Humanities BA(Hons)

International equivalencies

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Why study with us?

• You will be located in the heart of Brighton’s vibrant cultural quarter joining a unique and intimate learning community.

• You will be encouraged to develop a critical and independent attitude through seminars, individual tutorials, lectures and project work.

• We are committed to small group teaching to develop excellent oral presentation, debating and listening skills. You’ll be able to raise issues, present arguments and voice your particular intellectual concerns while engaging with diverse opinions in productive debate.

• Your final-year project allows you to identify and explore a topic of particular interest to you. You will have regular one-to-one meetings with a supervisor with relevant expertise to discuss your independent research and give you guidance.

• You will gain vital transferable skills including independent research management, as well as communicative abilities, that you can use throughout your career.

• This degree encourages you to challenge received opinions and as such is good grounding for many different industries including publishing, journalism and political lobbying, but equally provides a solid foundation for further study or research.

• Opportunities for activity outside of the curriculum include international conferences with world leading experts; publication in the student blog and in student publications and participation in Humanities Society events.

Course Structure 

Year 1
All degrees within the Humanities programme area share a first year. Students take six modules that develop the skills central to our courses. These include topics such as historical and philosophical inquiry, cultures, democracy, narrative and society

Year 2 
In Year 2, students choose an option pathway to follow for the rest of the degree. On this course you can choose one of all 12 of the optional modules offered across the Humanities courses. This is a set of modules in a specialised area that gives students a deep, critical engagement with the subject. 

Final Year
Students complete their Year 2 option pathway and undertake a dissertation project of 8,000-12,000 words. Project findings are presented in a 45-minute oral exam that tests skills of presentation, communication, discussion and debate. 

Our courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis in order to make sure that what you learn with us is relevant and that your course enables you to develop appropriate skills. When you apply to study with us, we will inform you of any new developments in your chosen programme through our applicant portal.

Year 1

In Year 1 you take six modules that help develop the skills central to your course:

Historical Inquiry
This module examines the discipline of history, exploring how historical research and debate can us make more critically engaged members of society. You will consider what historical knowledge is, the ways people remember the past, investigate what causes change and considering how we can interpret sources.

Philosophical Inquiry
This module introduces the discipline of philosophy, exploring what philosophy is and what kinds of question it asks. You will explore how philosophy can help us to address the urgent questions of the contemporary world.

Studying Cultures
What is culture? And what does it mean for something to be ‘cultural’? We consider how you can investigate society and evaluate political theories regarding the relationship between politics, power, communities and individuals through the way people live and the artefacts they produce: from novels and magazines, to films and speeches.

Democracy: From Athens to Baghdad
This module will explore how ‘democracy’ is theorized in political and philosophical traditions including Classical philosophy, republicanism, anarchism, liberalism and Marxism.

Approaching Narrative
This module gives you the analytical skills for the study of narratives and other representational forms which are crucial for engaging critically with the world.

Understanding Society in a Global World
On this module you will explore Globalisation, while drawing upon the concepts, theories and methods of social science to ask questions about the nature of society in a global world. 

Year 2

In Year 2 you will start a two-year option pathway that you will follow for the rest of your degree. As well as your pathway, you’ll take 1 core module, participate in a project preparation module and choose from a programme of lectures to broaden your critical understanding.

Option pathways – you choose one of these:

• Politics, History and Ideology
• “Race” and Resistance
• Self and Society
• Morality, Politics and the Good Life
• Critical Theory and Radical Politics
• Literature and Philosophy
• Fictions in History
• Culture and Conflict
• Terror and Terrorism
• War, Terror and Democracy
• Globalisation, History and Identity
• Global Politics
• Global Society
• Politics of the Past
• Radical Histories

 *Option modules listed are indicative and may be subject to change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Core modules
In Year 2 you will also study the core module Critical traditions in Western Thought, exploring some of the key debates in history, culture, politics, and philosophy since the Enlightenment. You will also take a project preparation module which prepares you for your 8-12,000 word final-year dissertation.

Final year

In your final year you complete the option pathway started in Year 2 and submit a dissertation project of between 8,000-12,00 words. In addition you will present your project findings for scrutiny in a 45-minute oral exam that tests your skills of presentation, communication, discussion and debate.

During your final year, all of the skills, the knowledge and the research come together as you develop your own critical response to your chosen topic, challenging received opinions in a persuasive extended argument.

Staff profile

Dr Clare Woodford Course leader

Clare’s research interests include theories of gender, ideology and pedagogy, Marxism and post-Marxism, queer theory, psychoanalysis, democratic struggle, activism and the arts, and performance studies.

Location

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Grand Parade campus map