In your first year you'll study with our partner, ARU College. This module will provide you with the necessary skills to begin studying at level 4 in courses related to the humanities, social sciences, English, media and education. You will be introduced to the core skills necessary to succeed in higher education, including thinking critically, researching, and referencing appropriately, demonstrating appropriate numeracy and ICT skills, and communicating effectively verbally and in writing. In addition to these fundamental study skills, you'll be given an introduction to a broad range of disciplines whose skills and theories are widely applicable. You will study a variety of writing styles in order to recognise, deconstruct and replicate various forms of persuasive, analytical, and informative writing. You'll learn the basics of intercultural studies and how these theories can be applied to real-world problems. You will consider social perceptions held across Western cultures, and the difference between social and self-perception, participating in structured discussion and argument. You'll be introduced to the core principles of psychology and will explore various current applications of psychological theory. You will also be introduced to ethics and learn about some of the key theories and thinkers in the development of current ethical considerations in a range of scenarios. This module is made up of the following eight constituent elements: Interactive Learning Skills and Communication (ILSC); Information Communication Technology (ICT); Critical Thinking; Intercultural Studies; Psychology; Composition and Style; Ethics; Social Perceptions.
This module on Happiness and the Good life in the Ancient Greek World introduces the ideas of important Western philosophers, from Socrates, through Plato and Aristotle, to the Stoics and other Hellenistic thinkers. Our focus will allow us to think about ethical issues that are as relevant today as they were in ancient Greece and Rome. How should we live? How should we relate to others? Should we focus on developing certain kinds of skill or knowledge, or aim to become a ‘whole person’? The module will also introduce the wider historical and cultural context in which such debates developed, and link them to other key ideas, such as the nature of reality, the philosophy of the emotions, and theories about politics and society as well as the nature of the individual. Through studying this module, you'll develop the ability to learn independently and also work as a team. You'll have the opportunity to develop verbal communicative skills in creating presentations and the use of group homework questions and class debates will enhance your capacity to build rapport and work collaboratively. You'll be encouraged to apply topics from ancient philosophy to issues in contemporary culture, to build your awareness of resources for social and emotional resilience.
View the full module definitionThis module provides an introduction to the study of Philosophy at degree level, and encourages you to explore some of the ‘big’ questions: the existence of God; the nature of knowledge; the nature of time; the nature of the self; free will; the mind, and the nature of ethical deliberation. You'll be actively involved in discussing and debating some of the key arguments about these questions through the study of contemporary philosophical work in this area. You'll also develop some key degree-level skills. These skills include: a) learning about the structure and ‘logic’ of argumentation (critical thinking); b) learning about how to engage in independent and reliable research (working in the knowledge economy) and c) learning how to structure and prepare essays and assignments (content curation). There will be corresponding interactive workshops to help structure and develop your skills in these areas. You'll get the opportunity to develop your writing and presentational skills, as well as gaining knowledge and understanding of the foundational issues in contemporary philosophy. This module will help you to become adaptable, flexible and analytical in your thinking, and to strengthen skills in developing creative approaches to problems.
View the full module definitionWhat would an ideal society look like? Do we need a notion of a state at all? In studying this module, we'll be examining foundational issues of contemporary political discourse and key debates of relevance today, and you'll be encouraged to build up your own idea of what an ideal society would be like. Questions discussed on the module include: the idea of a state; the nature and legitimacy of democracy; the scope and limits of liberty; the nature of rights; the morality of the free market and capitalism; structures of power and oppression, and, finally, questions regarding our duties to people in other countries, and also to the environment as a whole. This module will equip you with an understanding of contemporary debates within political theory, encouraging you to see the global relevance and future implications of the issues being discussed. You'll also develop your skills in critical analysis, the ability to select and compare sources of information, and you'll work as a team to create reports and presentations. We'll also support you to become confident in presenting your ideas in a professional way. As well as weekly active learning sessions, your learning is scaffolded by a set of structured tasks, readings, and podcasts available via Canvas.
View the full module definitionThis module takes a global and world-historical view of belief systems and values, in order to illuminate our own contemporary ideas about life and death, justice, and morality, in new ways. We begin with philosophy in Ancient China, before turning to Indian philosophy, especially Hinduism and Buddhism. Next we examine Judaism, before examining Christianity and Islam, the other two monotheistic world religions. Throughout we will be comparing and contrasting the moral and metaphysical systems in East and West and, along the way, reflecting on the importance, value and nature of comparative philosophy within an interconnected world. You will develop a sound understanding of the development of religion and philosophy in the Far East, as well of the essential features of Judaic, Christian and Islamic medieval philosophy. Linked workshops will allow for further exploration of ideas and questions concerning the meanings of life, inspired by the main module themes, and will also form the basis for a practical project management assessment which will take place at Level 5. The workshops will also allow us to examine the history of these key ideas through material objects. We will visit local museums to enhance our understanding of the link between beliefs and values and practical everyday life concerns (field trip free of charge). This module emphasizes the development of cultural and intercultural awareness, together with strong communication and presentation skills. Group homework questions and class debates will enhance your capacity for teamwork. The comparative approach will build your capacity to be open, empathic, global citizens and the knowledge base of world philosophies is an advantage for possible future careers in teaching, for example.
View the full module definitionEntering higher education is exciting; but it can also be a daunting experience. At ARU, we want all our students to make the most of the opportunities higher education provides, reach your potential, become lifelong learners and find fulfilling careers. However, we appreciate that the shift from secondary education, or a return to formal education is, in itself, quite a journey. This module is designed to ease that transition. You'll be enrolled on it as soon as you receive an offer from ARU so you can begin to learn about university life before your course starts. Through Into ARU, you'll explore a virtual land modelled around ARU values: Courage, Innovation, Community, Integrity, Responsibility, and Ambition. This innovative module is designed as a game, where you collect knowledge and complete mini tasks. You'll proceed at your own pace, though we you to have completed your Into ARU exploration by week 6. If for any reason you're unable to complete by that date, we'll signpost to existing services so that we can be confident that you are supported.
View the full module definitionThis module offers complementary approaches to the topic of ethics, one theoretical and one practical. In the theoretical part, we will explore normative and metaethics, including Kant's ethics and utilitarianism. Questions raised will be about the role of the emotions within moral decision-making, and particularly the importance of empathy and compassion for moral awareness. We will also be reflecting on the relationship between religion and morality and whether animals can be said to have moral value or, indeed, be themselves capable of moral behaviour. In the practical part, you will have the opportunity to reflect on the way such theoretical discussions can have real-world application. Topics covered may include animal rights, environmental ethics, or the ethics of body and identity (including topics such as the beginning and end of life, reproductive technologies, or sexualities). Group-work and class debates will also enhance teamworking skills. Presentations will help you development your communication skills, and a peer-led question and answer session after each presentation will help to develop your ability to seek and act on constructive criticism by incorporating the feedback into your written report. The module as a whole will help your development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
View the full module definitionThis module examines ethical issues arising in areas such as healthcare, criminal and international law, and the environment. We'll be debating questions such as: 'Should assisted dying be legalised?', 'What are the arguments for and against abortion?', 'Is a patient's autonomy more important than their welfare?' In the area of law, we'll be debating the justification for criminal punishment, the ethics of war and peace, the philosophy of sex and gender, and whether we have a duty to give to charity, amongst other things. In relation to the environment and non-human world, we will interrogate recent work on animal rights and the politics of animal ethics, including debates about the morality of human intervention to stop predation and the concept of animal citizenship. Through this module you'll develop critical thinking, employability, and problem-solving skills. You'll enhance your teamworking and communication skills through group-work, class debates, and presentations. Peer-led question and answer sessions after each presentation will help to develop your ability to seek and act on constructive criticism. The Live Brief element, co-designed with a professional external partner, will help you evidence the practical application of your learning in a work context.
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Ruskin Modules are a great opportunity to explore challenges and ideas outside your area of study. Working with students from a range of courses, you'll be supported to create meaningful connections across disciplines, and apply new knowledge to tackle complex problems and key challenges. Ruskin Modules are designed to grow your confidence, realise your potential and help you prepare for the world of work.
This module introduces you to the philosophies of the three major figures of the Rationalist movement: Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz, as well as looking at how those ideas interacted with the less well-known work of women philosophers in the 17th Century (Margaret Cavendish, Elisabeth of Bohemia, and Anne Conway). The module will look at some of the fundamental philosophical questions that arise in the early modern era, and continue to be of relevance today: the nature and scope of human knowledge; the relation between matter and mind; the nature of God; and the possibility of freedom of the will and ethical responsibility in the face of an apparently mechanistic universe. Together with the companion module Kant and The Empiricists, this module will provide you with a comprehensive overview of the key figures and ideas in Early Modern Philosophy, one of the most vibrant and important periods in the history of philosophy, which lays the groundwork for much of the science, philosophy and intellectual thought of today. This module has been designed to further support you in developing skills in understanding and critically analysing complex ideas, clearly presenting those ideas and analyses in both oral discussion and writing, and providing creative solutions to complex problems. The module will allow you to further develop skills of scholarly research and working to a deadline. Introducing the work of women philosophers who are less well-known in traditional philosophical circles will also develop your historical and cultural awareness and broaden the context of debates of this period.
View the full module definitionBuilding on work you have done at Level 4, this Level 5 module examines ways of thinking about the social that are ‘critical’ in that they, in a variety of ways, challenge or decentre taken-for-granted assumptions and structures. In doing so, it will consider the ways in which knowledge of the social world is itself political. The module will show you how social theory can be both challenging and useful. The module is organised around four themes: Bourdieu and beyond: knowledge, culture, and the reproduction of inequalities; Intersectional approaches to social divisions; Humanity 2.0? Self, embodiment, and enhancement; and Reassembling the social: encompassing non-human actors. You'll develop your understanding and confidence of theories through close reading of primary texts. In the latter stages of the module, you'll have opportunities to apply the concepts and approaches we have learnt to real world issues in a series of theory mapping workshops.
View the full module definitionKnowledge of a foreign language can be a major asset both in your academic and professional life. The Anglia Language Programme offers you the opportunity to study a foreign language as part of your course.
This module is an introduction to foundational issue in the Philosophy of Mind. We will discuss three key features of the mind – consciousness, rationality and intentionality – and we will try to understand how and whether these features can have a place in the natural world. Is the mind just the final barrier to a scientific understanding of the world, or is it something that will forever remain outside such an understanding? The module has three parts: In the first part you will look at the major contemporary theories about the nature of the mind, including Dualism, Behaviourism, Functionalism, Eliminative Materialism and the Extended Mind Thesis. In the second part you will look specifically at the problem of consciousness – discussing puzzles such as Mary's Room and Philosophical Zombies. In the final part of the course we will look at specific areas of contemporary interest including Perception, Social Cognition, and Animal Cognition. The module is highly interactive, encouraging you to develop a self-generated understanding of the philosophical issues that surround the relation between the mind and the brain. Working together in teams you will a) co-create your own imaginative and creative ‘thought-experiments’ to illustrate key philosophical issues and problems; b) be supported to develop self-managed research, looking at how the philosophical issues relate to empirical and practical evidence within Cognitive Science, Psychology or Medicine; c) explore how the topics discussed might have practical relevance to issues of mental health and mental illnesses.
View the full module definitionIn this module you'll consider how spirituality and religion have diversified and changed in a globalised society, and explore changing patterns of belief, practice and association. You'll have the opportunity to investigate aspects of spirituality, such as mindfulness and meditation, and new personal rituals, such as fixing ‘love locks’ on Paris bridges, or setting up roadside memorials. You'll explore how traditional religions have adapted and changed in a more’ liquid’ society, for example, by going online; but also how some religious groups have reacted against globalisation. And you'll discover new secular forms of belief and practice and learn about the rise of people identifying as of ‘no religion’. You'll look at how sociologists have historically examined religious beliefs, practices, movements and institutions in order to understand more about the implications of these for individuals, societies and communities. But you'll also learn how as contemporary sociologists we can continue to explore and understand the cultural and political significance of religion and spirituality and their interaction with secular world-views within the context of globalisation. You'll have the opportunity to undertake structured skill development in presentation and debate, and in written analysis. These skills contribute to future employability skills and relate to other outcomes on your degree. This module is taught by interactive sessions and may include visits to places of spirituality and/or religion, such as mosques, churches and meditation centres.
View the full module definitionThis module gives you the opportunity to undertake valuable and rewarding learning and career development opportunity. The School of Humanities and Social Sciences Professional Placement module provides you with the chance to embark on a work placement, where you can gain important skills and experiences which will support your career planning and your personal development. This module supports you to explore your career aspirations and opportunities, immerse yourself in a work environment, and then critically reflecting on the experience. The module requires you to independently research, select, and secure a work placement where you can apply the knowledge and skills from your degree to-date. You'll commit to a regular schedule of work, and regularly reflecting on the experience through a Placement Diary. At the end of the placement, you'll reflect and evaluate your work experience, and your own career goals. You'll be supported throughout your work placement by academic staff, as well as guidance from the Placements/ Employability and Careers team. The Professional Placement module is a great opportunity to explore your graduate career options, enhance your CV, develop your career plans, and put your degree skills and knowledge to work.
The Anglia Language Programme gives you the opportunity to study a foreign language as part of your modular programme. You'll be taking one language module in the second semester of your first year in order to experience the learning of a new language. It's important that you select a language you've never learnt before. The languages offered are: Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish.
The individual final Major Project module allows you to engage in a substantial piece of individual research, focused on a topic relevant to your specific discipline. Normally the topic will be agreed in consultation with academic staff and an appropriate supervisor will be appointed to supervise you in your chosen topic. The topic may also be drawn from a variety of sources including: Anglia Ruskin research groups, previous or current work experience, the company in which you are currently employed, or a professional subject of specific interest (if suitable supervision is available). The project topic will be assessed for suitability to ensure sufficient academic challenge and satisfactory supervision by an academic member of staff. The chosen topic will require you to identify and formulate problems and issues, conduct literature reviews, evaluate information, investigate and adopt suitable development methodologies, determine solutions, develop software and/or media artefacts as appropriate, process data, critically appraise and present your findings. Regular meetings with the project supervisor and or/group workshops should take place, so that the project is closely monitored and steered in the right direction. The assessment will normally include a substantial written report, including a bibliography, and a Personal Development Plan, including an up-to-date CV. This module involves secondary research only and does not require primary data generation. You will be required to carry out a literature review using publicly available documents. Any use of the internet is limited to searching for publicly available documents only. This module is exempt from the full ethical approval process in accordance with section 6 of the Academic Regulations (aru.ac.uk/academicregs).
View the full module definitionThis module will help you understand and compare different philosophical approaches to the problem of knowledge (how can we be sure that we know anything) by looking at how they deal with the foundational philosophical topic of Scepticism. You will see how Scepticism arises throughout the history of thought, from the Ancient Greeks to the present day, and how it shapes whole philosophical systems and world-views, often taking hold at times of great philosophical and political change. Beginning with scepticism in ancient philosophy, and then in its rediscovery in the 16th/17th Centuries we look at how different philosophical schools of thought attempted to answer the problem of scepticism. We will discuss scepticism in relation to empiricism; common sense; scientific naturalism; Wittgenstein’s therapeutic method of philosophy; the philosophy of mind; and the philosophy of language. We will also consider the re-emergence of the challenge of scepticism in relation to contemporary media, ‘fake’ news’ and conspiracy theories. This module is part of a core strand of the Philosophy curriculum at Anglia Ruskin, which looks at issues of relevance to contemporary Anglo-American Philosophy. It will build on topics discussed in Mind and World and Introduction to Philosophy, as well as allowing you to understand how the philosophers and ideas discussed in Ancient Philosophy, The Rationalists and Kant and the Empiricists relate to contemporary research in this area. This module will support you in further developing key transferable skills of critical analysis and complex problem solving as well as the high-level ability to undertake scholarly research and complete a project to a deadline. The presentation will enable you to further develop skills of public speaking, creating professional public presentations, and teamwork.
View the full module definitionKnowledge of a foreign language can be a major asset both in your academic and professional life. The Anglia Language Programme offers you the opportunity to study a foreign language as part of your course.
In this module you'll consider the tools politicians have used to communicate with the general public and, in turn, how celebrities and other voices have sought to use mass media to influence the political process. In doing so, you'll study the Third Reich itself and how other powers such as the United States sought to build the public relations case for action against Hitler. You'll consider the power of radio, cinema and celebrity in turn. In this module you'll analyse the evolution of such communications from the 1930s through to the twenty-first century, taking in radio, television, and cinema before turning to the world of social media. You'll have the opportunity not only to reflect on the past, but to discuss how contemporary politicians and political campaigners are utilising communication – and how they break from or mirror previous patterns.
View the full module definitionThis module‘s focus will move chronologically but also thematically from 1880 to 2000. We'll open by examining late nineteenth-century concerns with the ‘new woman’, the male homosexual, and newly defined sexualities. We'll then move on to consider first-wave feminism, and the First World War in relation to issues of gender. A subsequent focus on the interwar period will cover the emergence of the ‘flapper’, anxieties about male effeminacy, male body building and the development of miscegenation fears – all fuelled by the ever-growing popular press. The effects of gender-differentiated (un)employment in this period will be analysed as well as the development of birth control, taking the work of Marie Stopes as a central focus. We'll examine the trial of The Well of Loneliness and the slow emergence of the idea of the lesbian. We'll investigate women’s role during the Second World War, including drawing on the reportage of Mass-Observation. For the post-war years, we'll consider relations between, and reaction to, British women and African-Caribbean men. The 1950s’ Wolfenden Report offers an opening to the discussion of male homosexuality and prostitution in this period and beyond. The so-called swinging ‘60s and sexual ‘permissiveness’ will be followed by an examination of the rise of the Women’s Liberation Movement and Gay Liberation in the 1970s. We'll look, too, at how feminism developed on from the 1970s up until the turn of the century. This overview of the history of gender and sexuality in modern Britain in the period 1880-2000 will allow you to appreciate how sexuality needs to be understood as socially constructed and regulated, as well as always historically specific. The module will also enable you to appreciate the shifts in the ways in which men and women have conceived of their appropriate ‘roles’, paying attention to differences of class, race, ethnicity, geographical location, sexuality and age. Analysis of certain primary sources will enrich this understanding. The module is taught through lectures and seminars, and is assessed by an oral history essay and the report of an in-class presentation.
View the full module definitionThis module will introduce you to key ideas, concepts and thinkers in the philosophy of education. It will ask you to think about the history of philosophical views about education (in thinkers such as Socrates, Confucius, Plato, Rousseau, and Dewey); the nature and purpose of education; different theories about teaching and learning; how education relates to wider issues such as citizenship, self-fulfilment, positive freedom, critical thinking, morality and authority; and how to think about the role of diversity in education, including multicultural education and justice and inclusion within special education.
In this module you will focus on language as a symbolic system and practice where meaning is produced and reproduced under specific cultural conditions and is characterised by fragmentation and conflict as much as by cohesion and consensus. You will relate the study of language to issues concerning, for example, identity, cultural power and domination, representation, and real life, examining the social corpus, the individual body and the radical/transgressive body. You will explore post-structuralist critiques of linguistics, which may include theories of language as a means by which identity is produced through the interconnectedness of language and ideology. In addition, you will encounter the physical body not as ‘natural’ but as a linguistic phenomenon: where the body is a text to be read. Challenging binaries such as mind/body and biological/textual, you will query the role of language in creating bodies and the ways in which the flesh has been historically created through discourse. You will also look at the ways the body has transgressed these discourses. In examining the relationships between language, power and bodies, you will explore the links between language, power, knowledge, ‘truth’ and identity, especially in reference to difference (gender, race, sexuality, ability) and extend these links to ecological concerns and the connectedness of the human to the nonhuman and nature. You will learn to question how truth and knowledge are challenged in post-structuralist/ deconstructionist projects, and how this challenge can lead to what is known as posthuman ethics and the ecological revolution: currently known in linguistic philosophy as ‘ecosophy’.
View the full module definitionThis module will support you to communicate your final-year dissertation research beyond the traditional dissertation format, helping you to develop your abilities to create, adapt, select, and communicate your ideas and arguments to a range of audiences through a variety of creative and digital forms and formats. You'll be supported to develop creative or digital output such as artworks, podcasts, films, posters, exhibitions, or installations, based on the research of your final-year major project or dissertation. This module will also guide you to reflect on degree journey more generally, as you review and consolidate a range of transferable, professional skills, competencies, and confidences that you will be able to articulate, evidence, and take forward into your graduate future.
View the full module definitionGlobal Feminisms will introduce you to the plurality and diversity of feminist thoughts and debates, practices and activism(s). The heterogeneity of feminist action and strategies on a range of issues will be emphasised to enable learning on historic and contemporary feminist movements. An intersectional approach will be adopted to highlight how feminists have engaged with anti-race politics alongside challenging norms around gender and sexuality. You'll be exposed to feminist knowledges and scholarship on issues viz. women’s political participation, gender-based violence, trans identities and rights, sex work, etc., as well as learn about different forms and strategies of feminist activism. You'll also learn about feminist research methodologies and epistemological approaches to understand what it means to ‘see’, ‘think’ and ‘do’ sociology using a feminist approach. Teaching will comprise a combination of lectures and seminars and will involve guest speakers who are feminist activists and scholars across diverse contexts nationally and internationally, facilitating connections with a global network of academics and practitioners in the study of the sociology of gender. You'll be able to connect theory and practice through ‘real-world’ applications of feminist knowledges and pedagogies, including a feminist manifesto and critical case study of a feminist global campaign. Through this, you'll develop communication skills, computer literacy, creativity, critical thinking, decision marking, planning and organisation, problem-solving, project and time management, and research skills. Specifically, you'll learn to evaluate feminist campaigns, strategies and policies which you can draw on to enhance employability in the statutory and voluntary sector, among others.
View the full module definitionEnvironment, Nature and Society explores the relationship between social and natural worlds and, in the process, considers sociological debates about how best to engage with biological knowledge. You will address the following interlocking questions: - How can sociological approaches take account of the ways in which people are at once social and biological beings? How can we fully integrate non-humans into an account of social life and social change? How are recent developments in the life sciences challenging existing views and experiences of group identity, self, life and kinship? What are the likely social causes and consequences of world-wide environmental catastrophe? To answer these questions, you will be required to consider both the future of the discipline of Sociology and the future of society.
The Anglia Language Programme gives you the opportunity to study a foreign language as part of your modular programme. You'll be taking one language module in the second semester of your first year in order to experience the learning of a new language. It's important that you select a language you've never learnt before. The languages offered are: Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Spanish.