BA (Hons) English and Philosophy Bachelor's degree at Keele University

This module opens your mind to philosophical questioning and gives you a logical toolbox to answer your new questions. You'll delve into core metaphysical and epistemological issues. Formal logical skills will be introduced, enhancing your academic and professional abilities. Additionally, you'll attend a Royal Institute of Philosophy session and report on it, offering an experiential learning opportunity that showcases philosophical debate in action.

How do you craft a compelling university essay, analyse a literary text, and put criticism to use? How can you interpret a work within its historical context, or apply literary theory to it? Through studying a wide range of texts, from novels such as Wuthering Heights, to Renaissance tragedy, to the poetry of Toni Morrison, you'll develop essential skills for academic reading and writing. This module will enhance your appreciation of literature and prepare you for advanced study throughout your

This module introduces you to the many ways that your literary knowledge and communication skills will be useful in future employment. Studying a range of poems, speeches, and plays, you will learn how to employ effective rhetorical strategies to communicate professionally with different audiences, enabling you to give speeches, design lesson plans or exhibitions, or run social media campaigns. The module includes masterclasses from professionals working in, for example, museums, theatres, and s

This module transitions you to university scholarship and introduces the employability and professional skills that a social science degree provides through a range of action-focused activities. You will learn vital academic and professional skills and competencies that will allow you to thrive in the first year of your undergraduate studies and throughout your degree.

What makes a work of literature 'classic'? What do we mean when we call something an example of 'popular culture'? This module invites you to compare 'classic' texts (such as Hamlet, The Great Gatsby, and The Color Purple) with adaptations that share their themes or challenge their values. You'll learn new ways to think about why some texts are called 'classics' and some are not, and enrich your understanding of the way that texts interact with one another across genres.

Gothic Nightmares introduces you to the representation of spooks, automatons, monsters and supernatural horrors in literature, film, and TV from the late eighteenth century to the present day. Each week you will read a short story and a critical text, and watch an example of the gothic genre from film or TV. Why has the gothic persisted as it has? Why do we need (or want) to be scared? What are we afraid of anyway? What does it mean to be good?

Ancient philosophy with a twist, for although Greek philosophy is discussed in depth, ideas from traditional Indian, Chinese and African philosophy are given prominence too. By seeing how similar philosophical concerns arose, you will come to a better understanding of how the past has shaped our thinking. You will write dialogues and empathetic monologues, in the spirit of ancient philosophy. For an unforgettable Experiential Learning, you will have an opportunity to perform these in the perfect

Few philosophers hold more fascination to the beginning student of philosophy than Friedrich Nietzsche, the prophetic and iconoclastic 19th century philosopher who predicted a coming age of nihilism, which many think has now arrived; Nietzsche's final lapse of sanity is often connected to his uncompromising path of thought. The excitement of reading Nietzsche provides a perfect introduction to close textual reading and analysis, which will prove useful as the degree progresses, and which is anot

How can we mobilise our sociological imagination to understand the complexities and challenges of the modern world and our place within it? This module rethinks classic sociological theories for the global digital world, considering poststructural, intersectional and non-Western perspectives. You will gain a critical appreciation of how competing sociologies have emerged as our understanding of positionality and difference has developed, and look to the ways in which the sociological project has

It is impossible to properly understand the rise of modern science and decline in the cultural influence of religion in Europe without understanding the rise of modern philosophy, and thus the great metaphysical and epistemological theories of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, Hume and Kant. A module such as this is essential to any serious study of philosophy. Transferable skills are developed through close textual reading and analysis, and through assessed group, which develop pres

In the face of challenges from above, below and within, democracy around the world is under threat. From challenges posed by populism and autocratic leadership, to increasing political mistrust and declining levels of participation set against a backdrop of the threat posed by AI and misinformation, global democracies face numerous different threats. You will develop your data handling and analysis skills, exploring whether global democracy is resilient or in retreat and complete diverse assessm

Building on your first year, in this second-year module you will extend your knowledge of different literary approaches and theories, exploring topics such as feminism, race studies, ecocriticism, and the history of emotions. You will explore how literature reflects and influences social issues, both those contemporary to the literature you study and those relevant in today's society. You will deepen your skills in critical analysis as you apply your literary understanding to real-world debates

Building on your understanding of genre fiction, 'popular' literature, and questions of value developed in year 1, on 'Brave New Worlds?' you'll examine the connections between two types of 'speculative fiction': sci-fi and fantasy. As you explore how their strange fictional worlds critique the real world, you'll think further about the relationship between 'popular' genres and the literary establishment, consolidating your skills in independent critical analysis. Why are such genres still often

A module on our existential condition as mortal human beings: whether there is a meaning of life, or whether nihilists are right that there is not. For some, nihilism is a source of liberation – 'Sunny Nihilism' is a popular online movement – while the traditional view is that it is a source of despair. In studying this fascinating and personally engaging topic, students will gain sought-after skills in presenting and advocating, e.g., by preparing speeches and drawing up debate maps.

This module broadens your knowledge of the variety of career pathways open to you, enabling you to identify, analyse, and showcase your degree skills and experiences effectively. Through completing and reflecting on problem-based tasks relating to different sectors, such as telling the story of a business, or writing a funding proposal to support a literary festival, you will build your creative and collaborative skills and learn how to articulate them in ways that will be attractive to employer

This module begins to introduce you to possible careers for social scientists and links to the work you are doing in your subject core and option modules