This module invites you to explore issues that matter to you and your community. Together, we will learn how communities can move from the world as it is now to the world we would like it to be. You will discover the principles of community organising and how collective action can create positive change that no one could achieve alone.
This module invites you to reflect on your own experiences of race and racism and explore how identity shapes our understanding of the world. Together, we will examine historical and contemporary perspectives, influential thinkers, anti-racist activists, and the theories and models that underpin race and racism in the UK and globally. You will work collaboratively to understand anti-racist practices and develop the skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to challenge structural discrimination and inequalities.
You will:
By the end of the module, you'll strengthen your abilities to:
Childhood is a time of growth and development, and how society views children is shaped by context. This interdisciplinary Ruskin Module gives you a clear space to examine childhood as a construct rooted in historical and cultural norms. You will test your assumptions about development, inclusion, rights, and voice. You'll ask direct questions such as: What rights should children have? Should children’s voices sit alongside adults’ in a democracy? How do we balance protection with participation?
You'll work with theories and case studies from philosophy, sociology, history, literature, the arts, and geography to analyse these questions. You are invited to bring international perspectives to the debate.
We will also consider practical ways children and young people learn and are empowered inside and outside school. Examples include the arts, media, cultural sites, science and technology, sports, activism, and volunteering. You will reflect on your own experience and disciplinary background to consider how talents and interests are nurtured in a society that recognises children’s agency.
If you wish, you can include creative practice (for example, drawing, presenting, or video making) when you present your case study. This is encouraged and supported.
Beliefs shape how we see the world and how we act at university, at work, and in our communities. This Ruskin Module gives you a structured space to examine your own worldview and to understand how other people’s beliefs influence real decisions.
You will work with students from different courses to analyse real life issues through multiple lenses, including sociology, law, biology, and medicine. The focus is practical. You will look at how belief affects behaviour, policy, professional judgement, and everyday choices. The aim is not agreement. It is clear thinking, respectful dialogue, and better decision making.
You will take part in guided, outcome focused activities:
Discussions are purposeful and supported. You will know the task, the expected output, and how each activity connects to assessment.
You will develop:
As students, the internet shapes almost every part of your daily life, how you learn, socialise, shop, organise, and express yourselves. But the same technologies that make life easier also introduce complex risks and responsibilities. This module asks what it truly means to build a safe, inclusive, and sustainable digital future. Together, we explore online threats such as cybercrime, misinformation, surveillance, and harms affecting children and young people, and examine how governments, scientists, and technology companies attempt to address them. Drawing on different disciplines as well as encouraging you to bring insights from your own subject area, we investigate how digital regulation interacts with core rights such as privacy, autonomy, and freedom of expression. We also look critically at the influence of major tech companies and how their power shapes online behaviour and democratic accountability.
In this module, you will explore the biggest online risks people face today and examine how the internet is monitored, governed, and regulated. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, you will draw on perspectives from law, media, sociology, business, and technology to understand what makes digital spaces safer, more responsible, and more sustainable. You will also develop the skills to reflect critically on your own online habits and to recognise the specific online safety needs of your academic discipline and future profession.
You will gain practical, transferable skills in critical analysis, digital literacy, and risk assessment. Working in groups with students from a range of disciplines, you will learn to evaluate and reflect on your own online behaviours, identify vulnerabilities, and apply evidence-based strategies to address real-world digital safety challenges. You will also develop creative communication skills by designing impactful online posters for awareness and prevention campaigns, learning how to present complex ideas clearly and effectively to diverse audiences.
Games and play can help us examine wider societal issues. This is a non-technical module, instead the focus is on design, ideas and critical analysis of games and play. Feel like games don’t represent you? Do they focus on themes or topics that don’t feel relevant to you? This is your chance to either critically analyse a game or pitch your idea for a game addressing an issue or topic important to you. Within taught sessions we will investigate topics including education, politics, identity and more via interactive lectures and game play seminars.
Each session has two parts:
These skills strengthen analysis, creativity, and communication that transfer to many roles.
This module invites you to explore feminism in the 21st century through multiple lenses, including Media and Cultural Studies, Film, Gender Studies, History, Fashion, Sociology, Philosophy, and Education. You will engage with ideas that shape contemporary debates and discover how feminism connects to everyday life and global culture.
You will:
On this module, we will sometimes discuss sensitive topics. You may find it beneficial to be aware of this in advance. This module values diverse perspectives and encourages open-minded discussion. Some topics may be sensitive, including, but not limited to, sexual and gender-based violence, misogyny, racism, transphobia, and diet culture. We approach these conversations with an open mind, care and respect, creating a space where everyone can learn and contribute.
The module has three key elements:
You will develop skills in:
The present module delves into the multifaceted dimensions of modern-day slavery, providing a comprehensive examination of its historical roots, contemporary manifestations, and global efforts aimed at eradicating this egregious violation of human rights. Drawing upon interdisciplinary perspectives, the course will critically analyse the socio-economic, political, and cultural factors contributing to the persistence of modern slavery in the 21st century.
You will engage in critical discussions, case analyses, and research projects to develop a nuanced understanding of modern-day slavery and contribute to the ongoing discourse on its eradication.
You will develop knowledge and understanding of what slavery is (including the difference between slavery and modern-day slavery), its history and its legacies.
You will also develop critical knowledge of the relationship between slavery, human trafficking, and exploitation and will be able to identify and explain issues arising in the context of human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
You will improve your critical thinking, judgment and analysis concerning the main existing typologies of slavery and its grey areas and will critically reflect on the limitations of a single discipline to solve wider societal concerns by applying knowledge created through the discovery and exploitation of connections across disciplines.
Through the preparation of the collaborative research project and group presentation, you will develop the ability to work in a team, research skills, and public speaking.
We live in a complex world shaped by digital tools, social media, and the free availability of AI. People with power and technical know how can and do manipulate information. This Ruskin Module gives you the critical, reflective, and analytical tools to judge what is trustworthy and to spot when someone is trying to influence you for their own gain. History shows that individuals are often leveraged and exploited by those who seek advantage. As Lord Acton put it, “Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
You will be guided by experienced ARU staff to take an interdisciplinary look at what trust means for different groups. You will compare examples, such as whether a skydiver’s trust in a parachute is the same as a patient’s or doctor’s trust in a drug’s efficacy.
You will examine risk and reward, research perspectives from different paradigms, and how trust is gained and broken. Working online with others, you will broaden your horizons through discussion and shared experience. You will also consider how society moved from belief based trust systems to evidence based ones, and how some contexts now allow riskier strategies, particularly in business, to drive progress.
At times the work is philosophical and reflective. At other times it is pragmatic and rational. You will also look at how AI and sustainability are changing how we live in the Third Millennium.
All of this is grounded in you. You will focus on making better decisions and judging trust more quickly and consistently. You will review common red flags in scams, hoaxes, and toxic situations, and where to go to get the facts.
This module teaches you two core things.