Year 1, Component 04

The world does not have disciplines; it has problems. What's more, the most important problems we face - problems like climate change, migration, sustainable economic production, democratic governance, and so on - cannot be solved with the tools of any single discipline. Such problems require collaborative, creative, and interdisciplinary approaches, and this module introduces students to this type of interdisciplinary thinking. Students will learn how to approach complex problems by drawing on theories and methods from multiple disciplines, learning how to think flexibly and work with others to find creative solutions to real-world problems.

This interdisciplinary module explores the rich diversity of ways of knowing the world. We examine different frameworks of knowing that have characterised and shaped human societies historically and today.

What is “Politics”? How have people conceived of political analysis, the state, laws, wars and political parties, across cultures and over time? Gain an understanding of essential concepts in the study of politics and explore the economic, social and intellectual trends that have made democracy possible.

American politics have long dominated the global stage; these are crucial times for the study of the United States. Discuss policymaking and contemporary political events in order to gain a basic introduction to the politics and government of the United States.

Why do we grow up knowing some histories, and not others? The histories taught in schools and discussed in the public realm often tell us about the past experiences of dominant groups and the fact that these histories are so prominent also tells us that those groups still hold power. Approaching the past from the perspective of those hidden from history - this module uncovers ideas and experiences often overlooked in traditional accounts of modern Britain. Hidden Histories begins in the revolutionary years of the mid-seventeenth century to examine how radicals questioned dominant ideas about democratic rights and property ownership. It traces the influence of these radicals through to Chartism and Owenism, movements forged in the crucible of industrial capitalism in the nineteenth century. These revolutionaries and radical movements highlighted power imbalances between men and women, in the family and the private sphere as well as in the public. As Britain reached the height of its imperial power, hierarchies of race, class, and gender increasingly structured elite discourse. In exploring how the working class, women, and migrants created their own vibrant cultures, the module emphasises histories of protest, resistance, and liberation - and shows that these hidden histories are essential to understanding modern Britain.

What are human rights? How do we protect them? And what challenges do we face when promoting human rights on an international level? Discover the fundamental principles and practices, including topics related to international law and ethics, which underpin the protection and promotion of our human rights.

What is US literature? What makes it different from other writing in the English language, particularly work from the UK? Study classic texts that have established US literature as a distinct tradition in itself and gain an understanding of the issues surrounding this.

In this module you will explore childhood from a local and a global perspective. You will discover a broad range of topics related to children and childhood, including psychology, sociology, history, media, law and education.

We all know that it’s good to know things. Knowledge, as the saying goes, is power, because without it we cannot hope to accomplish our most important goals. But what about the concept of knowledge itself? What good does it do? What practical work does it accomplish for us? Are there epistemic virtues, ie traits that reliably lead us to knowledge? Can we flourish without such virtues? And are those virtues sufficient to ensure that we possess reliable knowledge? Or is it possible for our social and political world to be so divorced from that truth that our individual traits cannot help us? What would the ideal knowledge community look like? What makes knowledge communities dysfunctional? This module will explore these questions and more. By the end of it, you will better understand how individual, social, and political factors interact in the human pursuit of knowledge.

Begin your study of philosophy by exploring questions about selfhood and identity. What role does self-responsibility play in effective knowing? What is it to be a self? How does that differ from having an identity or identities? To what extent are our identities determined by others? Are they up to us? How can the study of philosophy help us with these questions?

City space matters to criminology: it is the physical and symbolic locus where crime and disorder take place, where social conflicts manifest and aggravate, where social control and resistance to it are exercised, and where broader harms and suffering are produced. This module examines local responses to the governance of crime, seeking to understand conceptions of urban ‘disorder’ by attending closely to how communities experience rapidly changing and expanding city environments. The course contrasts public experiences of crime and crime control in the context of highly securitised, enclaved, and surveilled urban spaces in London, Karachi, Maputo and other unequal global cities. Drawing on theories and methodologies from criminology, sociology, and urban studies, the course asks you to consider the possible futures of public and private urban landscapes in the context of rapid urban development.

What are different forms of crime? What is the role of criminal justice? And how effective are penal sanctions? We provide a critical introduction to the problem of, and responses to, crime. You examine the history of criminological ideas, Britain’s criminal justice system, and current debates on crime and control.

Does the media make people violent? Objectify women? Tell you what to do? Study the modern media as a social terrain, order of communication and domain of ideas, using examples from cinema, photography, newspapers and TV. Examine popular debates and consider practical methodologies for undertaking media research in the future.

Who were the key sociologists studying the United States? And how have issues like democracy, inequality, gender roles, poverty, gangs and guns become sources of enchantment and disenchantment in the US? Studying one sociologist per week, we explore important and exciting interpretations of American society.