astor became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons. We will examine topics including the early feminists, aristocratic female politicians, radical politics and the suffragettes, and will investigate the changes and continuities with female engagement with the political process from the eighteenth century through to the twentieth century.

This module examines the issue of gender in European history, between 1500 and 1750. Using a variety of written and visual sources, and including a comparative element, we focus on the following themes: definitions of femininity and masculinity; marriage, family and life cycles; queens and queenship; honour and sexual identities; charity and welfare; women and work; material culture; women in the new world; education and learning; early feminists.

The beginning of the twentieth century witnessed a period of immense instability and change with the emergence of the United States as an international actor in the West and the Japanese break from the Chinese sphere of influence in the East. This was underpinned by technological developments, the expansion of global empires, extreme economic dislocation and two global wars. You will examine the conduct and content of the foreign policies of the major powers from the 1890s, with the Sino-Japanese War and the Spanish-American War, to the Japanese occupation of Asia. This will include assessing the interplay of the political, military, economic, strategic and cultural forces that shaped the beginning of the twentieth century and which continue to resonate in the contemporary world.

World War II and the immense sacrifices the Soviet people made in defeating Nazism left multiple long-lasting legacies that shaped the multi-ethnic Soviet and post-Soviet Russian state, society and economy. This module aims to give you a better understanding of the state of contemporary Russian politics, society and economy through detailed historical enquiry of Russia’s path since 1945. It is divided into two main parts: in part one you will examine key periods of post-war Russian history in chronological order, and in the second part you will look more closely at key contemporary in their historical perspective. These will include the question what it meant to be Soviet and its legacy; geopolitical imperatives, which only recently led Putin to invade Crimea; identity politics and historical commemoration; the transition of the economy from a planned economy to a market economy; and the complex mutations and adaptations of power structures in Russia that gave birth to Putin’s ‘managed democracy’.

In just a few decades Japan emerged from its feudal and isolationist condition and became a thriving capitalist nation-state with imperialist ambitions on the world’s stage. From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, the country re-invented itself, combining the strength of its traditions with Western models of government, economic management, social structure and culture. Samurai gave way to elite bureaucrats; a skilled industrial workforce gradually displaced the peasantry; education expanded with remarkable speed; new infrastructure transformed the physical landscape. New patterns of daily life, social tensions and cultural aspirations accompanied these changes. The aggressive expansionist policy and authoritarianism of the 1930s precipitated the country into a war with devastating consequences, only for Japan to resurrect itself as a global industrial power and stable democracy in the post-war era. This module examines this process of transformation from circa 1850, when Western powers pressured Japan into opening to international trade, to the oil shock of the 1970s that brought an end to Japan’s high growth phase. You will pay attention to the intellectual and cultural trends that informed Japan’s development, and investigate concepts such as revolution, national identity, civilizational discourse, late imperialism, and historical memory. You will also explore social and economic change as reflected in lived experience, for example in farms and villages at the turn of the century; on the home front during the Russo-Japanese War; in bustling cities during the Taisho era; in colonial outposts before and during the Pacific War; and in occupied Japan afterwards.

Through this module, you will encounter the largest, most dynamic city in the wealthiest and most populous nation in eighteenth-century Europe. Against a backdrop of France's fraught politics between the age of Louis XIV and the Revolutionary-Napoleonic era, you will gain an intimate sense of Paris as a changing urban space that provided a stage for radical experimentation in everything from art and fashion through to high finance and luxury lifestyles. You will grasp how Paris during the enlightenment functioned at different levels, from the removal of garbage to enforcement of justice. This will involve delving into a rich variety of textual and visual sources alongside extant material evidence from the city itself.

The Tudors are England’s most famous royal dynasty. This module seeks to move beyond the traditional stories of Henry’s turbulent marriages and Elizabeth’s stunning victory over the Spanish Armada. You'll gain a better understanding of the change and turmoil the Tudor century caused, not just to the monarchs themselves but to the lives of their subjects, the everyday people of England. Beyond establishing a strong chronological knowledge of the 16th century and its religious upheavals, the module will consider issues of gender; the changing construction of the social order; the importance and developing role of local elites; problems caused by poverty and dearth; and the position of England within Britain itself and within Europe.

We will explore the dramatic century of Stuart rule in England. This ‘century of revolution’ included the union of the English and Scottish crowns, the dramatic upheaval of the civil wars, and the continued political instability that led to the birth of political parties and the Glorious Revolution. While exploring these political themes we will also consider developments such as: the birth of modern news culture, crowd politics, civil society and coffee shops, the origins of empire, state formation, and the emergence of England as ‘a nation of shop keepers’ and Europe’s great ‘constitutional monarchy’.

The idea of freedom is one of the cornerstones of modern European political thought. And yet, few ideas, in the history of early-modern and modern Europe, have been more misused, misunderstood, and manipulated. The aim of this module is to offer a survey of the different meanings that the idea has acquired between the seventeenth and the nineteenth century. The history of the Age of the Enlightenment, the French Revolution, and the Restoration will be central to this module. We will consider the ideas and works of several authors, including Locke, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Tocqueville, Mill, etc… and their readings of the events they witnessed. It will also consider the relationship between ideas of freedom and other crucial notions – justice, community, nation, etc… But, above all, it will call attention to the ambiguity underlying its various meanings. With reference to the latter point, two main issues will be particularly significant. First, if freedom can only exist if there are limits to it (G.W.F. Hegel), then how have does limits been established? Second, since freedom can never be given by others but must always be taken from them (Hannah Arendt), then the question is to what an extent the use of violence has been deemed legitimate in the pursuit of freedom in European history? Concerns as these will be central to our seminars and lectures. This module does not require a knowledge of political philosophy or political theory.

What is the source of knowledge and authority? Is it the Ancients; is it Divine Revelation; is it Reason? Covering almost 300 years (c. 1500-c.1800), this module is bookended by Erasmus’s call to return ‘to the [ancient] sources’ and Kant’s challenge to ‘dare to know!’ (sapere aude – itself an ancient quotation). Questions of knowledge and authority, and their shifting location, were crucial in the early modern world. They will guide us though our exploration of the period’s most significant developments, discoveries, and debates: the revival of Antiquity; the Reformation and Confessionalisation; the proliferation of the printing press and rise of print culture and the Republic of Letters; the European discovery of the Americas; the Scientific Revolution; the articulation of republican and absolutist ideologies; (Neo-)Classicism and Baroque; the Age of Enlightenment; and others. The arts (literature, fine art, theatre, music) will be amongst our main sources of evidence, and we will discuss the paintings of Raphael and Rubens and the operas of Monteverdi and Mozart, both for what they tell us about other developments and about transformations in the arts themselves.

This module will provide you with the opportunity work within a creative/cultural/charity/ heritage/media or other appropriate organisation in order to apply the skills you are developing through your degree to the working world and to develop your knowledge of employment sectors within which you may wish to work in the future. The module emphasises industry experience, sector awareness and personal development through a structured reflective learning experience. Having sourced and secured your own placement (with support from Careers Central), you work within your host organisation undertaking tasks that will help you to gain a better understanding of professional practices within your chosen sector. Taught sessions enable you to acquire knowledge of both the industries in which you are placed as well as focusing on personal and professional development germane to the sector. Your assessment tasks will provide you with an opportunity to critically reflect on the creative and cultural sector in which you have worked as well as providing opportunities to undertake presentations, gather evidence, and articulate your newly acquired skills and experiences.

Students often say that spending a semester abroad expands their horizons and improves their career prospects. You will be able to judge this claim for yourself by completing this module. You’ll experience a different educational culture and develop new perspectives on learning. Assessed formatively and summatively by the host university and on successful completion of the semester abroad, you’ll have developed the knowledge and skills to study in a foreign academic environment with more confidence. Assessment will be in the foreign institution and you might be assessed via different methods depending on the institution you attend. To check eligibility criteria it is important that you liaise with our Study Abroad Team.

Figures such as the self-made man, the domestic goddess, and the painted woman, are all familiar characters in the fictions we read about the United States. But these are not just works of the imagination to be found on the movie screen and in the work of novelists. These notable character types formed part of an emerging cultural landscape in the newly formed United States grounded in intersectional discourses of gender, race, class, and sexuality. You will examine the social construction of gender and sexuality in the newly formed United States, 1789-1861. Throughout your module you’ll gain a detailed knowledge of post-revolutionary and antebellum America, and an awareness of the different characteristics of the northern and southern states during this period. You will also develop an in-depth historical and conceptual understanding of the extent to which gender interacted with other markers of difference, such as sexuality, race, class and ethnicity in the United States. You will also develop your ability to utilise, interpret and critically evaluate a wide range of source materials to explain and explore the historical context of particular gender stereotypes. You’ll begin with an overview of the historical scholarship concerning gender more broadly. You will then explore various case studies each week tracing the models of gender that emerged in various contexts including consideration of region (North, South, and West), race (Native American, White and Black), and class (an emerging middle-class, the labouring poor, and elite southerners). You’ll learn through weekly seminars and self-directed study. You’ll be using a variety of resources including written and visual sources from the era, historical novels, and academic scholarship. You’ll be assessed entirely through coursework on this module, with essay workshops and tutorials to guide you.

Consider any major social issue in American life since the turn of the 20th Century and the Supreme Court has almost always been involved in some way. Free speech, freedom of the press, the death penalty, abortion: the Court has been at the centre of the debate. Why? And how? What gives the Court the power and the authority to overturn laws passed by democratically-elected governments? And should it have such power? In this module you’ll explore the answers to these questions and many others. You’ll learn how the Court operates, how it gained and developed its power, and how it has become such a central part of American political life. You’ll read Court opinions and learn to understand how they are created and what influences them. You’ll explore the relationship between the cases heard by the Court and the politics of the time, using a range of primary and secondary source material. And you’ll develop a deeper understanding of the role played by law and the Court in shaping American history. From holding that the state had no responsibility for the protection of individuals in the first two decades of the 20th Century to expanding the scope of “equal protection of laws” in the second half of the century, you will be challenged to think about the interconnection between law and politics in American history through the example of the Supreme Court. Through discussions of issues including freedom of speech, labour rights, race, civil rights, and criminal justice practices, you’ll explore key issues in 20th and 21st Century US history and the role of the law and the Constitution in shaping them. In looking at the connections between law and policy you’ll also consider how key legal “rights” have changed over time and what this tells us about the Court, the Constitution, and American society more broadly. You’ll learn through self-directed study and seminars. By the end of the module you will have a better understanding of key issues in American history and politics. You will have developed your skills in using primary and secondary sources as historical resources. You will have strengthened your reasoning, analytical, and debating skills and further developed your writing and oral communication skills.

Race is central to the history of the United States. The conversations about race in 21st century America have their origins in a system of slavery that developed from the early colonial period. This module excavates these roots and thereby enables you to look to current conversations and understand where these began. You will follow a chronological sequence on the module, allowing us to trace the course of racial slavery in North America from its inception in 1619 through to its abolition in 1865. You will consider the roots of racism in the colonial era that strengthened during the antebellum years and beyond and consider their relationship with racial slavery. You will engage with the developing historical scholarship of slavery in the United States, gaining a deeper understanding of contemporary (then and now) debates concerning race and racial identity. Employing a range of resources including written and visual primary sources, oral histories, cinematic depictions, and nineteenth century novels, will allow you to see the networks of power articulated though race and ideas of otherness . You'll learn through a mixture of seminars and self-directed study, often working with artifacts or source materials in seminars to enable you to think collectively about their meanings. Assessment will be entirely through coursework. The study of slavery in the United States will make you a better historian, whatever your area of interest. Concepts of race and ideas of otherness are so central to the study of history in the 21st century that the techniques and strategies of analysis employed on this module will enable you to think about the arguments of others more effectively and also position yourself within those debates.

The African American freedom struggle did not begin or end with the civil rights protests of the 1950s -1960s. Since the demise of slavery, black activists have been forcefully demanding racial equality. From 1865 to the present day, African Americans have not only asserted their rights as citizens, but have demanded an end to economic injustice, while questioning the actions of the U.S. government both at home and abroad. This module examines black political and cultural protest in the United States over the course of the ‘long’ civil rights movement. Covering the period from the first years of black freedom following the Civil War to the emergence of Black Lives Matter, you will learn about the breadth and diversity of African American activism. You will challenge popular narratives of the civil rights movement and uncover the radical impulses that have animated the freedom dreams of black America. You will cover how African Americans responded to disenfranchisement, racial violence and economic inequality. You will also learn about the lives of key figures in the black freedom struggle such as Booker T. Washington, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Marcus Garvey, Mary McLeod Bethune, Stokely Carmichael and Angela Davis. Ultimately, through the study of primary sources and secondary texts, you will grapple with the complexity of black political thought and develop a detailed understanding of how African Americans counteracted white supremacy. On successful completion of this module you will have a broad understanding of the major trends in African American political and cultural history from the nineteenth century to the present day. You will able be able to clearly articulate how African Americans have shaped our understanding of the American nation, democracy and the meaning of human rights. Finally, through the close study of a range of cultural and political texts including autobiographies, speeches, newspapers and film, you will develop key analytical skills that are vital to the interdisciplinary study of history and politics.

Has the United States helped or harmed the rest of the world during its rise to world power? Why has it been, and continues to be, involved in every corner of the globe? You will be offered a critical introduction to understanding the history of U.S. foreign relations. You will explore the key themes and traditions that have informed America’s approach to international affairs, from foundational ideas in the 18th and 19th centuries to increasing influence in the 20th and 21st centuries. In addition to analysing traditional political and diplomatic issues, you will consider the link between foreign and domestic policies, and the role of various state and non-state actors that have shaped America’s actions abroad. You will work with original primary sources, the latest secondary literature, and a range of cultural and political texts including speeches, newspapers, and editorial cartoons. This broader consideration of foreign relations history engages important contemporary trends in the historiography of U.S. foreign policy – regarding race, gender, and the “international” and “cultural” turns – and connects them to emerging trends in the fields of American history and international relations. As a result, you will gain a detailed understanding of the history of U.S. foreign relations and the legacies that continue to shape debates about America’s role in the world today.

Native Americans are vital to a proper understanding of America. Frequently ignored, distorted, or romanticised, their histories have been entangled with United States’ history from the start and they continue to be important today. This module will follow a chronological sequence that will enable you to become familiar with key concepts and important events in Native American history, as well as recent scholarship in this field. You will have the opportunity to learn about Native communities and the lives of key figures, such as: Sequoya, the inventor of a syllabary bringing literacy to his Cherokee people; Sitting Bull, Lakota military leader and medicine man, who led his warriors to victory against General Custer; Congressional Representative Deb Haaland from Laguna Pueblo, one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress in 2018. Indian Halloween costumes, reservation casinos, boarding schools, environmental activism, and the Native tourist industry are just some of the contemporary topics that you will study, to position this module’s explorations and discussions of the histories of Native Americans within the context of United States’ settler colonialism. Assessment will be entirely through coursework.

What was the Cold War? When did it start? Where was it fought, how was it waged, and why did it last so long? Such seemingly straightforward questions belie that the conflict was neither “cold” nor a “war,” and lacks a clearly defined start and end. Indeed, the subject has produced a vast range of arguments but continues to defy easy answers. We will examine these questions in an international context to uncover how and why the United States and Soviet Union waged a “cold war” in every corner of the globe during the twentieth century. You will consider nations and peoples who aligned with the superpowers or, as was increasingly the case, with neither. You will look at the multiple ways in which this unique “war short of total war” influenced all aspects of life, from diplomacy and politics, to economics, to culture and values, to bombs and warfare, to societal norms, to questions of race and sexuality. Examining the role of a range of state, private, and transnational actors, we will present a global and international history of the Cold War. You will work with original primary sources, the latest secondary literature, and consider fictional sources like films and novels to gain a full and rich understanding of the topic. You will engage a rich historiography on the changing ways that historians have written about the cold war. As a result, you will be able to debate how one of the most powerful historical narratives of the twentieth century continues to shape America and the world today.

The period between World War I and the Cold War was a period of dramatic change in the United States: from the seemingly endless prosperity of the twenties to the depression of the thirties; from isolationism to World War II; and from a population that lived in predominantly rural or small-town communities to one increasingly located in large urban centres or their suburban satellites. You will explore the changing economic, political and cultural history of this period, particularly through an examination of the cultural debates over the modernity of the twenties, the New Deal of the thirties and America’s changing place in the world during this time. In order to explore these issues, you will engage with a wide range of sources that include political documents, literary texts and films.

How do notions of gender and sexuality shape culture, and how are in turn our understanding and experiences of gender and sexuality shaped by cultural production? How important are other times, places and identifications – associated with class, race, ethnicity – to these understandings and experiences? And to what extent can a film, an image, a testimony, or a place capture such complexity? Addressing these questions from an interdisciplinary approach, the aim of the module is to explore the ways in which gender and sexuality are constituted through a broad array of experiences, practices, and cultural products. The module focuses on issues raised in classical and contemporary research in history, politics, media, cultural studies and visual cultures such as: representation and cultural production; subjectivity; identity; identification; bodies and embodiment; performance and performativity; among others. Overall, by exploring theory in conjunction with queer cultural production that explores questions of power, identity, and desire across different racial, national, and cultural landscapes, the module aims to problematise how gender and sexuality are not stable identities or classifications but are instead processes involving normalisations, hierarchies and relations of domination that can be challenged, troubled and/or queered.

Child Law is a socio-legal study of the moral and legal laws connecting parents, children and the state. We consider who is a parent; what rights and responsibilities parents have; to what extent children have been able to assert human rights; the welfare principle (the basis on which decisions about children are made); law and policy arguments surrounding post-separation parenting and contact; child protection and local authority duties towards children; when we take a child into care and why we tolerate some harm to children; and adoption. The module reflects both the practical application of child law – What is the law? How does it work in practice? – and the theoretical basis of the law – Why is the law the way it is? What does that say about society? How could we think differently about it, and change the law? It develops law-specific academic and practical skills, as well as transferable skills.

Public international law is the legal regime that governs States, and as such balances law with international affairs and politics. This module examines how international law is formed, who it applies to, the role of the United Nations and how public international law protects individuals. It also interrogates the cohesiveness of this body, or bodies, of law. Particular focus is placed on human rights, self-determination, use of force, international criminal law, environmental and trade law. The module addresses both the practical and theoretical aspects of public international law and consequently considers how the public international law framework applies to contemporary situations.

This module will explore the legal challenges arising from different forms of protest and dissent around the world - from temporary encampments to 'occupations', from Pride parades to far-right rallies, from direct action campaigns and ‘Critical Mass’ bicycle rides to funeral pickets and anti-abortion protests. You will discuss and explore what kinds of dissent and protest are (or ought to be) legally protected, and what kind of regulation might legitimately be permitted. You will also examine the State’s legal obligations to protect and facilitate peaceful protest and the implications of these for protest policing. The challenge of how law ought to deal with those who resist or reject the exclusivity of orthodox modes of political participation (party politics, periodic elections) is one that confronts all democratic systems governed by the rule of law. Yet, in some circumstances, even the argument that law might properly govern or manage political dissent is something of a contradiction in terms: how can law attempt to govern those that oppose or fundamentally reject its very authority? In responding to this underlying challenge, the module seeks to provide you with a thorough grounding in the core legal standards relating to the legal protection of dissent and the right to protest.

This module will offer a series of different approaches to the question of how Literature and Philosophy can speak to each other as academic disciplines, demonstrating the breadth and diversity of the two fields, as well as acquainting students with the research in literary criticism and philosophy currently being pursued at UEA. As well as examining the ways in which literature can illuminate and trouble philosophical argument, it will explore literature and 'the literary' as a topic for philosophical analysis, and the kinds of thinking such a topic would demand. Setting literature and philosophy into dialogue in this way will engender a more capacious understanding of the particular philosophical issues, and literary techniques, under discussion. The course will allow students to develop an awareness of the limits and advantages of various modes of literary and philosophical expression, and to foster more sophisticated skills in both literary and philosophical criticism. The module will be made up of a lecture circus, with two weeks given to each lecturer on a particular topic related to their current research (there will be five in all, including a lecture from the module convener, plus two from Philosophy and two from Literature, Drama and Creative Writing). The seminars will discuss issues arising from these lectures, working with texts set by the lecturer.

Bonjour, comment ça va? Do you want to understand what this means and how to say it? This module will help you to master basics of French language and communication. This module is perfect for you if you have never studied French before (or have very little experience of it). Throughout the semester, you’ll develop reading, listening, speaking and writing skills at the A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This means that you will learn to communicate about yourself and your immediate environment in a set of concrete, everyday situations. You’ll be taught in a very interactive and friendly environment, and will often work in pairs or small groups. Your two-hour seminar will focus on listening, reading and writing skills, while the oral hour will help you to develop your confidence in speaking. We’ll tackle some grammatical notions in class, but always as a means for you to improve your communication skills. You’ll also have opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where French is spoken thanks to the various documents we will use to develop your linguistic skills (songs, podcasts, leaflets…). You’ll be assessed by two course tests: the first will cover listening, reading, and writing skills and the second will cover your speaking skills. On successful completion of this module, you’ll be able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions aimed at both the satisfaction of concrete needs, or those used to describe areas of most immediate relevance. You’ll be able to introduce yourself and others, ask and answer questions about personal details, and interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly. Please note that students should not have a level of French that exceeds the level of this course. This module is probably not appropriate for you if you have a recent French GCSE at grade C or above, if you have studied French abroad, or if you have learnt French in an informal setting (such as in your family). If you have such experience, please contact the Module Organiser as soon as possible to complete a level test.

Parlons français ! This module will help you to further your basics of French language and communication in order to enable you to cope with concrete situations. This module is perfect for you if you have taken Beginners’ French I – A1 CEFR, or if you have some experience of French language. Throughout the semester, you’ll develop reading, listening, speaking and writing skills at the A2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This means that you’ll be able to cope in a number of situations, including some you may encounter when travelling. You’ll be able to talk and write about yourself and your immediate surrounding environment in some detail, and you’ll work on handling short social exchanges. You’ll be taught in an interactive and friendly environment, and will often work in pairs or small groups. Your two-hour seminar will focus on listening, reading and writing skills, while the oral hour will help you to develop your confidence in speaking. We’ll tackle some grammatical notions in class, but always as a means for you to improve your communication skills. You’ll also have opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where French is spoken, thanks to the various documents we will use to develop your linguistic skills (songs, podcasts, short articles and videos…). You’ll be assessed by two course tests: the first will cover listening, reading, and writing skills and the second will cover your speaking skills. On successful completion of the module, you’ll be able to understand and use expressions related to areas of immediate relevance, or that you may encounter when travelling. You’ll be able to communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a direct exchange of information. You’ll be able to describe in simple terms aspects of your background, immediate environment and needs. Please note that you should not have a level of French that exceeds the level of this course. This module may not be appropriate for you if you have a recent French GCSE at grade B or above, if you have studied French abroad for a long time, or if you have learnt French in an informal setting (such as in your family). If you have such experience, please contact the Module Organiser as soon as possible to complete a level test..

Bonjour, comment ça va? Do you want to understand what this means and how to say it? This module will help you to master basics of French language and communication. This module is perfect for you if you have never studied French before (or have very little experience of it). Throughout the semester, you’ll develop reading, listening, speaking and writing skills at the A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This means that you will learn to communicate about yourself and your immediate environment in a set of concrete, everyday situations. You’ll be taught in a very interactive and friendly environment, and will often work in pairs or small groups. Your two-hour seminar will focus on listening, reading and writing skills, while the oral hour will help you to develop your confidence in speaking. We’ll tackle some grammatical notions in class, but always as a means for you to improve your communication skills. You’ll also have opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where French is spoken, thanks to the various documents we will use to develop your linguistic skills (songs, podcasts, leaflets…). You’ll be assessed by two course tests: the first will cover listening, reading, and writing skills and the second will cover your speaking skills. On successful completion of this module, you’ll be able to understand and use familiar everyday expressions aimed at both the satisfaction of concrete needs, or those used to describe areas of most immediate relevance. You’ll be able to introduce yourself and others, ask and answer questions about personal details, and interact in a simple way provided the other person talks slowly and clearly. Please note that students should not have a level of French that exceeds the level of this course. This module is probably not appropriate for you if you have a recent French GCSE at grade C or above, if you have studied French abroad, or if you have learnt French in an informal setting (such as in your family). If you have such experience, please contact the Module Organiser as soon as possible to complete a level test.

Have you ever wished you could order your mulled wine at the Christmas market in German? How would it feel be to be able to introduce yourself in German or survive a basic conversation in the language? Or do you simply want to understand what makes the Germans, the Austrians, or the Swiss tick? These questions highlight the central learning achieved within this module. Our beginners’ course in German is perfect if you have very little or no prior knowledge of the language. You will gain the confidence to use German in basic conversations as you develop a first understanding of German sounds and essential grammar. You will build up a bank of key vocabulary to survive in real-life situations. You will also gain a greater awareness of German traditions and ways of thinking to help you make sense of a country that is deeply rooted in the heart of Europe. In a relaxed environment you will participate in classroom-based activities, working in pairs and groups to try out and be creative with new sounds, words and phrases. The fun of language learning will never be far away and promises to give you the confidence to make the first steps in German. As well as speaking and listening to each other you will discover the joy of understanding an authentic German text and to write an amazing first paragraph in German. A first course in German will enable you to add a vital skill to your CV. At this crucial political and cultural moment in time the study of the German language and culture will without doubt make you a more attractive graduate and informed global citizen, whatever your specialism or area of interest. Please note that you should not have a level of German that exceeds the level of this course.

Do you want to refresh and further develop your basic German skills? Would you like to converse with a native speaker beyond the first introductions? Or do you simply want to understand a little more about what makes the Germans, the Swiss or Austrians tick? This follow-on course is perfect if you have completed the Beginners 1 module or have very basic knowledge of the language. You will gain more confidence in using German in conversation as you become ever more familiar with essential German grammar. You will learn how to express opinions, wishes and requests, and how to master the skill of congratulating and complimenting other people. During this module you will also gain further awareness of German traditions and ways of thinking to help you make sense of a country that is deeply rooted in the heart of Europe. In a relaxed environment you will participate in classroom-based activities, working in pairs and groups to try out and be creative with new words and phrases. The fun of language learning will never be far away and promises to give you the confidence to maintain a conversation and express yourself to a target audience in writing. As well as speaking and listening to each other you will apply a range of strategies to help you make sense of authentic German texts. A solid beginners’ course in German will enable you to add a vital skill to your CV. At this crucial political and cultural moment in time the study of the German language and culture will without doubt make you a more attractive graduate and informed global citizen, whatever your specialism or area of interest. Please note that your current level of German language should not exceed the level of this course.

Do you want to learn a new language? Do you want to access the Spanish-speaking world? Are you about to travel through Spain or any Spanish-speaking country in Latin America? Then, it´s the right time to enrol to Beginners´ Spanish I. This module will improve your academic education and will provide you with the confidence to advance towards intermediate and advanced levels. It sounds good, doesn't it? You will develop your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills and you will have the opportunity to receive personal feedback on all your efforts. You will take part in classroom-based activities, working in pairs and small groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in the process of learning the language. You will also be able to focus on real life situations as well as the ability to communicate effectively in those situations. There will also be opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where Spanish is currently the main language. By the end of this module, you will have the linguistic competence necessary to understand and use common, everyday expressions and simple sentences, to address immediate needs. If you have a recent Spanish GCSE grade C or below, or an international equivalent, then this module is appropriate for you.

Have you ever taken any basic Spanish course? Do you want to carry on studying this well spoken language after taking Beginners´ Spanish I? Do you feel that learning a language might be a relevant skill for your career? Then, Beginners´ Spanish II is what you really need. This module will improve your academic education and will provide you with the confidence to advance towards upper intermediate and advanced levels. But, how will you make it? Thanks to this module, you will work on your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. You will get the personal feedback on every single of your efforts. You'll take part in classroom-based activities, working in pairs and small groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in the process of improving this language. You'll also be able to focus on real life situations as well as the ability to communicate effectively in those situations. There will also be opportunities to explore aspects more carefully of the cultures where Spanish is the mother tongue. By the end of this module you will be able to understand commonly used, everyday phrases and expressions related to areas of experience especially relevant to them (basic information about themselves, and their families, shopping, places of interest, work, etc.). If you have a recent Spanish GCSE grade B or above, or an international equivalent, then this module is probably not appropriate for you - please contact the module organiser as soon as possible to be sure).

Do you want to learn a new language? Do you want to access the Spanish-speaking world? Are you about to travel through Spain or any Spanish-speaking country in Latin America? Then, it´s the right time to enrol to Beginners´ Spanish I. This module will improve your academic education and will provide you with the confidence to advance towards intermediate and advanced levels. It sounds good, doesn't it? You will develop your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills and you will have the opportunity to receive personal feedback on all your efforts. You will take part in classroom-based activities, working in pairs and small groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in the process of learning the language. You will also be able to focus on real life situations as well as the ability to communicate effectively in those situations. There will also be opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where Spanish is currently the main language. By the end of this module, you will have the linguistic competence necessary to understand and use common, everyday expressions and simple sentences, to address immediate needs. If you have a recent Spanish GCSE grade C or below, or an international equivalent, then this module is appropriate for you.

This course is a pre-requisite to the study of Arabic language. You will master the alphabet: the script, the sounds of the letters, and their combination into words. You are introduced to basic Arabic phrases and vocabulary to help you have introductory conversations. You will develop essential speaking, listening, reading and writing skills as well as a solid understanding of the structure of the language in Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Some aspects of the Arab world and culture(s) are covered.

This is the second part of a beginners' course in Arabic following on from Beginners' Arabic I. Students with a basic knowledge of Arabic writing and speaking may join this module.

How would you converse with someone who is deaf? At work? In school? In an emergency? How can you avoid typical faux pas due to ignorance of a different culture? Can a 'signed'/'visual' language 'convey as adequately' as a 'spoken' language? These questions highlight the central learning achieved in this module. This is a course in British Sign Language assuming no prior, or minimal knowledge of the language. Throughout the course you will discover aspects central to the Deaf World and its Culture, and how to communicate through a unique 'visual' language, a language that uses your hands and body to communicate! Teaching and learning strategies involve signed conversation (from early on), role-play, and lots of games and exercises that make a truly 'fun and enjoyable' module to take. You will learn a little about the history of the Deaf and Sign Language itself, and its long battle to be recognised. You will discover how using your body and hands can be an exciting and meaningful way of communicating. You will acquire a wide range of easily usable vocabulary, a deeper look into various features that make the language unique, and very different to spoken languages. On successful completion of this module you will have developed knowledge and skills that will enable you to communicate with a Deaf person. You will be able to take your British Sign Language studies onto the next level, broadening your knowledge and developing further, the skill within this amazing 'Visual' language. Please note that very occasionally subsidiary language modules may be cancelled due to low enrolment. Students who are found to have a level of knowledge that exceeds the level for which they have enrolled may be asked to withdraw from the module, at the Teacher's discretion.

Having gained an insight in communicating using a 'visual' language, how would you relate a story, a narrative or a conversation using more than two people? How would you describe where something is in a room, the room itself or give directions involving a map? This module builds on your studies in British Sign Language giving you confidence and further skills in communicating with the deaf. Teaching and learning strategies continue to involve a more fluent signed conversation, role-play, and lots more games and exercises embedding your learning that makes this an exciting module to take! In this module you will continue to look at deaf culture, address and look at various equipment that assists the Deaf in their everyday life. For example, how do they know someone is at the door? Can they communicate over the telephone? What would happen if you were in a building on fire? On successful completion of this module you will have developed knowledge and skills that will enable you to communicate confidently with a Deaf person. Your will broaden your knowledge and understanding of a truly unique and amazing form of communication and a culture so very different than what you may have encountered before. Please note that very occasionally subsidiary language modules may be cancelled due to low enrolment. Students who are found to have a level of knowledge that exceeds the level for which they have enrolled may be asked to withdraw from the module, at the Teacher's discretion.

How would you converse with someone who is deaf? At work? In school? In an emergency? How can you avoid typical faux pas due to ignorance of a different culture? Can a 'signed'/'visual' language 'convey as adequately' as a 'spoken' language? These questions highlight the central learning achieved in this module. This is a course in British Sign Language assuming no prior, or minimal knowledge of the language. Throughout the course you will discover aspects central to the Deaf World and its Culture, and how to communicate through a unique 'visual' language, a language that uses your hands and body to communicate! Teaching and learning strategies involve signed conversation (from early on), role-play, and lots of games and exercises that make a truly 'fun and enjoyable' module to take. You will learn a little about the history of the Deaf and Sign Language itself, and its long battle to be recognised. You will discover how using your body and hands can be an exciting and meaningful way of communicating. You will acquire q wide range of easily usable vocabulary, a deeper look into various features that make the language unique, and very different to spoken languages. On successful completion of this module you will have developed knowledge and skills that will enable you to communicate with a Deaf person. You will be able to take your British Sign Language studies onto the next level, broadening your knowledge and developing further, the skill within this amazing 'Visual' language. Please note that very occasionally subsidiary language modules may be cancelled due to low enrolment. Students who are found to have a level of knowledge that exceeds the level for which they have enrolled may be asked to withdraw from the module, at the Teacher's discretion.

Greek is one of the official languages of the EU and is spoken by about 11 million people in Greece, Cyprus, and in various communities throughout the world. You will be surprised by the number of Modern Greek words that are already familiar to you, including scientific and technical vocabulary. Greek also opens the door to a unique and fascinating culture. UEA is one of the few British Universities offering Modern Greek, so stand out from the crowd and go for Greek. If you have little or NO prior experience of Greek, then this module is for you. You will develop your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The aim is to equip you with the linguistic understanding of a number of real life situations, as well as the ability to communicate effectively in those situations. There will also be opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where Greek is spoken. Particular emphasis will be placed on acquiring a sound knowledge of grammar. By the end of this module you will be able to: converse/read and write on the following Topics: Meeting people. Food and drink : eating with friends Shopping for food and drink Shopping for clothes Writing postcards/notes. Please note that your current level of Greek should not exceed the level of this course.

Greek is one of the official languages of the EU and is spoken by about 11 million people in Greece, Cyprus, and in various communities throughout the world. You’ll be surprised by the number of Modern Greek words that are already familiar to you, including scientific and technical vocabulary. Greek also opens the door to a unique and fascinating culture. UEA is one of the few British Universities offering Modern Greek, so stand out from the crowd and go for Greek. If you have a GCSE grade C or below (or equivalent experience, i.e. Beginners Greek I) this module is for you. The module has three contact hours per week. You’ll develop your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. You’ll be equipped with the linguistic understanding of a number of real life situations, as well as the ability to communicate effectively in those situations. You’ll also have opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where Greek is spoken. Particular emphasis will be placed on your acquisition of a sound knowledge of grammar. By the end of this module you’ll be able to converse/read and write on the following topics: 1. Information gathering 2. Travel 3. Accommodation 4. Meeting people and talking about the past, holidays etc. 5. Offering hospitality (informal/formal) 6. Initiating/receiving phone calls/phone messages (social/business) 8. Writing letters (informal/formal) Please note that if you are found to have a level of knowledge in a language that exceeds the level for which you have enrolled, you may be asked to withdraw from the module at the Teacher’s discretion. Please note that this is a subsidiary language module. Very occasionally, subsidiary language modules may need to be cancelled if there are low levels of enrolment.

Do you want to explore Japanese culture or travel to Japan? Would you like to enhance your career opportunities? This is a beginners’ course in Japanese assuming little or no prior experience or knowledge of the language. In this module, you’ll learn reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. You’ll gain the linguistic understanding of a number of real life situations, as well as the ability to communicate effectively in those situations. There will also be opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where Japanese is spoken. Particular emphasis will be placed on your acquisition of a sound knowledge of grammar. Please note that this is a subsidiary language module. Very occasionally, subsidiary language modules may need to be cancelled if there are low levels of enrolment. Please note that if you are found to have a level of knowledge in a language that exceeds the level for which you have enrolled, you may be asked to withdraw from the module at the Teacher’s discretion.

Have you ever taken any basic Beginners' Japanese I? Then, the Beginners’ Japanese II is what you really need. You will continue to study the different tenses and grammatical structures while improving your spoken Japanese and honing your listening skills. By the end of this module you will be able to understand commonly used, everyday phrases and expressions related to areas of experience. Please note that very occasionally subsidiary language modules may be cancelled due to low enrollment. Please note that students who are found to have a level of knowledge that exceeds the level for which they have enrolled may be asked to withdraw from the module at the Teacher’s discretion.

Do you want to explore Japanese culture or travel to Japan? Would you like to enhance your career opportunities? This is a beginners’ course in Japanese assuming little or no prior experience or knowledge of the language. In this module, you’ll learn reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. You’ll gain the linguistic understanding of a number of real life situations, as well as the ability to communicate effectively in those situations. There will also be opportunities to explore aspects of the cultures where Japanese is spoken. Particular emphasis will be placed on your acquisition of a sound knowledge of grammar. Please note that this is a subsidiary language module. Very occasionally, subsidiary language modules may need to be cancelled if there are low levels of enrolment. Please note that if you are found to have a level of knowledge in a language that exceeds the level for which you have enrolled, you may be asked to withdraw from the module at the Teacher’s discretion.

Winston Churchill once said that ‘Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’. Russia gave the world Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Shostakovich, Chagall and borsch! Would you like to know more about the largest country in the world and unwrap some of the mysteries of its history, culture and politics through its language? This is a beginners’ course in Russian assuming little or no prior experience or knowledge of the language. In the first week you’ll acquaint yourself with the Russian alphabet (it’s not that different) and learn to read Russian. At the end of the course you’ll know all the basics of Russian grammar, will be able to read simple texts and to use your speaking skills in real-life situations (in case you find yourself lost in Red Square)! You’ll participate in classroom-based activities, often working in pairs and groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in your exploration of the language. You’ll be able to improve and develop your grammar and vocabulary skills through watching Russian films, reading newspaper articles and short stories, discussing their content and expressing your opinion. Having a Russian language course on your CV will give you an advantage over other graduates, and it will also provide work opportunities in Eastern Europe, Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. This course will also help you to become a more informed global citizen whatever your specialisation or area of interest. Please note that you should not have a level of knowledge in Russian that exceeds beginners’ level when enrolling on this course, or you may be asked to withdraw from the module (at the Teacher’s discretion). Please contact us if you’re unsure.

Winston Churchill once said that ‘Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma’. Russia gave the world Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Shostakovich, Chagall and borsch! Would you like to know more about the largest country in the world and unwrap some of the mysteries of its history, culture and politics through its language? Before enrolling on this course you’ll need to be acquainted with the Russian alphabet, able to read and write in Russian, and to know a few initial items of grammar and vocabulary (skills that will be learnt in the Beginners' Russian I module). At the end of the course you’ll know all the basics of Russian grammar, you’ll be able to read more complex texts and you’ll have improved your speaking skills in real-life situations (in case you find yourself lost in Red Square)! You’ll participate in classroom-based activities, often working in pairs and groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in your exploration of the language. You’ll be able to improve and develop your grammar and vocabulary skills through watching Russian films, reading newspaper articles and short stories, discussing their content and expressing your opinion. Having a Russian language course on your CV will give you an advantage over other graduates, and it will also provide work opportunities in Eastern Europe, Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. This course will also help you to become a more informed global citizen whatever your specialisation or area of interest. Please note that you should not have a level of knowledge in Russian that exceeds the beginners’ level specified above when enrolling on this course, or you may be asked to withdraw from the module (at the Teacher’s discretion). Please contact us if you’re unsure.

In this intermediate French module you will develop your knowledge to a standard comparable to A level/ Baccalaureate/B1 in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). This is a continuation of Intermediate French I. There are four elements: Listening Comprehension, Translation, Writing, and Grammar. This module can be taken in any year but is not available if you already have French AS or A level/Baccalaureate/Level B1 in the CEFR. You should not have a level of French that already exceeds the level of this module.

Would you like to take your German to a higher level and start to become a more independent user? Wouldn’t it be tempting to be able to describe the plot of a good film or book? Or take part in simple discussions and manage to hold your own? Fancy promoting a TV-series from to a native German speaker? This follow-on course is perfect if you have completed the Intermediate module or have basic A-level experience in German but not if you are already working at a higher level than this. You will become more independent in conversation with others as you continue to explore essential grammar and vocabulary at a higher level. You will learn how to talk about experiences, hopes and ambitions in a more complex way and how to master the skill of persuasion. During this module you will develop a deeper understanding of the German way of thinking through looking at current affairs and iconic German television programmes. In a relaxed environment you will participate in classroom-based activities, working in groups to try out and be creative with new words and grammar structures. The fun of language learning will never be far away and promises to give you the confidence to hold your own in discussions and presentations. As well as speaking and listening to each other you will apply a range of strategies to help you produce and understand longer texts. A sound intermediate course in German will enable you to add a vital and highly valued skill to your CV. At this crucial political and cultural moment in time the study of the German language and culture will without doubt make you a more attractive graduate and informed global citizen, whatever your specialism or area of interest.

When studying this module, you’ll already have taken beginners’ Spanish modules or be at GCSE level, but not exceeding this. You’ll be introduced to aspects of the Spanish language in a variety of cultural contexts. It will enable you to converse with native Spanish speakers, read and understand specific information in short texts starting at intermediate level. Through Spanish, you’ll learn to present information and engage in discussions. Using popular cultural forms such as film and media, you’ll develop your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Upon successfully completion of this module, you will have achieved an advanced level of Spanish.

Do you want more practice in speaking in English? Do you feel you lack sufficient vocabulary to express yourself well? Do you need help with your pronunciation? Do you have problems with English grammar and writing essays? As a non-native speaker, you will need to already have an upper intermediate/ advanced level of English (IELTS 6.5-7.5 or equivalent) but will want to reach a more competent level. If so, you can take both Advanced English I & II or just module I or just module II. You’ll analyse and discuss articles in the media and listen to academic talks and news reports on contemporary topics; through writing tasks, you will have the opportunity to express your ideas in clear and coherent terms, and you will receive personal feedback on your efforts. You will participate in classroom-based activities, often working in pairs and groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in your exploration of the language. You will be able to focus on improving aspects of your pronunciation and grammar as well as expanding your vocabulary. You will also gain a greater understanding of cultural and political issues through topics such as Education & Critical Thinking, Globalisation and The Environment. You will be assessed mid-term, and in the final weeks through a seminar presentation (30%) and listening, reading and writing tasks (70%). By the end of this module you will be able to express yourself more confidently orally, be better able to understand recorded material and will have increased your vocabulary base; you will be more able to read complex texts and write more accurately with fewer grammar errors and greater range of expression. Such language support will be of immense benefit for all aspects of your UEA academic programme, will please your tutors and enable you to obtain higher grades! Please note that very occasionally subsidiary language modules may be cancelled due to low enrolment. Please note that students who are found to have a level of knowledge that exceeds the level for which they have enrolled may be asked to withdraw from the module, at the Teacher's discretion.

Do you want more practice in speaking in English? Do you feel you lack sufficient vocabulary to express yourself well? Do you need help with your pronunciation? Do you have problems with English grammar and writing essays? As a non-native speaker, you will need to already have an upper intermediate/advanced level of English (IELTS 6.5-7.5 or equivalent) but will want to reach a more competent level. If so, you can take both Advanced English I & II or just module I or just module II. You’ll analyse and discuss articles in the media and listen to academic talks and news reports on contemporary topics; through writing tasks you will have the opportunity to express your ideas in clear and coherent terms, and you will receive personal feedback on your efforts. You will participate in classroom-based activities, often working in pairs and groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in your exploration of the language. You will be able to focus on improving aspects of your pronunciation and grammar as well as expanding your vocabulary. You will also gain a greater understanding of cultural and political issues through topics such as Time & Sleep, World Population & Urbanisation and Tourism. You will be assessed midterm, and in the final weeks through a seminar presentation (30%) and listening, reading, and writing tasks (70%). By the end of this module you will be able to express yourself more confidently orally, be better able to understand recorded material, and will have increased your vocabulary base; you will be more able to read complex texts and write more accurately with fewer grammar errors and greater range of expression. Such language support will be of immense benefit for all aspects of your UEA academic programme, will please your tutors and enable you to obtain higher grades! Please note that you should not have a level of English that exceeds the level of this course.

Do you need help in organising your writing and expressing your thoughts clearly? Would you like to gain the tools and confidence to write more clearly and fluently, leading to better grades and greater satisfaction with your work? In this module you will learn how to structure academic essays and how best to write logically organised paragraphs. You will have practice in summarising and paraphrasing material from sources that you have read to ensure you can capture the essential points of a writer’s argument and avoid any form of plagiarism. This will include help with ways to manage the referencing of sources. There will be a focus on vocabulary throughout the course and you will be set tasks to direct you to appropriate academic language; and you will have help in using a range of cohesive devices to link ideas within and between paragraphs. It is also likely that the class will need some remedial work on a specific area of grammar occasionally, and the tutor will allow time in class to deal with such issues. Naturally, you will be required to complete weekly homework assignments in addition to any reading and writing you do in the classroom, and you will receive regular feedback. Please note that very occasionally subsidiary language modules may be cancelled due to low enrolment. This module is not open to native or near-native speakers of English and would not be suitable for International students who have already had considerable experience in English essay writing. Students who are found to have a level of knowledge that exceeds the general level of the module may be asked to withdraw from the module, at the Teacher's discretion.

The four elements you will study in this intermediate French module are: Listening Comprehension, Writing, Translation and Grammar. While the emphasis is on comprehension, the speaking and writing of French are also included. You should have pre A level experience (or equivalent) of French and wish to develop this to a standard comparable to A2 in the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). You should not have a level of French that already exceeds the level of this module and should not have already studied AS or A level French/Baccalaureate/Level B1 in the CEFR.

Would you like to take your basic German skills to a higher level? Wouldn’t it be tempting to be able to express a range of feelings in German? Or take part in simple discussions and manage to hold your own? Fancy presenting a cultural event in your country to a native German speaker? This module is perfect if you have already completed Beginners modules or have sufficient pre-A-level experience of German but not if you are already working at a higher level than this. You will become more competent and confident in conversation with others as you explore essential grammar and vocabulary at a higher level. You will learn how to express opinions and preferences in a more complex way and how to master the skill of agreeing and disagreeing. You will gain the confidence to present to a small audience and shine in the process of it. During this module you will develop your understanding of the German way of thinking through shining a light at cultural traditions and events. In a relaxed environment you will participate in classroom-based activities, working in groups to try out and be creative with new words and phrases. The fun of language learning will never be far away and promises to give you the confidence to hold your own in basic discussions and presentations. As well as speaking and listening to each other you will apply a range of strategies to help you produce and understand longer texts. A basic intermediate course in German will enable you to add a vital skill to your CV. At this crucial political and cultural moment in time the study of the German language and culture will without doubt make you a more attractive graduate and informed global citizen, whatever your specialism or area of interest.

When studying this module, you’ll already have taken beginners’ Spanish modules or be at GCSE level, but not exceeding this. You’ll be introduced to aspects of the Spanish language, in a variety of cultural contexts. It will enable you to converse with native Spanish speakers, read and understand specific information in short texts starting at intermediate level. Through Spanish, you’ll learn to present information and engage in discussions. Using popular cultural forms such as film and media, you’ll develop your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. Upon successfully completion of this module, you will have achieved a higher-intermediate level of Spanish.

Have you ever thought about what you could do to improve the world? This module will help you find answers to this question. We will explore how you can become a more informed and engaged global citizen by developing your intercultural and citizenship competences. You will develop the knowledge, critical understanding, values and attitudes that can be mobilised and deployed in a broad range of fields involving intercultural communication. The seminars will be highly interactive and the assessment will involve practical projects. A distinctive feature of this module is the practical understanding and application of concepts to specific intercultural issues and global challenges in critically reflective teaching sessions. The teaching will offer a balance between practice and theory and classroom sessions will include group work activities and public lectures. Through this module you will enhance your opportunities to gain employment where intercultural communication to real-life contexts is required. By the end of this module you will have developed the ability to employ effective and persuasive arguments in the formulation of solutions to real global challenges. The module will be delivered in English and you don’t need to speak a foreign language to take it.

Interested in how and why countries communicate? Want to know more about what happens when communication between countries goes wrong? Are global companies behaving like sovereign nations? Since humans evolved a sense of identity, group belonging, and hierarchy, our relationships with our neighbours have been constantly changing as we compete over resources and space. We will explore intercultural ‘incidents’ between different countries, socio-cultural groups and global organisations and will introduce you to ways that we can analyse how the different perceptions of these ‘incidents’ are reflected in the media. You’ll gain a firm grounding in global communication, and analytical methods and concepts. You’ll begin the module by exploring fundamentals of global communication and how we can start to analyse media sources, using a range of case studies and real world examples. You’ll then delve deeper, discussing key topics such as diplomacy, propaganda, censorship, laws, and the evolution of global companies as legal entities and political persuaders. By looking at the different ways countries, Ambassadors, political leaders and countries communicate, you’ll really approach the subject of intercultural communication from a Global perspective. You’ll learn through a mixture of seminars and self-directed study. You’ll be assessed though a piece of course work and a group project. You will have to deliver a formative presentation. On successful completion of the module, you’ll have established your analytical knowledge and skills needed to support more advanced modules on Discourse Analysis. You’ll develop your research, writing, group work and presentation skills. And you’ll explore global issues of concern and really get to grips with how media sources can different when discussing the same incident.

Today, French is still spoken on all five continents. Whether you are interested in language, culture, history, or politics of the French-speaking world, this module is perfect to expand your awareness of those aspects beyond the Hexagon. You'll study the origins of the Francophonie and discuss the relevance of the organisation. Studying the variety of contexts and societies in the French-speaking world today will allow you not only to contrast situations but also to understand important challenges and the role and impact of policies at different levels, from local administration to international relations. You will discuss issues of postcolonialism, study key events and personalities and explore many important cultural aspects. You will analyse a range of material, in English, that will include newspaper and magazine articles, television, and radio programmes and will also learn from academic journals on the topics. At the end of this module, you will have a broader understanding of the cultural, historical, economic, linguistic, and geopolitical links between France, its overseas territories and the rest of the French-speaking world. Teaching and assessment will be in English.

Who rules the EU? What does it do concretely for EU citizens? How democratic is it? How serious are the challenges it is currently facing, from the reform of its economic governance to Brexit? To explore these questions, and more, you'll examine the development, structure, nature and functions of the European Union. You'll look at the history and theories of European integration from the 1940s to the present day. You'll explore the institutions and processes which run the EU, and demystify its main policies. The aim of the module is not only to ensure that you understand the ‘nuts and bolts’ of what the EU is and how it works. You'll also examine critically and articulate contending arguments on key issues such as the role of the member-states in the European system of governance; the EU's democratic credentials; the causes and consequences of Brexit; or the influence of the EU in the world. The EU is an integral part of its member states' structures of governance and it influences their domestic political, social and cultural life, as well as EU neighbouring countries. Understanding how the European Union works is important in many jobs at local, national or international levels in the public, private and third (community and voluntary) sectors. This module is recommended if you intend to progress to the 'European Studies with Brussels Internship’ module in Year 3.

Why are wars fought? What is peace? What is security? International Security introduces you to these key issues in global politics. In the first part of the module, you will explore the continuing salience of violent conflict and the use of force in world politics. While some have argued that the advent of globalisation and spread of liberal democracy would make violent conflict less relevant in today’s world, war and the use of force remain an integral part of the international system. In exploring these issues, you will study a variety of perspectives on the causes of war and peace to examine the roots of violent conflict and security problems in the present day. In the second half of the module, we will turn to contemporary ‘critical’ debates around international security. These include constructivist and feminist perspectives on what security is, how it is achieved, and whether it is desirable. We will also investigate the host of seemingly new security challenges that have increasingly captured the attention of policymakers and academics. How useful is it to think of issues such as environmental degradation, gendered violences, and poverty as security issues? What do we gain and lose in broadening security studies beyond a narrow focus on warfare and military power?

What does the world look like to a Marxist, or a liberal, or a feminist, or a realist? We all hold particular ideas about how the world works: about why certain events happen, who the key actors in the international system are, and whether it is even possible to change things for future generations. Theories of International Relations (IR) attempt to capture these assumptions, explaining the world in different ways to others. You will explore how the discipline of IR emerged in the early 20th century, before investigating the very different theories which have shaped, and sometimes dominated, academic and policy makers' ideas about how the world actually works.

What if I told you that the West was no longer the power centre of the world’s economy? Could Pax Sinica provincialize the UK as political economic power settles over Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta? What would Adam Smith, Karl Marx and Friedrich List have to say about global transformations underway in the global political economy? And, as Susan Strange famously put it: cui bono: Who benefits from all these transformations? Multinational corporations, nation states, financial sector, exporting economies, citizens? You’ll investigate the accumulation of wealth, movement of capital, centres of power, flows of globalisation, patterns of trade, and the ubiquity of finance in a world being transformed by innovation where emerging powers challenge the status quo of North Atlantic powerhouses.

In this module, you’ll analyse contemporary Japanese society using topical issues in Japan and deepen your understanding of the country and people. All lectures are conducted in English. Throughout the module, you’ll learn about various topical issues such as family, gender and education, uncover the roots behind these and develop your findings and ideas into a discussion. You’ll use various materials including academic articles and digital resources including online news articles and audio-visual materials. Through not only reading the news but also considering the stories in depth and the reasons behind the issues happening in Japan, you’ll develop and improve your research and analytical skills. You’ll also be able to discern and compare similarities and differences between Japanese culture and society and your own country.

Japanese popular culture is now a global phenomenon. To understand how this came about, you will study the topic in terms of theories of social, economical, and historical analysis. You will learn about various cultural forms and practices, including manga/anime, media, art, and music in Japan as seen from different perspectives. You will also discuss and critically analyse the role of Japanese popular culture within and outside Japan. Your seminars will consist of three main parts: lectures, original audio/video materials, and group discussion or activities. Your contribution to weekly discussion/activities is essential. Lectures, reading materials, and assessments will all be in English. On successful completion of this module, you will have a good understanding of the main genres of Japanese popular culture, and be able to further explore your own interests, academically, in any form of Japanese popular culture.

Have you thought about becoming a language teacher? Do you know what that means? Would you like to give it a try? This is an introduction to second language teaching and learning, where you will explore theoretical and practical approaches to language learning. You will learn what teaching a foreign language means through different methodologies and practical approaches, as well as understanding the peculiarities of both language and culture in second language acquisition, emphasizing factors like context, motivation, first language or individual characteristics. Participation will be in classroom-based activities, often working in pairs and groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in your exploration of second language learning and teaching. You will be able to observe real language classrooms and deliver language teaching in real contexts, and also gain a greater understanding of what theoretical and practical aspects of teaching and learning are essential in foreign languages.

Political violence, individual or collective, is easily condemned as an irrational and barbaric phenomenon, with little relevance for understanding political developments and social change. A lot is down to LeBon’s famous nineteenth century accounts of the crowd as ‘a primitive being’ so destructive ‘that the interests of the individual, even the interest of self preservation, will not dominate them’ (LeBon, 1995). The taboo of violence persists despite attempts of social and political theorists to engage with the issue and understand different forms and contexts, from riots, to religious violence and terrorism. The aim of the module is to break this generalized taboo by tracing the role (explicit or implicit) of political violence in political theory and its function in processes of socio-political transformations and change. Critical engagement with contemporary theoretical and empirical debates around the issue and the examination of mass and new media representations of political violence will enable students to develop a sophisticated understanding of the origins, logics, perceptions and outcomes of political violence and conflict.

What role do media and communication play in processes of globalisation? How is an ever more global media creating cultural change? In this module you will explore the cultural implications of global media and culture by investigating audience practices and media representations. It begins by introducing the main theoretical approaches to mediated globalisation, before examining how these work in practice. Indicative topics include the power of global branding, global celebrity culture, global publics and local audiences, transnational cultures, and representations of migration.

How should we deal with the dissemination of 'fake news'? What role do algorithms play in the media we consume, and is it concerning? What kind of government intervention is there in media markets and in cultural life and how does this get decided? This module will enable you to understand the dynamics and issues of media and cultural policy and how various levels of governance are involved in regulating media cultural sectors. The module will start by introducing you to public policy and policy making processes, covering multi-level governance, multi-stakeholderism, and the policy cycle. It will then enhance your understanding though deep dives into current issues in media and cultural policy, such as audiovisual media policy, arts institutions, net neutrality, harmful content on platforms, sports and premium content rights, urban regeneration through culture, evolving models of (self/co-)regulation. The module will draw on examples from across the globe and at various level including local, regional, national and supra-national policy making, with special efforts made to integrate ones from non-Western contexts. You will have the opportunity to work on real policy issues and practice professional skills in simulations and assessment activities. This module is for anyone interested in media and culture or in public policy in general. It covers topics that touch our daily lives so would be useful to anyone concerned about the shape of our society.

How do the media shape how we see ourselves? Or indeed how others see us? In a world of social media, self-branding and the increasing importance of mediated forms of identity, on this module you will explore critical ways of thinking about the relationship between culture, media and the self. Drawing on a range of theoretical approaches in the field of media and cultural studies, this module asks you to use research methods from autoethnography to content analysis to explore both their own identities and the way in which identities more broadly are formulated through contemporary media culture. Through discussing the representation of identity in media content, as well as issues of media production, regulation and consumption, you will critically reflect upon the relationship between media culture and social power and consider how social and technological changes impact on the ways in which identity is experienced in everyday life. On successful completion of this module, you should be able, at threshold level, to critically reflect upon the ways in which media texts construct social identity and should be able to discuss the relationship between media and identity with awareness for social, institutional and technological factors that shape both media production and consumption. Assessment is by group presentation and independent research project.

For better or worse, digital technologies are hyped at having revolutionised society. This module will provide you with an introduction to the ways in which the internet and other digital technologies are (and are not) affecting society from theoretical and empirical perspectives, and how society shapes technology. Topics covered include: the evolution of the internet; the network society ; regulating new media; the radical internet and terrorism; social networking, blogs and interactivity; culture and identity in the digital age; and how the internet affects politics and the media.

We will consider the processes of translation and adaptation in a range of media, such as films, games and theatre, and the issues associated with them from the perspective of ‘Translation Theory.' We will attempt to establish where the boundary lies between the terms ‘translation’ and ‘adaptation,’ and we will examine some of the most important theories of translation. You will look at various ways of thinking about key concepts such as ‘cultural and pragmatic equivalence,’ ‘fidelity,’ ‘coherence/cohesion,’ and the ethical role of the director/adaptor. You will devote your time to the exploration of types of adaptations in different genres, and you will present case studies from recent articles in a variety of adaptations in your language pair, such as adaptations for cross-cultural theatre, adapting from books to video games, cross-cultural adaptations of queerness in short stories, ideology, and children’s stories adapted for films across languages and cultures. You will develop the linguistic skills, cultural competence and critical thinking required for the production of a case study of a selected adaptation in your language pair. On completion of this module, you will be able to situate yourself in relation to critical readings in the field of ‘Translation Theory’ and to reflect on the ethical dimension of the translator, especially as it relates to the act of adapting in situations of intercultural conflict and communication. This module is only available to students with a foreign language.

What factors need to be born in mind when creating subtitles? What tools are used to create these texts? This module provides first-hand experience of subtitling and dubbing of film clips and documentaries, which will provide you with first hand, practical, experience of this important media technique. You’ll become familiar with software used for interlingual and intralingual subtitling and dubbing at professional level, studying the linguistic and technical constraints for the creation of audio-visual texts. You’ll undertake practical exercises involving cueing, text compression and segmentation, respecting time and space constraints and that will teach you how to conform the conventions of good practice. You’ll explore, analyse and assess different types of technological tools used for audio-visual translation at professional and amateur levels, using selected film/TV series/documentary extracts in several languages. Practical activities are used creating challenges posed by the interplay of audio, image and text. Studying this module will provide you with the necessary skills for the creation of subtitles at a professional level, giving you practical experience of using professional software. Taught together with Level 6. Assessment commensurate with level. This module is not suitable for year 2 students of Japanese Ab Initio or Post GCSE because of the challenging nature of the assessment tasks (comprehension and translation of authentic Japanese video clip extracts). Should you wish to explore media accessibility tools, 'Technological Tools for Media Accessibility' (Level 5) is available. Please note that final year Japanese degree students are welcome to join the equivalent module at Level 6 'Technological Tools for Subtitling and Dubbing'.

How do scientists in the fields of political science, media, and international relations actually perform their research? How do they know what they claim to know? How can we use scientific methods to study the political and social world? Throughout the module, you will learn how do evaluate research, and more importantly, how to perform your own research using scientific methods. You will acquire knowledge of the theory and practice of a range of quantitative and qualitative research methods. You will acquire a variety of skills - computerised data analysis, interviewing, observation, focus groups, taking fieldwork notes, and report writing. We will begin by examining ways of thinking about the world, developing ideas and hypotheses, and ways of testing them. We will explore a variety of ways to examine these hypotheses using a variety of basic quantitative/statistical methods. We will then explore a variety of qualitative, in-depth methods, of collecting and analyzing data such as interviewing and focus groups. You do not need to have any mathematical background to follow this module.

In this second year module you will examine in depth the works of selected thinkers who are seminal to the Western tradition of political thought, and have shaped the ways in which we think about politics even today, including Plato, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Mill and Machiavelli. You will also compare their work thematically, with a focus on themes such as the natural law and social contract traditions, and other schools of thought which have been influenced by these traditions. The module will be based on the study and interpretation of key primary texts and will enable you to develop skills of textual analysis and critique. It will also provide some of the historical background necessary to study more contemporary political theory at 3rd year undergraduate level, as well as building substantially on some of the political theories encountered on Social and Political Theory at first year level. The module is taught by a combination of weekly lectures and seminars, supported by private study of your own, and you will be assessed by coursework, usually a combination of an essay and a portfolio which reflects on your reading and seminar performance throughout the semester.

This module introduces students to key perspectives in 19th & 20th century social and political theory. Central to this module is an interest in the relationship between economic, social and cultural structures and individual agency and identity. Areas explored include the following: social conflict and consensus; conceptions of power and domination; Marxism and neo-Marxism; critical theory; structuralism; poststructuralism; ideology and discourse; postmodernity; the self and consumer society.

Political systems around the world are facing profound challenges and transformations. Established democracies in Europe and North America have seen the rise of populism, as marked by election of Donald Trump in the USA, the Brexit referendum in the UK or Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Democracy has also been in retreat in many states which democratised or partly democratised after the cold war such as Russia and Poland. At the same time, autocratic regimes in the Middle East and North Africa have come under pressure, with movements such as the Arab Spring signalling aspirations amongst many people for a more democratic system of governance. This module provides you with a critical understanding of how political systems vary around the world and the pressures facing them. It begins by focusing on the drivers of democratisation. It then proceeds to consider how political institutions such as the executive, legislature and the degree of decentralisation vary - and the effects that this has. Finally, we consider new trends in citizen's voting behaviour at the ballot box and pressure groups campaigning for change. You'll gain a critical awareness of current debates in comparative politics and develop key skills including critical evaluation, analytical investigation, written presentation, and oral communication.

The election of Donald Trump as President in 2016 has radically changed US politics. Yet to fully understand the current times, contemporary American politics needs to be put into context. This module covers the historical themes that exist in US politics from the eighteenth century to the present day. The emphasis will be on modern political history and contemporary politics, but this will be underpinned by a knowledge of the political philosophy at the time of the formation of the United States, the governmental structures, and political developments over historical time.

This module explores a range of contemporary applications of psychological science. Theoretical approaches and research will be covered alongside examples from popular media, films, current events, and case studies.

In this module, you’ll explore a topic in philosophy that is of particular interest to you as an individual, normally based on ideas that have emerged from your work on previous modules in philosophy, or from seeing the connections between more than one area of your studies. In some cases, you might be able to pursue an area of philosophy that is not otherwise included in the undergraduate curriculum but in which we have research expertise among the full time staff (and for these areas, it may also be possible, where workloads permit, to organise a group study programme, or ‘special subject’, for you to work together with several other students with the same interests). When enrolling for this module, you’ll need to include a second choice on your enrolment form, and you’ll need to have achieved an overall average of 60% or above in your second year assessment, with good attendance and good submission of formative work in the second year. You’ll need to fill in the form sent by the module organiser in advance of module enrolment, in order to secure a place on this module. You’ll also need to agree a topic with a supervisor (if this is not possible, you’ll need to move to a different module). NB You may not take more than one supervised dissertation on any degree, but you may take up to two of these philosophy modules as group study programmes (or 'special subjects'). Please contact the module organiser for details. Teaching arrangements will be settled after you’ve enrolled on the course.

In this module, you’ll explore a topic in philosophy that is of particular interest to you as an individual, normally based on ideas that have emerged from your work on previous modules in philosophy, or from seeing the connections between more than one area of your studies. In some cases, you might be able to pursue an area of philosophy that is not otherwise included in the undergraduate curriculum but in which we have research expertise among the full time staff (and for these areas, it may also be possible, where workloads permit, to organise a group study programme, or ‘special subject’, for you to work together with several other students with the same interests). When enrolling for this module, you’ll need to include a second choice on your enrolment form, and you’ll need to have achieved an overall average of 60% or above in your second year assessment, with good attendance and good submission of formative work in the second year. You’ll need to fill in the form sent by the module organiser in advance of module enrolment, in order to secure a place on this module. You’ll also need to agree a topic with a supervisor (if this is not possible, you’ll need to move to a different module). NB You may not take more than one supervised dissertation on any degree, but you may take up to two of these philosophy modules as group study programmes (or 'special subjects'). Please contact the module organiser for details. Teaching arrangements will be settled after you’ve enrolled on the course.

History and politics are inseparable because human societies and communities develop and transform historically. Philosophical thinking about society and community requires us to question deep assumptions about the human good and how we form ideas about that good over time. Does history show that we have made political progress? What does ‘progress’ even mean? How should we think about our social understanding of the past? Does your historical situation limit your political horizons or your political culture limit your historical understanding? Is it in the person or the community that should not be divided, i.e. that is ‘in-dividual’? What kind of understanding, what kind of methods are involved in the disciplines of history and politics? Can philosophy ground a political system, and, if so, which political system(s) does philosophy ground? These are some of the question you’ll address in dialogue with key thinkers of history and politics, such as Hegel; Marx; Collingwood; Simone Weil; Arendt and Rawls. In THIS year, we will be focussing particularly on Kant, Herder, Hegel, Marx, and on Rawlsian liberal individualism and its critics such as from feminism and from ecology. Including with some reference to the possibility of Western civilisation collapsing rather than endlessly 'progressing'.

Religion is a phenomenon that is hard to define, and yet clearly integral to the entire history of human existence and across many cultures. Traditional philosophy of religion as practised in the modern Western philosophical tradition tends to focus on Christian belief and classical theism, yet there are also strong traditions of philosophy in other cultures with other religious traditions, such as the Islamic and Jewish thinkers who were at least as important as the Christian ones in the history of Medieval thought, and philosophy in Classical India and China has links with other non-Christian traditions such as Buddhism and Hindu thought.

In this module you will be invited to engage with some of the key issues that figure in Philosophy of Mind and in Philosophy of Language, and to identify the interconnections between the two. Some major thinkers in the field, both recent and from earlier periods of the Western canon of philosophy, will be studied, and chosen set texts may be selected for close attention as relevant. Topics might include the mind-body problem, the nature of mind and its relation to the brain, issues connected with meaning and understanding, how (if at all) language governs, limits or facilitates thought, and the relation between language and the things about which we use it to talk. By taking this module in your third year you will explore a selection of these topics. If you took the complementary Level 5 Mind & Language module in year 2, you can complete the course by taking this module in your third year, so as to cover the full range of topics, or you can take this one as a stand-alone module.

What is morality? And in what ways does it impinge on our lives, in deciding what to do? There are issues relating to ethics that are theoretical and meta-ethical, about what kind of judgements are being made and what is their basis in fact or in some realm of values; there are normative issues, about how, if at all, a theory can help to predict or decide what a person ought to do or which dispositions are commendable; and there are practical issues, about the real dilemmas of life and death, about fairness, love and compassion, as we face them in the world, and not just in imaginary trolley-problems . To complete a course in ethics you would want to explore all these aspects of the subject, and during this module you’ll engage with a selection of these, focusing either on the theoretical aspects, including attention to some major historical figures, or more on practical ethics. If you took the complementary Level 5 module last year, you can complete the Ethics course in your third year by taking this module as well, or you can take this as a stand-alone module.

Epistemology examines what knowledge is. Science is concerned with the acquisition of secure knowledge, and philosophy of science considers what counts as science, what objects the scientist knows about, and what methods can be used to attain such knowledge; logic uses formal tools to investigate different forms of reasoning deployed to acquire knowledge. You will be given an opportunity to explore a selection of these areas of philosophy, through teaching informed by recent and ongoing research: which ones will be explored on this occasion will be selected in the light of the lecturers’ current research interests and the general appeal of these interests.

Philosophy has much to say about the arts, and much to learn from them. In this module you will have a chance to explore some aspects of this relationship. Some issues that arise fall into what we would call aesthetics and the philosophy of art: we can ask about the value of art, aesthetic experience and judgement, artistic creativity, interpretation and representation, and we can investigate the views of many past thinkers on these matters. On the other hand, we can also use art to illuminate philosophy, and for this purpose we have chosen to focus primarily on cinema (while the module “Literature and Philosophy” investigates similar questions in connection with literature”). This module will focus on one or other of these two aspects of the encounter with beauty and the arts, so if you have already taken the complementary module at level 5, in your second year, you can also take this in order to cover both aspects of the subject, or it can be taken as a stand-alone module.

How can we avoid environmental catastrophe? How can philosophy help? The relationship between human beings and the natural world is the basis of everything we are and yet we do not seem to have found a way to avoid destruction, degradation and potential catastrophe. In this module we will examine various ways in which philosophy can examine our relationship with the natural world and contribute to the fight to protect the planet. Topics may include the ethics of climate change; value theory and nature; human-animal relationships; the ways science, art and politics affect our relationships with the natural world. This module will cover a selection of these topics. It can be taken as a stand-alone module or, if you took the associated Level 5 module in your second year, you can add a new focus to your work in this area by taking this third year one as well.

The history of philosophy, from ancient times to our own, is richly studded with exciting and innovative thinkers, whose ideas still spawn a vast volume of research and reflective criticism. These great minds are our partners in many fascinating slow-motion dialogues that extend over decades, centuries, and even millennia. We converse with them about some of the most significant issues in the field. In this module you’ll join in this discussion by joining a seminar focused on reading and discussion of some more of the original texts (in English translation, if that is not the original language), under the guidance of a research expert in the field. Texts are selected by the seminar leader, to complement your other second and third year modules, and will not include precisely the same texts as are included elsewhere in the philosophy Honours programme. Rather we’ll aim to focus on thinkers whose work is insufficiently addressed in the other modules. Examples of thinkers most likely to appear in the seminars for this module include Plato, Aristotle, the Presocratic Philosophers, Ancient Sceptics, Enlightenment thinkers such as David Hume, Immanuel Kant, René Descartes, George Berkeley, thinkers from early Analytic philosophy, early or late Wittgenstein, Simone Weil or Iris Murdoch. During this module you’ll be taught in a seminar/reading group style, with each group meeting on a weekly basis for twelve weeks. One or more such seminar groups may meet, depending on student enrolments and staff availability, and each group will be reading a different text or texts, from a different period or school of thought. You’ll be enrolled into whichever group interests you most (you’ll need to say which one you want to attend when you sign up for the module). Seminar groups will run with a minimum of ten students in the group: if you choose a group with less than 10 participants, you’ll be offered a choice of a different seminar group or a different module. This is a free-standing module that can be taken by itself. However, if you took the complementary module for second years at Level 5, then adding this module in your third year will allow you to thereby create a two-semester course, and to explore a wider selection of historical thinkers, as a fitting supplement to the topical modules that you’ll have taken over these two years.

How can we make sense of the vast and complex world we are plunged into at birth? What happens when we become alienated from the world and its everyday meaning? If there is no absolute meaning assigned to human life by divine authority, does life have any meaning at all? Are we absolutely free to make sense of the world in any way we choose? Does death present an ultimate limit to human existence and freedom? Existential philosophers have grappled with these questions and in the process developed new ways of thinking about art, science, politics, divinity and every aspect of human life. Friedrich Nietzsche is one of the key founders of existential philosophy and his work began an important tradition that influenced thinkers such as Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. This module will focus either on the explosive work of Nietzsche himself or on the existential tradition he inspired, so if you have already taken the complementary module at level 5 in your second year, you can also take this in order to cover both aspects of the subject, or it can be taken as a stand-alone module.

We will consider the history of the Crusades and the Crusader States from 1095 to 1291, covering a broad range of themes, religious , military and social, and taking into consideration the relations between Christians and Moslems in the Holy Land. Particular attention will be paid to primary sources, which are abundant and available in English translation.

More than a century after Lenin's Bolsheviks proclaimed the world's first socialist revolution in Petrograd, the events of 1917 retain their power to fascinate, inspire, bewilder and repel. How can we understand the Russian revolution, why did it happen, and what did it mean for the people who made and lived through it? On this module we'll use a range of sources, including contemporary documents, newspaper reports, and memoirs - some translated specially for this module - to answer these questions. We start with the run-up to the revolutionary events of 1905, when the whole empire was convulsed with strikes, uprisings and armed clashes. We then take the story through the Tsarist regime's attempt to shore up its authority through limited consitutionalist concessions, before looking at World War One and the fall of the monarchy. We'll look in detail at what happened in 1917 and why - not only in the Russian heartland but also in certain non-Russian parts of the empire. Finally, we'll examine the civil war and why the Reds won. Throughout, we put the story in its historical, political and geographical context, always with an eye to its impact on later developments up to today. By understanding the events of a century ago, you'll gain insights into the Russia of today and the troubled and turbulent post-Soviet area. You'll also gain invaluable experience of carrying out in-depth independent research and presenting your findings.

You’ll explore key themes and topics in the history of twentieth century sport, from the founding of the modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 to the impact which the collapse of socialism had upon sport at the end of the century. Sport’s interaction with empire, nationalism, fascism, socialism and capitalism will be considered, demonstrating that the political history and international relations of the century are deeply entwined with it. As an aspect of social history, issues of gender, race and disability are inseparable from this topic, as are the harnessing and exploitation of sport as a means of war or reconciliation at various periods throughout the century.

You will be provided the opportunity to undertake a work placement with an employer in the historic environment sector. You will be responsible for arranging your own placement, with assistance from the module organisers where required. During the Spring semester you will build on the experience of your placement through practical seminars, field trips and sessions with external speakers currently working in the sector. These will provide you with an understanding of the career paths available in this field and an opportunity to reflect on how the skills and knowledge you have gained during your degree can be transferred to a range of historic environment and heritage roles.

Fieldwork is a key part of landscape history and this module will give you hands-on practical experience of a range of landscape survey methods. Our fieldwork week takes place during the summer and will provide you with training in various survey techniques that can be applied to earthworks and buildings. Your surveys will form the basis for site drawings and a research project on the site we have surveyed. Seminars and field trips take place in the Autumn semester and will cover topics such as drawing earthwork plans and carrying out original research using archive maps and documents. By the end of the module you will be able to recognise and interpret historic landscape features in the field and use a combination of survey work and original research to understand them.

You will examine in depth the history of nationalism in Europe from the late eighteenth to the twentieth century. The central theme is the relationship between the rise and development of nationalism and the shaping of images and discourses about Europe. You will consider and compare the strength of nationalism to the weakness of Europeanism in order to improve your historical understanding of identity formation processes in the modern age. In this sense, it does not consider the nation and Europe as being one the denial of the other, but as forces interacting in complex ways and, in given instances, feeding upon one another. Centred on this theoretical concern, you will be offered a broad survey of the history of nationalism from the Age of Enlightenment to the European integration process, explaining how it has developed into a mass movement and an ideology affecting so deeply the life of millions of individuals across Europe. The perspective used will be that of the cultural historian and the historian of ideas and ideologies. A variety of different primary sources – including pictures, novels, private correspondence, newspaper articles, political tracts and pamphlet, history books, films, songs, etc… – will be used to highlight, on the one hand, the ambiguities of modern nationalism, to explain its quasi-religious nature and explore its strength and resilience. On the other hand, they will help us investigate how and to what extent discourses about Europe affected, after the Second World War, one of the greatest projects of political engineering ever attempted, highlighting the economic success of EU integration and considering its incapacity to create a strong attachment to EU institutions. The course is interdisciplinary in nature. While it is essentially addressed to historians, especially if you are interested in cultural history and in the history of ideologies, it also considers sociological issues and topics that would appeal if you are interested in politics.

This module explores the eventful and troubled history of modern Iraq. Taking its starting point in the nineteenth century, when Iraq was part of the Ottoman Empire, the module explores how the country came under British tutelage following the Great War and how it subsequently experienced a turbulent history as various political actors sought to wrest control of the newly established state. The module pays special attention to key moments when the course of Iraq’s history changed, such as wars, military coups, and revolutions, but also periods in between when society returned to some sort of normality. It will particularly focus on the rise of political ideologies, especially Arab nationalism, and its local counterpart, Iraqi nationalism – but also other ideologies such as socialism, communism and Baᶜthism. Saddam Hussein’s domination of the country (1979-2003) is also an important element of the module.

This module offers you the opportunity to submit a dissertation of 10,000 words on a topic approved by the School. For you to be considered for this module you will have achieved an aggregate of 68% across the Level 5 Autumn semester modules.

The importance of youth as a driving force for social change has been recognised by many historians. Young people were often at the forefront wherever revolutions took place, wars were fought and tensions in society erupted. However, the historical study of youth is still a relatively young discipline. This module uses ‘youth’ as a prism to study key themes in 20th century European history, such as the experience of war, life under dictatorship and the longue durée of social change. We shall examine the diverse experience of youth in Western and Eastern Europe during war and peace times, including the Communist and Nazi state-sponsored youth systems, and also the way in which generational experience and conflicts became underlying forces for social and political change. The module employs a strong comparative approach and countries studied include France, Britain, the Soviet Union, West and East Germany, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. The seminars will be accompanied by several film screenings.

You will be introduced to the darker side of life in Victorian Britain. Though this was undoubtedly a period of economic prosperity, not everyone shared in the gains. You will look at those who, for reasons of poverty or ‘deviance’ were confined to the margins. Topics include the criminal and insane, gender and insanity, prostitution, drink, slums, the London Irish, and Jack the Ripper. By looking at the margins and the misfits, we will seek to gain a deeper understanding of British society in the 19th century.

On this module you’ll explore how 500 years of change shaped the modern landscape. You’ll study the development of rural and urban landscapes in the post-medieval period and see how a landscape approach can shed light on wider social, political and economic changes. In seminars you’ll use a wide range of contemporary documents, including maps and paintings alongside written sources, to examine key aspects of landscape change in the period c.1450-1950 and to identify shifts in the way the landscape was represented and perceived. Each week you’ll explore a different topic relating to key themes such as the development of country house architecture and garden design, the evolution of urban landscapes and the transformation of the working countryside. A number of field trips will take place throughout the year to give you first hand experience of relevant sites and landscapes.

This Special Subject focuses on the lives and actions of three of the most charismatic rulers in twelfth- and early thirteenth-century Western Europe. We begin by an examination of the creator of the Angevin dynasty, Henry fitz Empress, who, by the time he was twenty-one, dominated more than half of the kingdom that was to become France as well as being king of the English. Henry was a successful military commander; in England, he was the creator of the English common law and a centralising administration. And it was of him that St Bernard is supposed to have declared ‘he came from the Devil and he will go to the Devil’. His son and successor, Richard the Lionheart, was one of the greatest knights of his age as well as being a crusader and successful military commander who seemingly placed the Angevin dynasty on a solid footing. After these two great makers of aristocratic empire, the third ruler of the dynasty almost brought the whole edifice crashing down. King John lost the continental lands, and by the time of his death his lands were being ravaged by a foreign prince, his barons were in revolt having gathered themselves behind a document we know as Magna Carta, and his dynasty on the verge of extinction. This Special Subject has at its core the story of the creation and near destruction of this dynasty; and seeks further to examine the politics, culture, and society of the lands over which the Angevin dynasty held sway. This was an age of profound intellectual, religious, and political change, and studies will be set within this wider context. You will be expected to become familiar with the primary sources in translation and to be aware of current historiographical debates.

In this module you’ll study the history of the Third Reich from an international and comparative perspective through the extensive use of primary sources. You’ll examine the origins and the rise of National Socialism, the seizure and consolidation of power, the nature and political structure of the dictatorship, and the transformation of German society under Nazi rule, but you’ll focus in particular on foreign policy and the impact of the regime’s policies on Europe and the world. You’ll explore Nazi Germany’s relationship with other autocracies and right-wing forces in Europe, German geopolitical thought and the role of the Foreign Office, the formation and administration of the Nazi empire, issues of collaboration and resistance in occupied territories, combat motivation and war crimes of ordinary soldiers, the importance of non-German perpetrators of the Holocaust, the German home front and the effects of Allied aerial bombings, the various plans for a post-war Europe, and the problem of ethnic cleansing both before and after 1945.

You will begin with a search for the origins of the Yugoslav idea, before turning to the Kingdom’s formation in 1918. The turbulent interwar years provide the indispensable backdrop to the second, communist, Yugoslavia. You shall explore the course of the Second World War and the bitter fighting between fascists, nationalists and communists which resulted in victory for Tito’s partisans. After 1945, they built a state which took an independent path to communism and survived until 1991. Yugoslavia then fragmented into ethnically homogenous states. In some cases this transition was largely peaceful, but wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo witnessed bloody fighting and ethnic cleansing. You will look at the role of individuals, such as Slobodan Milošević, and end by assessing the international community's response to the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia.

We will explore the colonization of America by seventeenth-century English people. The memory of the Mayflower Pilgrims has obscured the fact that the first three generations remained English, unaware of the political and cultural distinctiveness to come. We will therefore be concerned with 'the repatriation of early American history'. We shall examine settlers' lives from the foundation of Jamestown in 1607, through the creation of Massachusetts in the 1630s, to the wars and rebellions of 1670-90. Not confined to New England, this module looks at a range of colonial experiences from Maine to the Caribbean, especially the mentalities of people moving between old and new worlds.

The reign of Henry VIII was a major turning point in English history, and ‘bluff King Hal’ continues to horrify and fascinate us in equal measure. We use the preoccupations, ambitions, and character of Henry VIII as a route into the political, religious and cultural changes of this tumultuous period. Starting with the acclaimed young king, his Spanish bride, Katherine of Aragon, and his consummate minister, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the course works chronologically and thematically through to the declining years of Henry VIII’s reign, when a paranoid, obese and cruel monarch presided over an irrevocably changed religious and political landscape. It examines in detail the divorce crisis, the establishment of the Church of England, the Henrician Reformation, the politics and factionalism of the Court, war and foreign policy, magnificence, and opposition to the king, and engages with the intense historiographical debates on all these issues. The module considers some of the most colourful personalities in English history - Wolsey, More, Boleyn, Cromwell, and Cranmer - as well as structures, and the falls of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell are given particular attention. Finally, the module draws on material culture, art history, literature, film, and even dress, as well as relying on the more usual documentary sources, such as the State Papers.

We will explore the impact of the First World War on European and non-European states, societies, and cultures. Our aim is to broaden and deepen the students’ knowledge by introducing some of the lesser known aspects of the conflict, such as the campaigns on the Eastern front, in Africa, or the Middle East. You will investigate the role and perception of colonial troops in the European theatre of war and examine the war efforts of such countries as Italy, Serbia, the Ottoman Empire, and Australia. Further topics to be discussed include alliance politics and the role of neutral states, psychological effects of ‘industrialised slaughter’, atrocities against non-combatant civilians, captivity and occupation, state propaganda and the spiritual mobilisation of intellectuals, as well as processes of social change with regard to home and family life, ethnicity and class. We will draw on a wide range of primary sources, including poems, paintings, and film. In their coursework, students will have the opportunity to study more specific issues, such as naval and aerial warfare, British military strategy, civil-military relations in democratic and autocratic states, medical innovations, the war experiences of children, or questions of memory and commemoration.

In medieval England, death and what lay beyond were constantly visible. Parts of the landscape were given over to the dead: there were barrows, haunted by the pagan dead; cemeteries for the Christian dead; and lonely hermitages, whose occupants spoke with the dead. ‘King Death’, shown as a skeleton with spear or bow, would strike down the living at any age. Ghosts wandered forth from the grave, and vivid images of the dead were painted in churches, haunting churchgoers every Sunday, dancing before their mind’s eye in their dreams. Visions of the dead were not uncommon, and sometimes they made such demands on the living that the latter spent their lives serving them. Studying death, you will learn about the impact of this universal and timeless fear, and you'll discover the role of belief systems in combating deep anxieties that are part of the human condition. The module is designed as much for beginners as for those who have studied medieval history before. Through lectures, seminar discussion, and private study, you'll develop an understanding of beliefs about death and the otherworld in medieval England; how medieval people prepared for death; how ghosts and the undead irrupted into their world; the role of those who served the dead or acted as mediators between the dead and the living; demons, the evil dead and saints (the holy dead); and how death was represented in medieval art. Our trip around East Anglian churches explores tombs and wall paintings. At the end of module, you'll have gained the capacity to reflect on human belief systems; and by studying death you'll also discover strategies for coping with the fears which have accompanied life in every age and culture.

This special subject focuses on the life and times of Queen Victoria. You will start by exploring Queen Victoria’s public and private life. You will examine in detail her political and diplomatic influence, and her experiences as a wife and mother. Drawing on a wide and expansive range of primary sources, including Queen Victoria’s own journals and letters, you will seek to piece together the personality and ideology of the woman who ruled Britain for 63 years. Using Queen Victoria’s reign as a backdrop, you will also consider a number of the key political, social and cultural changes Britain witnessed in the 19th century. Seminar topics will include: Queenship; Constitutional Monarch; Imperialism; Religion; Womanhood; Patriotism; and Republicanism. You will conclude by examining the perceptions of Queen Victoria and her reign in the 20th and 21st century.

The decade from 1935 to 1945 was one of the most tumultuous in global history. In this module, you’ll examine Britain’s peacetime diplomacy and wartime strategy, as it responded to three totalitarian powers: Germany, Italy and Japan. The policy of ‘appeasement’ adopted by the Baldwin and Chamberlain governments remains hugely controversial, and the subject of vigorous debate. Britain's role in the global war that erupted in 1939 has, similarly, fascinated historians ever since. In the autumn semester, you’ll explore the foreign policies adopted by Britain's 'National' Government, from Baldwin’s victory in the 1935 election to the outbreak of war in September 1939. You’ll consider why and how these policies were adopted, the wider political and economic context within which policy was made, and the national and international consequences. In the spring semester, you’ll examine Britain’s wartime role in the context of grand strategy and international politics. In addition to considering topics such as Churchill’s ‘finest hour’, we’ll spend some time examining the operation of the Grand Alliance and the series of wartime conferences between Britain and its allies. Throughout, you will explore the rich historiography of the period, and examine its complexities. We’ll draw upon a wide range of primary documentation, which will provide the basis of debate and discussion.

In this module, you will explore how the past is constantly constructed and reconstructed in the present. In the first part of the module we will consider how mnemonic processes are created, by who, and for what purpose. Commemoration, memorialisation, and visual representations form a key part of this process. In the second part of the module, we will study the ways in which individuals and groups remember and how this often differs from official or mediated discourses. In the third and final part, we will explore various ‘memory conflicts’ and their present day consequences. Throughout, film, photography, visual and audio media, and oral history will form key components of our studies.

We will examine the wider subject of resistance to royal authority by men who become outlaws and their portrayal in popular legend from the Norman Conquest of England to the twentieth century with its focus being the outlaw for whom the name Robin Hood has become an archetype. We will examine the stories of medieval outlaws before going onto look at the Robin Hood tales in particular. We will then follow Robin Hood into the early and modern periods, through children's literature and on into the modern renditions of Robin Hood in film and in pantomime.

This module begins by surveying African, Native American and European labour regimes in the fifteenth century in order to establish a foundation for studying the transformations that followed European imperial expansion and the inauguration of the transatlantic slave trade. We will examine the process of enslavement in Africa, North America, and the Mediterranean; the ransom, exchange and sale of captives; and the development of slave markets in the European colonies in the Americas. We will study childhood and family life in various enslaved communities; the material lives of slaves; and the rise of distinct cultures within the African diaspora. We will compare the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, French and British Empires with regard to the practice of slavery. We will also trace patterns of slave resistance, escapes, rebellions, and the creation of maroon communities. The semester will end with an examination of the tangled international politics surrounding the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and the end of plantation slavery across the Atlantic World.

This module examines the theory and practice of grand strategy in historical and contemporary contexts from a variety of analytical perspectives. It defines grand strategy as ‘the calculated relation of means to large ends’. It focuses on how parts relate to the whole in whatever an individual, a corporation or a nation might be seeking to accomplish. The strategists considered range over some two and a half millennia. Some represent the best thinking and writing on this subject; others exemplify success and failure in the implementation of grand strategy.

The end of the First World War witnessed both the expansion of the British Empire to its largest extent, covering a quarter of the globe, and the destruction of its colonial rivals. However, the First World War also unleashed nationalist forces that would challenge the British imperial system. This resulted in outbreaks of riots and resistance against British rule in Ireland, India, Mesopotamia and Egypt. Weakened economically and socially by the gargantuan effort of winning the war how would Britain maintain her far-flung lines of empire? You will examine how Britain attempted to secure her strategic interests both within an era of growing nationalist resistance from within the Empire and against external threats from a resurgent Japan, Germany and Italy. You will be introduced to the high-tide of war imperialism; inter-war imperial defence; the crisis of empire Britain faced in Ireland, India and the Middle East; the ‘family-network’ of the ‘white’ Dominions; colonial development in Africa and the Caribbean as well as what it meant to fight the Second World War on an imperial footing during the campaigns in the Mediterranean and North Africa, finishing with the strategic abyss that was the fall of Singapore in February 1942. By examining the pressures policy-makers faced from within the Empire and from outside you will seek to gain a deeper understanding of how the British Empire functioned during this pivotal period of the imperial project.

For all people, from kings to commoners, daily life in the early modern period revolved around the consumption of food. Preparing, presenting, and eating food was central to social lives and had cultural significance. Food played a major role in political developments at international, national and local levels, with concern focused on regulation, the avoidance of contamination, agricultural improvement, nutrition, and imperialist expansion. During the early modern period economic cycles were dependent on the weather, which affected local harvests. For centuries before the European discovery of America, cannibalism had served as a marker of evil. It figured prominently in mythic depictions of distant, dangerous peoples, and accusations of cannibalism accompanied widespread attacks against Jews. The early European adventurers who explored Africa and the Americas were often preoccupied by cannibalism, and their fears were cited to justify conquest, colonization, the displacement of indigenous peoples, and slavery. Many exotic new foodstuffs arrived in Europe during this time. Spices from the East such as cinnamon and nutmeg gave flavour to products which would become staples, such as rice and potatoes. New fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and pineapples were often initially greeted with skepticism. The impact of sugar on western diets cannot be over-emphasized, expanding waistlines, rotting teeth (it was even used as a tooth cleaning agent) and being moulded into sweet sculptures to show-off at fancy banquets. This was edible conspicuous consumption. Sugar refineries were established across Europe, and sugar was sold in cones wrapped in blue paper. Initially a food of the rich, it was eventually considered a staple food. However, the poor did not merely emulate the rich in their consumption of these products. Like many other products, sugar has a dark history too, and its production relied on slavery and the manipulation of diets elsewhere. Coffee, tea and chocolate changed during the early modern period from medicinal substances, to luxuries, to habitual products. This module will allow students to consider the venues of consumption – the coffeehouses and the alehouses, as well as taverns, markets and inns. It will also consider the surviving material culture of food – oyster shells, cutlery, crockery and cookware. The history of food trade and middlemen will, inevitably, form part of this module. The European countries with the most extensive trading networks had the most varied diets. Initially, this was the southern part of Europe – the Iberian Peninsula and Italy, where ports were supplied from the East and across the Atlantic. Eventually, the Dutch and the English overtook Mediterranean countries, allowing their citizens better diets with more exotic goods. In the London parish of St Giles Cripplegate in the late-seventeenth century there were over four hundred victuallers, many cooks, confectioners, a wafer maker, a gingerbread maker and a noodleman. Food and ways of eating were loaded with moral significance. In the minds of many commentators, diets continued to distinguish civilized peoples from savages, and humans from beasts. Closer European contacts with Native Americans and East Indians in the seventeenth century triggered a re-examination of good and bad diets, and helped inspire the first concerted efforts in England to promote vegetarianism. This module will consider the history of food from various perspectives: production, distribution, regulation, preparation, consumption, and conflict. It will draw upon a variety of historical and geographical contexts to examine how people came to eat what they ate – with Europe being the main focus, but also widening the scope to take in foodstuffs transported from right across the globe. The primary source material will also be varied, and will include export lists, diaries, travel accounts, images, surviving material culture, didactic manuals by people such as Thomas Tryon and Eliza Smith and fiction by the satirical pub landlord Ned Ward and the novelist Tobias Smollett. Twelve substantive sessions will be on these subjects: • Economies of eating – from banquets to domestic frugality • Cannibalism • Flavouring: sugar and spice • The bread of life: grains and carbohydrates. • Fridays, Fish and Empire • Preserving: fats and salt. • The fattened cow and fat pigs in clover – the agricultural revolution (fieldtrip to Holkham Hall) • Cooking – domestic, fast food and mass catering. • God and vegetables, savagery and vegetarianism • This Little Piggy went to market. Provisioning: market regulation, dearth, and riots • Beer Street and Gin Lane: Excess and intoxicants. • Wilful waste makes woeful want: Leftovers, adulteration and mouldy food.

The First World War was the 'seminal catastrophe' of the twentieth century (George F. Kennan). It was, perhaps, the most crucial event in the self-elimination of Europe as the power-house of international politics. It also marked the beginning of the decline of Britain as a great power. We seek, through the study of relevant case studies, to examine Britain’s changing relations with the other Great Power relations during the period between the close of nineteenth century and the July crisis 1914. The primary focus will be on diplomacy and strategy in action, on arms races on land and at sea, on foreign policy-making and on the factors, internal and external, which influenced decisions.

This module provides a practical introduction to Digital History. You’ll develop the intellectual research tools to critique digitised and born-digital sources and at the same improve your understanding of the new ways historians are interrogating these sources in order to develop new insights and interpretations of the past. This module is designed to emphasise the skills of criticism and increase your knowledge of the major methodologies of digital history.

How did the British Empire 'strike back' on British culture and politics during the years of decolonisation? In this module, you will investigate the dramatic political, social and cultural consequences of the end of imperial power in Britain from the 1950s to the present. You will consider how international relationships and cultural identities were transformed in these years and the impact of anti-colonial thought and anti-racist activism on British politics. The module contains three thematic cores: (1) decolonization and new forms of British influence in the ‘Third World’ during the Cold War period (2) histories of migration, Black Liberation and anti-racist activism and (3) the impact of the end of empire on British national identity. This module will introduce you to the key ways in which historians have tried to come to terms with Britain’s ‘postcolonial’ history.

The late philosopher Zygmunt Bauman called the 20th century 'a century of camps'; for him, camps were testing grounds for totalitarian regimes. In this module, we will study the history of the violent last century through the unique lens of camps: concentration camps, forced labour camps, POW camps, refugee camps, and others. Through diverse material selected for the course, we will analyse the well-known events of the 20th century by looking at camps as places of detention, indoctrination, re-education, labour exploitation, and extermination. This unique angle provides insights into the politics of great totalitarian powers, as well as their models for organising and governing society and interacting with other nations of the world. Camps did not appear out of nowhere; each place of detention was part of an institutional network driven by divergent aims: to contain, correct, re-educate, punish. We will study these networks within their historical contexts, using diverse materials specific to each case. Also, a study of camps cannot be limited to camp walls and barbed wire; while static themselves and built to limit people's movements, camps were ironically dependent on the movements of people from place to place. Thus a study of camps inevitably involves the study of forced migrations. To acquaint you with the less studied side of global, regional and transnational interactions, this module will use a variety of sources, analyses, and methods in order to make sense of international regimes of detention, control, and punishment.

The rise and demise of the Japanese Empire happened at an extraordinary speed. In the course of a few decades from the late nineteenth century onward, Japan secured colonial territories that stretched from Inner Mongolia and Manchuria to the South Pacific. This ambitious expansion unsettled the Western powers and affected the destiny of millions of ‘fellow Asians’, only to come to a disastrous end in 1945. Japan’s imperialist legacy remains complex and contentious today. Primary and secondary literature assigned in this module will take you to the specific ‘spaces’ – local, regional, national, transnational - that provided the context for Japanese imperialism. You will explore such topics as racial encounters in Taiwan, assimilation policies in Korea, utopian development in Manchuria and pan-Asian ideologies. At a micro-level, you will familiarize yourself with the lives of planners, settlers, colonized subjects, soldiers, and others. In a broader sense, you will acquire critical insights into imperialism as it unfolded in a non-western setting.

In 1968, Japan astonished the world by overtaking West Germany as the world’s second largest capitalist economy. It was easy to forget that two decades earlier the nation lay in ruins, defeated by the Allies in WWII. And a mere century before, in 1868, Japan had been a samurai-ruled feudal backwater, forced open by western gunboat diplomacy and under threat of colonisation. How did this East Asian nation attain its impressive position in the modern world in such a short time? In this module, we will explore Japan’s modern history through its formative exchanges with the outside world. By looking at a wide variety of primary sources - media reports, government documents, memoirs, autobiographies, travelogues, and others - we will explore the transnational encounters that shaped Japan’s modern society, economy, culture and ideas. We will retrace the nation’s often bumpy transition from tradition to modernity in the late nineteenth century; the humiliations and anxieties vis-a-vis the “great powers”; the appeal of foreign “dangerous thoughts” to homegrown dissidents; the impact of imperialist ideologies following the European “Age of Empire”; the militarist revolt against party politics in the 1930s; the harsh reality of war both at home and overseas; the post-WWII recovery and alliance with the United States; and the subsequent refashioning of Japan’s place in the world. By examining Japan’s links with North America, Western Europe, Russia and the Soviet Union, and East and South East Asia, we will analyse how flows of ideas, people and goods helped shape the nation as we know it today.

The French Revolution destroyed age-old cultural, institutional and social structures in France and beyond. Yet, in their attempt to regenerate humanity, the revolutionaries were creative as well as destructive, creating a new political culture with far-reaching implications. This special subject will provide an opportunity to study different aspects of the Revolution in depth. You will become familiar with the Revolution’s key political turning points and personalities from Maximilien Robespierre to Napoleon Bonaparte. But a great part of this special subject will be devoted to exploring the artistic, cultural and intellectual dimensions of this eventful period. In doing so, you will master the art of interpreting and contextualizing a variety of different kinds of primary sources, such as caricatures, constitutions, legislative decrees, philosophical tracts, artisan memoirs and private letters.

For all people, from kings to commoners, daily life in the early modern period revolved around the consumption of food. Preparing, presenting, and eating food was central to social lives and had cultural significance. Food played a major role in political developments at international, national and local levels, with concern focused on regulation, the avoidance of contamination, agricultural improvement, nutrition, and imperialist expansion. During the early modern period economic cycles were dependent on the weather, which affected local harvests. Many exotic new foodstuffs arrived in Europe during this time. Spices from the East such as cinnamon and nutmeg gave flavour to products which would become staples, such as rice and potatoes. New fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and pineapples were often initially greeted with scepticism. This module will consider the history of food from various perspectives: production, distribution, regulation, preparation, consumption, and conflict. It will draw upon a variety of historical and geographical contexts to examine how people came to eat what they ate – with Europe being the main focus, but also widening the scope to take in foodstuffs transported from right across the globe. The study of early modern food allows for the assessment of change over a broad span of time. It allows you to evaluate ways that historians can study individuals and groups according to consumption rates, patterns and habits. Case studies will help to consider whether historical generalisations can be made. Close and critical reading of secondary sources will ensure that students will learn how to evaluate methodologies created to uncover lived experiences amongst people now long dead. Each week will focus on particular types of food or foodstuff consumption, using textual sources (diaries and other personal accounts, printed civic minutes, literature, ecclesiastical and criminal court records), as well as images and artefacts. By introducing you to food-based archaeological findings and museum holdings you will be able to forge links between the people of the past and their lived experiences and to consider material culture more directly.

This module looks at the causes, course and significance of what, in terms of relative population loss, was probably the single most devastating conflict in British history: the civil wars and interregnum of 1640-1662. This module is built upon the unpublished working transcriptions of the forthcoming edition of The Writings and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell, unpublished archives of the Dissenting Experience project, and materials gathered from 15 years of archival work around British and Irish archives.

How did social, economic, cultural and political developments between the 1830s and the 1970s change the ways people consumed things? How were purchasing choices restricted by gender and social class; how did plastic packaging come to be an environmental problem; and why was most the recycling undertaken by women? These are the sorts of questions we will explore in this module. We will be rummaging through a range of items – how they were made, how they were marketed, how they were used and how they were reused, including toys, billiard balls, musical instruments, stationery, waterproof clothing, margarine, chinaware, bottled drinks, and soap. The urge to consume or reuse never developed in a linear fashion but was related to population pressures, financial confidence, scientific advances, material availability, and military procurement. Some necessities had formerly been luxuries – and that some luxuries became waste for future generations to manage. As this module places the focus on materials, it will give students confidence handling, analysing and identifying historic objects, and so will appeal to those wanting to pursue careers in heritage, museums and archives.

The project module provides an opportunity to develop a skill set valued by employers. By allowing a team of 3-4 students to work together on an assignment of their own creation, it will develop skills in self-management, communication, teamwork and project management. After deciding their project title with a prospective supervisor, the team will prepare a written report of 16-24000 words, with each student contributing 3-4000 words to the co-written report over the course of the year. Each student will be marked separately on the portion they contributed. The team will prepare a presentation about their project and a 'visual submission' (which might be a website or webpage or poster for example). It is expected that students will identify other students to work with on projects of shared interest, and a supervisor from among HIS staff.

This module will help you prepare for a career in History teaching. Through a blend of vocational and academic delivery, you will develop appropriate specialist, technical, and transferable skills. You will learn about different pedagogical approaches to teaching History and an understanding of the requirements for a career in teaching. You will be offered support to arrange teaching observations; a necessary precondition for a PGCE application. Teaching History will also enable you to design learning activities and accompanying materials and to deliver these to your peers in a friendly environment.

‘The mother of our own’: that was how nineteenth-century historian Jacob Burckhardt described the culture of the Renaissance in Italy. Without a doubt the Italian Renaissance remains one of the most celebrated movements in European cultural history, a byword for ‘genius’, with a place in public consciousness so dominant for so long as to be intimidating, and surely ripe for questioning. For, to our modern eyes, the Italian Renaissance can look distinctly strange. Humanists saw in the reform of the language they spoke and wrote the path to a reform of society. Painting (but also architecture, sculpture, and even metalworking) sought to attain the status of literature, and all these arts grappled with the competing urges to emulate antiquity and imitate nature. Scholars and even priests sought to get closer to the One through the esoteric philosophy that they believed had come to them from Ancient Egypt and could even be found in hieroglyphs. Citizens and statesmen reconsidered their fate as soldiers and courtiers, as the Italian peninsula became the battlefield of Europe at the same time as it influenced the entire continent. Cities alternately incorporated and rejected communities of Greeks, black Africans, and Jews. Meanwhile, writers sought to understand and explain the contemporary political problems they faced through the study and writing of history. Students will grapple with this fascinating and contradictory period (c. 1425 – c. 1550) through the treatises and histories of Machiavelli and Guicciardini, the poetry of Poliziano, Ariosto, and Vittoria Colonna, the (auto-)biographies of Vasari and Cellini, and the works of artists including Titian, Leonardo, and Michelangelo.

Conquest, religious persecution, riot, civil war—between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries Norwich was the arena for all of these contests over power. Uniquely among English cities, many of the buildings and streets in which these conflicts occurred remain today, enabling us to walk in the footsteps of medieval kings and queens, noblemen and noblewomen, monks and nuns, saints and heretics, and merchants and artisans. In this module, the city itself will be our primary source. Through field trips to places that may include the Guildhall, cathedral, Dragon Hall, or other local sites, we will analyse the ways in which different groups within medieval Norwich navigated urban space and moulded the landscape to accomplish their objectives. In addition, we will consider Norwich’s position as a thriving commercial centre with strong links to London, the Low Countries, France, and Germany. How did the relationships that residents of Norwich had with other towns and polities influence the cultural habits and political strategies adopted by its residents? Did the writings of female mystic Julian of Norwich, the anti-semitic legend of William of Norwich, and fifteenth-century popular rebellions stem from circumstances unique to Norwich, or did they represent wider European trends? And to what extent were events occurring in Norwich meaningful to those who lived outside the city? Through analysing the buildings, texts, and spaces of medieval Norwich we will evaluate the extent to which this English provincial city shared a common culture with Paris, Ghent, Florence, and other great European cities of the age.

Modern western science and medicine were entangled with British imperial and expansion and consolidation. Focusing on India, this module explores the links between scientific and medical knowledge, on the one hand, and the British Empire, on the other. It investigates the role of western medico-scientific knowledge in controlling and governing Indian peoples and landscapes. At the same time, it reveals how various aspects of modern science and medicine were shaped by interaction between imperial rulers and their colonial subjects. The module particularly explores how anti-colonial Indian nationalism, led figures like Ghandi, appropriated as well as resisted western science and medicine. The seminars will train students to examine the links between science, society and politics. The students will also develop hands-on experience of working with a range of primary sources ( European travelogues, British official reports, diaries, bureaucratic correspondence, excerpts from scientific/medical texts by colonial officials, photographs and images) relating to the histories of various disciplines including Anthropology Bacteriology, Botany, Cartography, Epidemiology, and Public health.

This module explores the political and cultural role played by English and European queens in the early modern period. The module draws on a variety of primary sources (advice literature for queens, letters, plays, portraits and images of material objects including jewellery and clothes) in order to investigate the ways in which queens and noble women related to and exercised power. Relying on a variety of examples of queens, queen regents, queen consorts and women within the court, the module addresses questions such as: how was queenship conceptualized in the early modern period? What sources of legitimacy did queens draw on? How did they enact and display their agency and power? How can we identify female agency and the constructions of female career patterns within the court?

What rules did the people of the first millennium live by? How was violence and bloodshed tempered and resolved? Were law and justice the monopoly of the state and of 'civilization'? And where did the lines between God's law and that of the profane begin and end? This wide-reaching module sets out to explore some of the creativity, continuities and contradictions of western Eurasian law across its formative first 100 years: from the Roman Empire to the universities and courts of the twelfth-century 'renaissance from 'Abbasid Baghdad to the frozen wastes of dark-age Iceland. We will sweep between the grand theories and gestures of the imperial, papal, and caliphal legislators of the age, and the small-scale, on-the-ground legal realities of feud, torture, gossip and ordeal. Casting a close eye over minutiae of contemporary documents, and applying modern anthropological theories developed in the field across the Americas, Africa and Asia we will attempt to reconstruct these societies, and see what made them tick. Especially recommended for students interested in pre-modern societies and their ideas and structures; in the legacy and long shadow of the ancient Roman world; or even for those considering a future in the legal profession and looking to develop their historical background.

Covert intervention represents the most controversial aspect of U.S. foreign relations. No agency is more closely associated with it than the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Supposedly hidden from view, the CIA is nonetheless known around the world and is regularly in the news and a fixture on our cultural landscape. We will reveal the hidden history of how and why the United States has manipulated abroad from the twentieth century to the present. We discover how we come to understand the “secret world of covert action. After an introduction to the key conceptual and historical debates regarding covert action as a tool of U.S. foreign policy, you will examine key moments and cases of U.S. interventionism, from Europe, to Asia, to Africa, to Latin America, to the Middle-East, and in America itself. Have clandestine activities been consistent with official policies or do they represent a form of covert imperialism? How have they been resisted? You will gain a sound understanding of the institutions and processes behind covert action, especially the role of the CIA, and analyse how American interventionism is debated at home. You will work with previously classified sources, the latest secondary literature, and draw on fictional sources like films and novels to gain a fuller and richer understanding of the topic. As a result, you will be able to debate ongoing questions regarding covert American power and the nation’s role in the world.

Racism knows no borders. African Americans have long been attuned to the international character of white supremacy. As the black intellectual and activist W.E.B. Du Bois noted at the dawn of the 20th century, racism in the United States “is but a local phase of a world problem.” You will examine the global character of the black freedom struggle in the United States. Historically denied full citizenship rights in the United States, African Americans often looked abroad in their fight against racial prejudice – connecting the struggle against Jim Crow to calls for colonial independence around the world. Over the course of the semester, you will explore how and why black Americans forged transnational alliances that challenged racism on a local and a global level. Covering connections between African Americans and movements for racial justice in Europe, Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean and beyond, you will be asked to critically engage with the global political outlook of prominent black figures, including Marcus Garvey, Claudia Jones, Huey Newton and Barack Obama. On successful completion of your module, you will have a broad knowledge of the global forces that have shaped African American history. In addition to this, you will be able to identify and engage with theories relating to transnational, diaspora and black Atlantic history. Finally, you will be able to critically reflect on how people and cultures are connected throughout the world.

The Statue of Liberty is emblematic of the democratic ideals espoused since the American Revolution. Yet, the feminine figure that stands aloft in the New York skyline is also symbolic of discourses of gender: the ideals and expectations shaping men and women’s lives as gendered beings. You will consider how traditional discourses of gender have shaped the identity of Americans and the American nation. You'll start with an overview of traditional conceptual models of masculinity and femininity in 21st century America. You'll then use a variety of case studies for the remainder of your module to enable you to think carefully and critically about how particular models of gender operated within certain contexts. These case studies will include debates around the body and representations of gender in iconographical form and visual culture, in addition to reflecting on gendered rhetoric in the political arena, the workplace, and institutions such as the military. You will consider how particular ideals of gender have been articulated in various contexts and how this has informed wider discourses central to the American nation. You'll learn through a mixture of seminars and self-directed learning, with a particular focus on class discussion in the sessions. You'll be asked to prepare and deliver a class presentation, either in a group or alone, for a particular session of your choosing. This can then form the basis of your ideas for later work if you'd like. You'll be assessed entirely through coursework. Throughout the module you will develop knowledge and skills to enable you to take forward either to postgraduate study or in your chosen career. You'll develop your communication skills, growing intellectually through the weekly discussions, which will enable you to effectively position an argument. You'll also expand your research, writing, and presentation skills.

The transnational movement of bodies, images, and capital has transformed modern conceptualisations of gender and sexuality. Sexual practices, identities, and subcultural formations have been altered through processes of migration and globalisation, as well as by the advent of new media technologies and the wide-reaching circulation of categories such as gay, lesbian, and transgender. In this context, this module aims to situate categories of gender and sexual difference within specific cultural and political contexts, and investigate non-normative gender and sexual formations in relation to emerging discourses on race and class and to anti-colonial theories of modernity and global capitalism. At the centre of the module sit questions such as: How have queer subjects been incorporated into nationalist projects and consumer culture? How has the liberal framework of human rights reshaped the struggles of queer movements outside the West? In what ways have transnational discourses on multiculturalism reshaped notions of queer community and belonging in global cities and in postcolonial metropolitan spaces? What role have media technologies and various forms of visual culture played in the reconstitution of gender and sexual identities and of representations of queer desire, affect, and kinship? Addressing these questions from an interdisciplinary perspective, and drawing on case studies from different geographical regions and from different disciplinary fields, the overall aim of the module is to explore the varied ways local histories and geographies interact with the forces of political, economic, and cultural globalisation, focusing especially on the experiences of sexual minorities in the Global South and of queer diasporas in the Global North.

Adult Relationships Law is a socio-legal study of marriage (the formation of marriage, the purposes and status of marriage, claims to equal marriage), divorce (the ground of divorce, how the process works, whether the process should be reformed), financial settlements on divorce (what settlement can be expected, should prenups be enforceable), cohabitation without marriage (remedies on breakdown of the relationship, should cohabitants have divorce-style rights) and domestic violence. This module reflects both the practical application of family law – What is the law? How does it work in practice? – and the theoretical basis of the law – Why is the law the way it is? What does that say about society? How could we think differently about it, and change the law? It develops law-specific academic and practical skills as well as transferable skills.

“What is the use of a house if you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on? “(Henry David Thoreau, a letter to H.G.O. Blake, May 20, 1860). Our planet is being plundered, degraded and polluted at an unprecedented rate. This pattern of human activity compromises not only the right of future generations to a healthy environment, but also their ability to fulfil their most basic needs. The biggest environmental challenges of our time, such as climate change, trans-boundary pollution and the loss of biodiversity, require a common action by the international community as a whole. International Environmental Law represents the set of legal rules and principles that guide the international community in its collective effort to meet these challenges. This proposed module aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the context, foundations and the complexities of international environmental law, and its application through European Union (EU) law. It will review the historical background and the developments that shaped the evolution of this field of law. It will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the unique legal principles and regulatory approaches that guide environmental law-making, as well as with some knowledge of specific subject-areas, such as climate change law, biodiversity law, and water law. This module will be taught through the use of a dual-themed approach; each part will be covered by two lectures; the first seminar will present the international regulatory framework (i.e. 'international environmental law'), while the following seminar will include a more concrete discussion on the manner in which international law was adopted into, and refined through, the EU framework. Such a teaching methodology will provide the students with a wider understanding of the topic; notably the students will grasp the relevance of international law to our everyday life, the challenge of balancing environmental goals with other policy objectives, and the manner in which general international law principles can be, and have been, concretised via EU law.

This module will introduce you to the standards and mechanisms of international human rights law. Lectures will lay a foundation for focused seminar discussions on the content and scope of selected rights (such as the right to life, freedom from torture, and freedom of expression and assembly). A Civil Society Advocacy Project will run alongside the seminars to ensure that you become familiar with the regional (European, Inter-American and African) and international (UN treaty-bodies, Universal Periodic Review, the UN Human Rights Council and its ‘Special Procedures’) mechanisms of human rights implementation and enforcement. Through this Civil Society Advocacy Project, you will be encouraged to reflect critically on the adequacy of rights-based solutions to real-world problems.

It's widely recognised that modernist literature is characterised by a revolution of the word. Less widely recognised, and little explored, is the relationship between modernist linguistic experimentation and literary nonsense. Beginning with two 19th-century writers, Carroll and Dickinson, you will go on to explore various of the radical disruptions in ordinary sense and meaning practiced across 20th-century writing, asking about their purposes and possibilities, and inquiring into what they tell us about ordinary language. You will take in such subjects as William’s Empson’s analysis and practice of poetic ambiguity; surrealism’s Freudian inquiry into the illogical language of the unconscious; Joyce’s invention of new words to express this illogic; Plath’s surrealist play with metaphor; the early Auden’s distortion of syntax, pronoun, and tense; and Ashbery’s indeterminacy. We will read such work against various theories of nonsense, laughter, and play. Your principal focus will be on poetry and language itself and there will be detailed discussions of word-history, ambiguity, broken syntax, incomplete metaphor. Major topics will include the relation of nonsense to dreams, jokes, games, and madness, and this will be informed by psychoanalytic theory, especially in Freud’s writing. This is not a course on children's literature, but on some very challenging modern literature, mostly poetry. You will need to enjoy uncertainty and have good close-reading skills. There will be opportunities for creative writing of nonsense and creative writers are encouraged to take the module. By the end of the module you should have an understanding of the various ways in which modern writers have revolutionised and distorted language, and the reasons why they did so. You should be able to analyse the differences to meaning made by such distortions, and to trace the gaps in sense that they open. You should be able to draw on relevant theories of nonsense, laughter, play, childhood, and language, to enrich your analysis. You could offer your own creative writing in the same mode of nonsense, and if so, this will show an understanding of the techniques of the writers studied. In either case, you will have done some of your own original reading, thinking, and research, beyond the texts and topics covered in seminars.

‘Truth is stranger than fiction’ and it’s often more moving, powerful, inspiring and funnier too. You’ll have plenty of opportunity to discover some extraordinary ‘true’ stories on this module as well as the possibility to write one of your own. You’ll think about the ever-shifting boundaries between ‘truth’ and ‘fiction’ as well as the ethical questions that arise when you’re writing about real people and situations. This is a module that enables you to do something very different in your final semester at UEA. During this module you’ll consider if and how non-fiction writing differs from fictional literature. You’ll learn about research, how to read and interrogate personal documents and the challenges presented by memory and anecdote. How do you assemble facts so that the resulting story is as compelling as fiction? What clothes can the non-fiction writer steal from the novelist’s wardrobe? Throughout the module you’ll read different types of non-fiction and think about how individual authors weave their research material into narrative form. You will have the opportunity to write your own piece of non-fiction for your summative assessment if you wish. This is a 5,000 word creative or critical piece which everyone will workshop during the semester. There will also be tutorials in which you can discuss your summative work. By the end of the module you’ll have gained an understanding of the craft of non-fiction and you’ll have developed your ability to ask pertinent questions of any non-fiction you read, be it a newspaper story or a highly researched account of a life or situation. You’ll have honed your research abilities and perhaps your interview skills too if you decide to write something that involves interviews. You’ll also have thought about the ethical implications that may arise when writing about ‘real life’ - all qualities that are highly valued by employers.

The module will incorporate a historical survey of Western lyric, looking at its inception in the poetry of Pindar and Sappho, and the Aristotelian division of poetic arts in lyric, dramatic and epic. It will cover lyrics from Provencal troubadour poets through the Italian and English renaissance to Romantic lyric. Finally, it will cover the fate of lyric in the present day, from 'conceptual writing' and 'post-humanism' which offer a thoroughgoing rejection of lyric, to the embrace of lyric in contemporary young poets. The module will start by considering the question: 'What is lyric'? The purpose is not to establish a transhistorical concept of lyric as genre or mode, but rather to see how different thinkers at different times have approached it. This is a particularly timely question for literary criticism and poetics. We will isolate certain tropes, ethics, and focal points that are taken to be characteristic of lyric, whilst at the same time probing the historicity of lyric as a concept, especially regarding the ideology of the lyric 'I' that is associated with romanticism.

We are witnessing an upsurge in feminist activism which some claim is forming the fourth wave of feminism. It is timely then to reconsider how feminist writing (literary texts, literary theory, and literary criticism) has helped to shape, influence, and articulate debates about gender, sexuality, and society in the past and how contemporary feminist writing is continuing to be part of that conversation now. You'll have the opportunity to read and analyse some of the most influential feminist literary texts and literary theory. Writers studied on the course may include Margaret Atwood, Henrik Ibsen, Angela Carter, Jean Rhys, Jeanette Winterson, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Ali Smith, Beyoncé, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. You'll study the ways in which feminist criticism and theory (including Kristeva, Cixous, bell hooks, Haraway, and Butler) has reshaped the canon, challenged the ways literature is taught as well as making us consider what literature can, might and ought to be. Feminism has also exacted different forms of writing and challenged dominant modes of representation. We will take a particularly close look at the relationship between feminism and the gothic, the short story, and experimental writing. Assessment will be by course work and project and you'll be assessed in both critical and creative modes. Students of all genders are equally welcome.

Is all creative writing really a form of re-writing? And can creative writing itself be a form of literary criticism? From Virgil's imperialist taming of Homer, to Helen Fielding's homage to Jane Austen by way of Bridget Jones, writers have always engaged their literary predecessors in ways that claim new imaginative and critical space. In this creative-critical module you will explore the many modes in which homage, parody, borrowing, repositioning, intervention and creative (mis)reading may be practised and developed. You will examine exciting examples, and write some of your own. You will discover what literary adaptations, adoptions and updatings reveal about important moments and movements in literary history. You will explore how re-writing may also be a rogue and subversive form of reading; one that functions both as critique of canonical literature, and a means of generating fresh directions in your own creative writing. NB this is not a technical course in film/screen adaptation.

You'll explore writing as a site of resistance and protest and consider representation itself as inherently political. Does this make the work of a reader radical, or how can that work be radicalised? Taking a lead from the thinking of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, you’ll ask what it means to write or speak a dominant language in such a way that it stutters or stammers? What would such writing or speaking look or sound like? Deleuze and Guattari suggest that minor literature (minoritarian form in general) takes a dominant, hegemonic, major language and forces it to ‘say’ something different, and to do so differently, dislocating (deterritorialising) it so that a new voice (speaking from a new constituency) can be heard. They use the works of Kafka, a Czech Jew writing in ‘official’ German, as a representative example of how a dominant, major language can be pressed into the service of a minor literature, as a way of inscribing new constituencies, while other critics have considered sub-cultures’ re-appropriation of language, post-colonial writing back, musical subgenres and alternative/underground cinema as also being iterations of minoritarian impulses. You’ll explore various aspects of writing or speaking back, writing against the grain, saying the things major language finds itself unable or uncomfortable to speak about, and articulating the unheard. Writers and texts might include Kathy Acker, William Burroughs, Elias Khoury, Dana Spiotta, Jennifer Egan, along with punk ‘zines, samizdat writing and manifestoes.

From Defoe’s True Relation of Mrs Veal’s posthumous visit to her friend Mrs Bargrave through the classic English ghost stories of MR James to the ghosts in the machine of modern media, the ghost, shade, revenant or spectre continues to haunt human imagination. Subtle shadings of the spectre materialise at different times, in different contexts – materialised reminder of unquiet remains; manifestation of memory or the unconscious; physiological disturbance; psychical stain. These undecidable and ambivalent presences, or uncanny sensations of hauntedness, will be explored in this module. Writers studied on the module might include Daniel Defoe, M.R. James, Henry James, Margaret Oliphant, May Sinclair and Susan Hill. The module will draw on studies mapping the development of the belief in ghosts (Sasha Handley’s Visions of an Unseen World) and exploring the cultural history (Andrew Smith’s The Ghost Story 1840 – 1920). It will also consider critical engagements, such as Jacques Derrida’s Specters of Marx and Jodey Castricano’s Cryptomimesis.

Where do debates in environmentalism, cultural geography and literary criticism meet? What does contemporary literature have to tell us about our relationship with space, place, landscape, nature, rurality, ecology, and even a ‘sense of planet?' You will encounter a range of post-war and contemporary forms, from poetry, short stories, the novel, and literary non-fiction to visual art, the radio essay, and film. Each will offer fresh and surprising ways of thinking about a range of different contemporary environments and about our place in a changing world. We will consider in what ways literary genres and traditions have helped to create and produce our understanding of geography in the past and how recent literary works have reworked some of these genres and traditions to mark contemporary changes. We will consider, for example, how authors since the environmental crisis have engaged with/inherited/reworked early modern chorography, the Romantic travelogue, the naturalist’s journal, and the rural essay. To what new ends are these forms put in an uncertain and unstable modern world? Among others, the course will explore work by Alice Oswald, Rana Dasgupta, Tim Robinson, Kathleen Jamie, Patrick Keiller, J.G. Ballard, and Robert Macfarlane. It will also include trips to investigate the nature writing holdings at UEA’s British Archive for Contemporary Writing. Assessment will give you the opportunity to, initially, create your own critical or creative radio essay/podcast (formative) and, later, develop a deeper knowledge of one of the week’s themes, building your own critical (or creative non-fiction) project around it (5,000 word summative). While there are no pre-requisites, this module complements and develops themes explored in ‘Writing the Wild’ and ‘Urban Visions: The City in Literature and Visual Culture.'

New Narrative began as a late 20th century creative rebellion. From its origins in 1970s punk, second-wave feminism and the gay rights movement, New Narrative writers explored and exploited the relationship between the personal and the political, gossip and literature, high and low art. It is the place where the tell-all memoir meets critical theory, and the place from which writers talked about their own desires and their own experiences in order to challenge the status quo. It is also a writing of friendship and coterie, a place to collaborate and to be influenced: many texts from the New Narrative movement were worked on in workshops that took place in the back rooms of bookshops or in each others’ apartments in San Francisco. Over the last 40 years, New Narrative has spawned generations of radical, experimental, genre-defying writers, from Kathy Acker to Chris Kraus to Maggie Nelson. You'll explore the major themes of New Narrative through reading key texts from the movement. You'll also explore the theoretical and cultural influences surrounding the movement. You will think carefully about the role of the writer in relation to the text, particularly the phenomenon of the ‘cult’ writer; you'll be encouraged to focus your critical studies on one particular New Narrative author in order to explore their life and legacy alongside their body of work. Finally, there will be opportunities to produce your own ‘freak’ and genre-defying texts.

‘It’s the end of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)’ —R.E.M. (1987) ‘The etymological root of the word apocalypse is the Greek apokalypsis, meaning “unveiling” or “uncovering”.’ —Rosen (2008) This module will explore the origins and development of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction by British writers from the nineteenth century to the present day, with a particular emphasis on late twentieth and twenty-first century writing. In this module you will consider how in apocalyptic fiction the moment of catastrophe is also a moment of truth-bearing revelation, an unveiling which brings with it the opportunity to make a fresh beginning. You will also examine the biblical narratives and other ancient stories that frequently underpin such fictions; reflect on what apocalypse means to us culturally; consider the way such fictions reflect the anxieties of the cultural moment in which they were written; and explore some of the major trends of apocalyptic fiction, such as eco-catastrophe, nuclear holocaust, pandemics, survivalism, apocalyptic visions, and technology gone wrong. You will also attend to the way such narratives frequently participate in the genres of dystopian and speculative fiction. The module will conclude by interrogating what apocalypse means to us today through the study of recent works of apocalyptic fiction. You will be encouraged to explore and discuss a range of associated literary criticism and theory. You will, in the second of the summative assessments, have the opportunity to write your own apocalyptic fiction with an accompanying critical reflection.

Do you want to become an efficient intercultural communicator in Business settings? This module will allow you to develop your intercultural competence in the workplace in order to become an efficient intercultural communicator. You will be taught several strategies to acquire intercultural competence, especially in business contexts and the workplace. You will apply theoretical approaches to intercultural communication in order to understand how to be successful in communication across cultures, and to solve intercultural conflicts in Business contexts. You will take part in classroom-based activities in pairs and small groups with students from other cultures. You will analyse case studies in which cultural clashes impact on different areas of business and management, such as marketing, human relations, and international negotiations. You will develop intercultural competence in different business and work-related contexts. You will be able to build intercultural understanding, the promotion of international business exchanges, and the facilitation of cross-cultural adaptation. You may also get some insight in how to develop cultural consultancy for businesses. You will be assessed at the end of the module by an essay.

In this advanced French language module, you will develop your comprehension and production skills to C1/C2 level of the Common European Framework for Modern Languages (CEFR). Not only will you learn to control your style and register and express yourself with confidence but you will develop skills that will allow you to persuade, argue, discuss and justify ideas effectively. You will be able to research your own cultural topic and work towards oral activities such as presentations and discussions, but also to build an extensive essay in French, allowing you to systematise critical, writing and presentation skills. Speaking activities will allow you to fully engage with current affairs of the French-speaking world.

Are you ready to take your French beyond the classroom? If you are interested in applying your French language and translation skills and your ability to analyse, comment, and summarise in specialised and professional situations, this module is for you. You'll be able to use all that you have learnt in French across the course by working on briefs, summaries, translations, and studies of materials that will include technical and professional material from local and international organisations. One component of this module will allow you to hone your translation and writing skills by, for example, translating specialised documents and producing reports in two languages. There will also be the opportunity to use your sense of enterprise and creativity on group projects. In this core module, you will continue to develop your receptive and productive skills to the level C1/C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). You’ll be able to understand complex and detailed audio documents such as meeting conversations or discussions on a specialised topic, and read and report on a range of written material. You will work on texts from a range of areas such as advertising, technology, or publishing, and will use your cultural knowledge and analytical skills to use those for module tasks. By the end of this module, you'll be able to express yourself confidently, clearly and professionally and will use your argumentative skills acquired in previous modules, to learn to negotiate and lead in your target language.

This module will develop your Spanish language skills at an advanced level. It fosters an understanding of various Spanish language features and develops critical cultural awareness. You’ll revisit specific components of grammar at a higher level, as well as problematic areas identified for improvement as well as learning academic writing skills. You’ll investigate and analyse the components that control the use of language when communicating in Spanish. The oral component of the module focuses on improving speaking and listening skills and widening vocabulary at a higher level. It is not suitable for native Spanish speaking visiting/exchange students. This module is conducted entirely in Spanish.

You will have the opportunity to develop your Spanish speaking, listening, reading and writing skills at an advanced level. You’ll develop higher level language skills further and you’ll acquire greater awareness of linguistic issues to aid inclusion and immersion in Spanish-speaking countries. You’ll explore the varieties of the Spanish language from a linguistic point of view and the variations of the Spanish language through the analysis and identification of extracts of spoken texts. The oral element of the module focuses on improving speaking and listening skills, whilst widening vocabulary. This module is conducted entirely in Spanish and is open to non-native Spanish speakers with near native competence in Spanish.

What do you know about Africa? Is it still the Dark Continent, lost outside of time, or do you see it as the next exciting ‘happening’ place to follow fashion, use FinTech, and do business? Did you know that Timbuktu was one of the world’s greatest centres of learning? That West Africa’s gold underpinned the global economy? How about if I told you that an explosion of megacities is taking place in the Global South, principally in Africa as the continent’s population doubles to 2bn? You will look at Africa’s place and importance within the international system and more, including exploring China’s One Belt Initiative in East Africa, the African Union and security, and the African Development Bank’s ‘High five’ development plan.

Although the term terrorism goes back to the French revolution, it was rarely employed until the 1970’s. Contrast this with today when terrorism, it seems, is everywhere we look: in foreign policy decisions, military interventions, homeland security measures, legal frameworks, newspaper headlines, speeches and sermons, films and video games, and, of course, in university modules such as this. In this module, we engage in a critical exploration of terrorism, counter-terrorism, and the academic field of terrorism research. You will explore the history of terrorism, and engage in debates around the definition and character of terrorist violence. Is it possible, necessary, or even desirable to separate terrorism from other forms of violence, for instance? The module will introduce different perspectives on the causes, types, and threat of non-state terrorism. You will examine a range of strategies for countering terrorism, and their political and normative implications. The module also explores the emergence and contribution of critical terrorism studies, examining issues including state terrorism, gender and terrorism, cultural representations of terrorism, and the production and influence of terrorism ‘experts.’

This module will introduce you to important themes in international relations within the Asia Pacific, at a time when the region has assumed great importance. There will be a particular focus on the important historical periods in the relations between the USA, China and Japan. An understanding of elements of the trajectory of these relationships will be provided by taking a selection of historical subjects for analysis. While you will address the knowledge of history, and of long-term themes, in the latter part of the module you will consider contemporary political issues. This will require you to develop an understanding of the interaction of the United States with Asia, and China and Japan in particular.

This module will introduce important themes in the American relationship with East Asia, at a time when the Pacific region has assumed great importance. There will be a particular focus on the important historical periods in the American relationship with China and Japan. An understanding of elements of the trajectory of these relationships will be provided by taking a selection of historical subjects for analysis. While this will address the knowledge of history, and of long-term themes, the latter part of the module will consider contemporary political issues. This will require an understanding of the interaction of the United States with Asia, and China and Japan in particular. This module is a 20-credit coursework-only version of POWER OVER THE PACIFIC: THE AMERICAN RELATIONSHIP WITH ASIA and is available only to Visiting, Exchange and Non-HUM Students.

You’ll address the politics of migration and citizenship. It will provide you with a background to political thought on citizenship, membership and belonging. You’ll then examine migration at the international, state and individual levels. The international level will focus on historical movements of people (such as from Europe and Asia towards the Americas) and contemporary flows of refugees and guest workers. The state level will look comparatively at immigration and emigration policies and critically assess the logic behind them. Attention will be given to different countries in various regions for comprehensive comparative evaluation. Different types of migration will be considered, including economic (such as non-immigrant and immigrant work visas), family (such as spousal and family reunification visas) and humanitarian (refugees, asylum seekers, and special humanitarian protections). The politics of these migration categories will be foregrounded, including governmental tactics of management, how they comply or fail to comply with international human rights norms, and the foreign policy implications of humanitarian visas. Finally the individual level will consider narrative accounts of migration in order to understand policy and practice from a bottom-up and experiential perspective. You’ll be encouraged to critically evaluate and analyse the politics of migration as manifest in the various policies and practices.

Understanding Britain's relationship with the European Union and how the EU works is important in many jobs at local, national and international levels in the public, private and third (community and voluntary) sectors. The EU has been an integral part of the structures of governance of the UK and arguably will continue to impact the UK’s political, social and cultural life after Brexit. This module will enable you to understand the complex relationship between Britain and the rest of the EU as we attempt to explain the ambivalence of the British towards European integration. We also track Britain’s changing policy from aloofness to eventual accession in 1973 and the development of a reputation as an ‘awkward partner’. The module culminates in the decision in 2016 to pursue ‘Brexit’ by examining its impact, management and the wider consequences.

Understanding Britain's relationship with the European Union and how the EU works is important in many jobs at local, national and international levels in the public, private and third (community and voluntary) sectors. The EU has been an integral part of the structures of governance of the UK and arguably will continue to impact the UK’s political, social and cultural life after Brexit. This module will enable you to understand the complex relationship between Britain and the rest of the EU as we attempt to explain the ambivalence of the British towards European integration. We also track Britain’s changing policy from aloofness to eventual accession in 1973 and the development of a reputation as and ‘awkward partner’. The module culminates in the decision in 2016 to pursue ‘Brexit’ by examining its impact, management and the wider consequences.

You’ll address the politics of migration and citizenship. It will provide you with a background to political thought on citizenship, membership and belonging. You’ll then examine migration at the international, state and individual levels. The international level will focus on historical movements of people (such as from Europe and Asia towards the Americas) and contemporary flows of refugees and guest workers. The state level will look comparatively at immigration and emigration policies and critically assess the logic behind them. Attention will be given to different countries in various regions for comprehensive comparative evaluation. Different types of migration will be considered, including economic (such as non-immigrant and immigrant work visas), family (such as spousal and family reunification visas) and humanitarian (refugees, asylum seekers, and special humanitarian protections). The politics of these migration categories will be foregrounded, including governmental tactics of management, how they comply or fail to comply with international human rights norms, and the foreign policy implications of humanitarian visas. Finally the individual level will consider narrative accounts of migration in order to understand policy and practice from a bottom-up and experiential perspective. You’ll be encouraged to critically evaluate and analyse the politics of migration as manifest in the various policies and practices.

In this module, you’ll develop skills in reading, writing speaking and listening at an advanced level to equip you to be a more sophisticated Japanese language user. Throughout the module you’ll read various genres of reading materials, develop your oral presentation skills with project work, and learn academic writing in Japanese. You’ll also deepen your knowledge of Japanese culture, people and society through these materials and works. On successful completion of the module, you’ll be able to produce clear, well-structured short and long written and oral works, critically read a wide-range of materials which will develop into discussions, and explain and express your own ideas/opinions clearly and effectively in Japanese. You’ll also be able to use feedback actively and reflect on your own work.

This module is offered as a continuation module of JAPANESE HONOURS LANGUAGE 3/I. In this module, you’ll continue to develop an advanced level of Japanese for all skills to a higher standard, especially in an academic context. Your main activities will comprise researching a chosen topic, including acquiring competence using archives in Japanese, predict and prepare for a Q&A session after an oral presentation, structuring oral and written work clearly and logically to produce a formal oral presentation (speech) and an academic essay in Japanese. On successful completion of the module, you’ll not only polish your Japanese language, but also be able to gain the skills to research various materials in Japanese and state your opinions and arguments effectively on a specialised and complex subject. You’ll be able to showcase your Japanese language as well as your research and analytical skills in Japanese in the final oral and written piece of work.

Japanese popular culture is now a global phenomenon. To understand how this came about, you will study the topic in terms of theories of social, economical, and historical analysis. You will learn about various cultural forms and practices, including manga/anime, media, art, and music in Japan, as seen from different perspectives. You will also discuss and critically analyse the role of Japanese popular culture within and outside of Japan. Your seminars will consist of three main parts: lectures, original audio/video materials, and group discussion or activities. Your contribution to weekly discussion/activities is essential. Lectures, reading materials, and assessments will all be in English. On successful completion of this module, you will have a good understanding of the main genres of Japanese popular culture, and be able to further explore your own interests, academically, in any form of Japanese popular culture.

Have you thought about becoming a language teacher? Do you know what that means? Would you like to give it a try? This is an introductory module to second language teaching and learning, where you will explore theoretical and practical approaches to language learning. You will learn what teaching a foreign language means through different methodologies and practical approaches, as well as understanding the peculiarities of both language and culture in second language acquisition, emphasizing factors like context, motivation, first language or individual characteristics. Participation will be in classroom-based activities, often working in pairs and groups exchanging ideas and supporting each other in your exploration of second language learning and teaching. You will be able to observe real language classrooms and deliver language teaching in real contexts, and also gain a greater understanding of what theoretical and practical aspects of teaching and learning are essential in foreign languages. Note: Taught together with Level 5. Assessment commensurate with level.

Popular culture links to politics in a variety of ways, some obvious, some less obvious. There are the politicians who seek the endorsement of film stars; there are the politicians who were film stars; and there are the rock performers who pretend that they are politicians. And then there are the states that censor popular culture, or those that sponsor it and use it as propaganda. We will explore the many ways in which popular culture and politics are linked. You will: - be introduced to competing theories of the politics of popular culture - those that see popular culture as political manipulation and those that see it as political resistance. - analyse examples of popular culture for the political ideas and values they represent. - look at how popular culture is used in political communication. - track developments in the political economy of popular culture, especially in relation to globalisation, digital media and power within the cultural industries. - debate the censorship of popular culture and use of state subsidies to promote it. - reflect on the effects of popular culture, and about its role in personal and collective identity.

Popular culture links to politics in a variety of ways, some obvious, some less obvious. There are the politicians who seek the endorsement of film stars; there are the politicians who were film stars; and there are the rock performers who pretend that they are politicians. And then there are the states that censor popular culture, or those that sponsor it and use it as propaganda. We will explore the many ways in which popular culture and politics are linked. You will: - be introduced to competing theories of the politics of popular culture - those that see popular culture as political manipulation and those that see it as political resistance. - analyse examples of popular culture for the political ideas and values they represent. - look at how popular culture is used in political communication. - track developments in the political economy of popular culture, especially in relation to globalisation, digital media and power within the cultural industries. - debate the censorship of popular culture and use of state subsidies to promote it. - reflect on the effects of popular culture, and about its role in personal and collective identity.

The role of public opinion is paramount in any democracy, as the public is often asked at election times and in-between elections to confer legitimacy to politicians and to their decisions. Yet what determines the public’s opinion? How much does the public know about politics? How does political communication influence the public’s positions? And last, but not least, how do we measure public opinion? You’ll discuss old and new directions in answering these questions, drawing on political psychology and communication theories. The module is well anchored in current politics, and will provide you with the tools to understand current public opinion trends in the UK and other democracies.

The role of public opinion is paramount in any democracy, as the public is often asked at election times and in-between elections to confer legitimacy to politicians and to their decisions. Yet what determines the public’s opinion? How much does the public know about politics? How does political communication influence the public’s positions? And last, but not least, how do we measure public opinion? You’ll discuss old and new directions in answering these questions, drawing on political psychology and communication theories. The module is well anchored in current politics, and will provide you with the tools to understand current public opinion trends in the UK and other democracies.

How do grassroots and third sector organisations campaign for social and political change? Rather than pose this as an abstract question, you will partner with existing organisations to conduct campaigns on specific issues such as climate change, tax avoidance or gender inequality. You will receive a brief from a partner organisation and be supported in planning, devising, and carrying out activities that will achieve the aims of the brief. Taught content will include strategies for both online and offline activism, analysing power relations at different scales, and ways of assessing the effectiveness of your campaigns, but the bulk of the module will be the experience of a “live” campaign. You will combine applied research skills with professional practice in the form of a “reverse internship.” As the partner organisations are embedded in the module, you will build valuable skills for employability as well as an opportunity for being supported in the exercise of engaged citizenship. You will be assessed by presentation and critical reflection. In the year 2017-2018 the partner organisation was Greenpeace, but partners may change each year.

Today's political world is more than ever influenced by digital technologies, from innovative social movements to 'fake news' and digital election campaigns. We will explore how the technologies influence political processes and how political processes in turn influence technology. We will examine the impact of digital media on electoral politics, examining key election campaigns (including recent UK and US elections) and the impact of social media, big data, and targeted advertising on their results. We will investigate how social movements (from Black Lives Matter to the Alt-Right) have been transformed through their use of digital networks. We will navigate the world of online politics, with a particular focus on the new culture wars being fought out in online environments. Finally we will explore the politics of the everyday, and the political effects of the technology platforms on which we live our online lives.

Today's political world is more than ever influenced by digital technologies, from innovative social movements to 'fake news' and digital election campaigns. We will explore how the technologies influence political processes and how political processes in turn influence technology. We will examine the impact of digital media on electoral politics, examining key election campaigns (including recent UK and US elections) and the impact of social media, big data, and targeted advertising on their results. We will investigate how social movements (from Black Lives Matter to the Alt-Right) have been transformed through their use of digital networks. We will navigate the world of online politics, with a particular focus on the new culture wars being fought out in online environments. Finally we will explore the politics of the everyday, and the political effects of the technology platforms on which we live our online lives.

How do grassroots and third sector organisations campaign for social and political change? Rather than pose this as an abstract question, you will partner with existing organisations to conduct campaigns on specific issues such as climate change, tax avoidance or gender inequality. You will receive a brief from a partner organisation and be supported in planning, devising, and carrying out activities that will achieve the aims of the brief. Taught content will include strategies for both online and offline activism, analysing power relations at different scales, and ways of assessing the effectiveness of your campaigns, but the bulk of this module will be the experience of a “live” campaign. You will combine applied research skills with professional practice in the form of a “reverse internship.” As the partner organisations are embedded in the module, you will build valuable skills for employability as well as an opportunity for being supported in the exercise of engaged citizenship. You will be assessed by presentation and critical reflection. In the year 2017-2018 the partner organisation was Greenpeace, but partners may change each year.

What is it like to translate for the real world to professional standards? Translation Work Experience is your chance to find out. The module is part of the PPL Professional Practice scheme and builds on partnership with public services locally and abroad to give you the opportunity to develop first-hand experience of professional translation (e.g. translation from, and into English, of information for local museums or museums in France, Japan or Spain). The work for the module is based on authentic briefs and carried out in groups with other home and visiting students or individually depending on assignments. It is very practical: it promotes hands-on sensitisation to aspects of professional commercial translation, to problems involved in translating to specifications, producing and presenting a product of professional standard, to techniques of translation and to the use of reference materials and support resources. You will hone your analytical and linguistic skills, and develop a range of key practical skills, including research skills, project and time management, reflective and review skills, peer and self-assessment. Assessment is by a variety of means, including translation and a critical report for which formative oral reports throughout the semester serve as a platform. As a record of your experience and of the skills developed, the report doubles up as evidence of your achievements for job applications and interviews. On completion of the module you are awarded a Professional Practice Certificate, also key evidence to further career prospects. The module is open subject to availability of briefs - a back-up module choice is essential. One hour per week timetabled. Other commitments including tutorials to be arranged. This module is only available to students on Honours language programmes or to PPL visiting students.

We will consider the processes of translation and adaptation in a range of media, such as films, games, and theatre, and the issues associated with them from the perspective of ‘Translation Theory.’ We will attempt to establish where the boundary lies between the terms ‘translation’ and ‘adaptation,’ and we will examine some of the most important theories of translation. You will look at various ways of thinking about key concepts such as ‘cultural and pragmatic equivalence,’ ‘fidelity,’ ‘coherence/cohesion,’ and the ethical role of the director/adaptor. You will devote your time to the exploration of types of adaptations in different genres, and you will present case studies from recent articles in a variety of adaptations in your language pair, such as adaptations for cross-cultural theatre, adapting from books to video games, cross-cultural adaptations of queerness in short stories, ideology, and children’s stories adapted for films across languages and cultures. You will develop the linguistic skills, cultural competence and critical thinking required for the production of a case study of a selected adaptation in your language pair. On completion of this module, you will be able to situate yourself in relation to critical readings in the field of ‘Translation Theory’ and to reflect on the ethical dimension of the translator, especially as it relates to the act of adapting in situations of intercultural conflict and communication. This module is only available to students with a foreign language.

This is an advanced course based on the 'Institute of Linguists’ Diploma in Translation. Together, we will translate a wide range texts from French to English, from journalistic to literary and become familiar with a range of techniques and terminology applied to translation. You will develop your translation skills and improve your ability to understand and justify your translation choices by means of annotations. On completion of this module, you will have developed the linguistic skills, cultural competence, and critical thinking required for the production of an annotated advanced translation from French to English.

Ever wondered what it would be like to interpret at conferences? If you're a final year student of French, Japanese or Spanish, whether you’ve had prior interpreting training or are completely new to it, you can take this module. It provides an introduction to the skills, practices and contexts of conference interpreting. You will gain experience of using core conference interpreting techniques, such as active listening, memorising, note-taking and re-expressing ideas in your language pairs, in both consecutive and simultaneous interpreting modes. You will work with texts, audio and video materials on current international social and political issues. This module will also equip you with transferable skills in demand in the professional world, such as research, presentation and public speaking skills, and is a great confidence builder. You need to be a native speaker of at least one of the working languages (English, French, Japanese or Spanish). Every week you will attend a general seminar for all interpreting students and a language-specific seminar. In your assessment, you will interpret into your native language. You also have the opportunity to further develop and consolidate your interpreting skills in the Introduction to Public Service Interpreting module offered in the spring semester. These modules provide an ideal grounding for progression to an MA in Interpreting and are of particular interest to visiting students.

A module to increase your translation skills with specialised texts of various types. Do you want to be able to translate scientific-technical, journalistic and literary texts from Spanish into English and from English into Spanish? This module will give you the chance to practice your translation skills. You will: - translate different types of texts such as economic, journalistic, scientific, literary and technical texts. - participate in classroom-based activities, often working in pairs and small groups with native and non-native students of Spanish and English. - have a seminar with translation from English into Spanish and a seminar with translation from Spanish into English. - expand your vocabulary, practice your written comprehension and production and develop your translation skills with specialised texts. Assessment will be in the final weeks through two translation tests (Spanish into English and English into Spanish). By the end of the module you will be able to translate specialised texts from a range of genres (journalistic, scientific-technical, literary, etc.), and be able to translate texts from English into Spanish and from Spanish into English. This module is open to students in their final year of Spanish Degree programmes, second year students with (near-)native competence and visiting/exchange students.

What factors need to be born in mind when creating subtitles? What tools are used to create these texts? This module provides first-hand experience of subtitling and dubbing of film clips and documentaries, which will provide you with first hand, practical, experience of this important media technique. You’ll become familiar with software used for interlingual and intralingual subtitling and dubbing at professional level, studying the linguistic and technical constraints for the creation of audio-visual texts. You’ll undertake practical exercises involving cueing, text compression and segmentation, respecting time and space constraints and that will teach you how to conform the conventions of good practice. You’ll explore, analyse and assess different types of technological tools used for audio-visual translation at professional and amateur levels, using selected film/TV series/documentary extracts in several languages. Practical activities are used creating challenges posed by the interplay of audio, image and text. Studying this module will provide you with the necessary skills for the creation of subtitles at a professional level, giving you practical experience of using professional software. Taught together with Level 5. Assessment commensurate with level.

If you’ve never interpreted, but are intrigued about what it entails, and think you may just have what it takes, then this module may be for you. You will learn how to develop the key skills : linguistic fluency, but also self-assertiveness, cultural awareness, ability to adapt voice, register and tone, and interpersonal skills. Public service interpreting (also called community interpreting) is, as the name suggests, a person-centred activity. It will appeal to those of you wanting to place your skills as linguists at the service of others, be they patients in a hospital, suspects or victims interviewed by the police, or witnesses appearing in courts; asylum seekers as well as tourists. You will explore areas that you might not otherwise have got to study, such as police procedures, mental health and diabetes. You will learn how to interpret consecutively and simultaneously, improve your memory and note-taking skills, and translate a written document orally. This module will involve visiting the N&N Hospital for joint training with junior doctors, collaborating with Law students on preparing an interview with a solicitor, and work with Drama students on acting skills. Further down the line, careers in international organisations, including humanitarian work, are open to you as well as work in the UK. No previous experience of interpreting required. Note that this is one of only a handful of undergraduate interpreting modules in this country. Teaching will be partly generic within a group of students studying different languages, partly language-specific with a lecturer in French, Japanese or Spanish. Visiting students are most welcome and their presence is highly valued. It is essential that you are at native speaker level in at least one of the following languages: English, Spanish, French or Japanese.

Have you thought about how communication works when we need to get our message across in more than one language, or to reach more than one culture? For a start, we need to be aware of how people from different cultures might communicate in different ways, and also how our different languages might help or hinder us to do that. Whether you’re a student of language, communication or any subject where you might have an interest in issues associated with the globalisation of communication and the media, then this module will be relevant to you. We will consider a range of materials (texts and their translations, multilingual publications and packaging, film subtitles, dubbed soundtracks, IT-mediated text) to explore issues involved in the transposition and translation of (spoken and written) text into other media and other languages across different genres. Practical tasks give you insights into the full breadth of issues and processes involved in successfully moving messages between cultures. We aim to bring together students and staff from different linguistic backgrounds, and you are encouraged to extend your thinking to other languages you may know and to share examples with the wider group. You will be taught, and assessed, in English, but you will need receptive knowledge of one other language in addition to English in order to benefit from this module.

Ever thought of becoming a professional translator? We will examine some of the most important theories of translation, and explore how they can help (or hinder) the translator by shedding light on the effects of cross-linguistic and intercultural transfer of meaning. You will look at various ways of thinking about key concepts such as ‘equivalence,’ ‘fidelity,’ ‘cultural and pragmatic equivalence,’ and the ethical and political role of the translator; we will also take a comparative approach to the structure and functioning of texts in different language-cultures, exploring problems such as cohesion and coherence, explicitation, gendered language, implied meaning, and ideology. In the practical component of the module (50% of the overall assessment), you will translate a text of your own choice into your first language (2000 words). You will be assigned to an appropriate language supervisor who will be available to discuss your progress. On completion of this module, you will be able to adopt reflective and critical translation strategies appropriate to your own translating practice. You will be able to situate yourself in relation to critical readings in the field of ‘Translation Studies’ and, perhaps most importantly, to reflect on the ethical dimension of the translator as agent especially as it relates to the act of translation and interpreting in situations of conflict and intercultural communication.

You will be introduced to the study and practice of the translation of English into Japanese, and vice versa. The materials for you to translate will include a range of texts from different media, from general to semi-specialised content. Some of the areas you will investigate include specific Japanese features in translation, targeted audiences, and cultural implications of translation. You will also discuss your own and other people’s translation choices and be given an insight into professional practices and aspects of the translation industry. By the end of the module, you will have good translation skills and a good understanding of language specific issues, which will allow you to develop your language proficiency to a higher level.

What tools are used for audiences with sensory impairments, both visual and/or hearing to help them access films, documentaries, TV series, etc? This module provides first-hand experience of the technical tools used to create this type of audio-visual text. You will learn the specific requirements and theoretical characteristics and become aware of the grammatical and syntactical features of the language used for subtitling for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (SDH) and audio description (AD). You’ll explore and become skilled in the use of software used for media accessibility: professional subtitling software is used for pre-recorded subtitles as well as software for live subtitles (voice recognition). You’ll develop subtitling and audio description skills in a variety of registers and styles, translating programs from various sources (films, corporate videos, documentaries) and covering a broad range of specialised genres and media issues. The module is taught and all activities as part of the module are carried out in English. In addition, reflection on the practice of media accessibility in other languages will be encouraged and used as a key element for discussion in the module. The study of this module will provide you with the necessary skills for the creation of subtitles at professional level. Taught together with Level 5. Assessment commensurate with level.

The nature of Capitalism and its possible futures is one of the preeminent issues of our time. You'll consider the past, present and possible future development of capitalism as a socio-economic system. Drawing upon a wide range of classical and contemporary theorists of capitalism, you’ll deliberate capitalism in relation to a range of issues, such as: freedom, urbanisation, imperialism, technology, climate change, art and culture and go on to consider capitalism’s tendency towards recurrent crises, and what the alternatives to a capitalist system might be. The module will enable you to develop a critical understanding of capitalism as a political, economic and cultural system.

The nature of Capitalism and its possible futures is one of the preeminent issues of our time. This module considers the past, present and possible future development of capitalism as a socio-economic system. Drawing upon a wide range of classical and contemporary theorists of capitalism, we consider capitalism in relation to a range of issues, such as: freedom, urbanisation, imperialism, technology, climate change, art and culture. we go on to consider capitalism’s tendency towards recurrent crises, and what the alternatives to a capitalist system might be. The module will enable you to develop a critical understanding of capitalism as a political, economic and cultural system. This module is a 20 credit version of PPLX6081B Capitalism and its Critics. THIS 20 CREDIT VERSION IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO VISITING, EXCHANGE AND NON-HUM STUDENTS.

Want to know how the UK parliament really works? UEA is one of few universities to provide an official module in collaboration with the UK parliament. Taught in collaboration with Parliamentary staff— it offers advanced students first-hand knowledge of the way legislative and political institutions work. Along with providing a rigorous theoretical background, the module would provide students with an opportunity to discuss issues such as legislation, relations with the EU, political reforms, and parliamentary scrutiny with Members of Parliament and Parliamentary Staff, both in the classroom and in Parliament. The module would examine parliament from multiple perspectives: legal, institutional, and ideological, and places the British Parliament in the context of legislative institutions around the world.