Humanities, arts and social sciences offer important and innovative perspectives on the topics and debates that are shaping our futures.
We empower students to develop their individual voices and skills, while also recognising how bringing our unique voices together can make a difference in the world.
Our programmes are designed to develop the following strengths in our graduates.
Having a high level of skill and knowledge about your subject.
Being fully prepared for your career and being professional in your approach.
Being inclusive and socially responsible in your outlook, and an engaged global citizen.
As a Lancaster University student, you will find that development of these attributes is embedded within teaching and learning throughout your degree. In the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (FHASS), some programmes include opportunities to work alongside fellow students from across arts, humanities and social sciences degrees.
By taking a "discovery module", you can explore how the subjects you are studying impact and influence today’s world. You may develop professional competencies, personal resilience and emerge more confident about your future path.
The focus of second year discovery modules is employability. These options are designed to build your career skills and focus your mind on the professional pathways open to arts, humanities and social science graduates.
Hone a strong sense of purpose and gain the satisfaction of applying your skills and knowledge to a community, charity or student-led initiative.
Your challenge will be to take responsibility for arranging and completing a voluntary or fundraising activity—locally, virtually or during vacation periods at home. You will need to show that you have made a positive difference through this activity.
In class, you will be asked to reflect on this experience and explore the wider social impact of the work. In doing so you will build your confidence in your ability to contribute meaningfully to society through your future personal and professional path.
Not all professional contexts are the same – and within any organisation there are diverse people with varied backgrounds. This module focuses on enhancing your intercultural competency and cultural awareness, with a particular emphasis on ‘place-based’ learning. Considering the cultural dynamics of the North West of England and the broader UK helps us reflect upon intercultural dynamics in very different locations.
Through analysis, discussion and self-reflection you will strengthen your ability to navigate diverse workplace settings and enhance your employability in today’s interconnected world.
You are invited to collaborate in an interdisciplinary team with other students as you explore major global challenges such as climate change, inequality or emerging technologies.
Throughout the module you will examine how the humanities, arts and social sciences contribute to understanding and addressing complex issues. Classroom discussions and activities focus on the process of identifying problems and considering innovative, ethical responses, while helping you to consider and articulate the relevance of this work to your personal and professional development.
Explore how ideas can be developed into real-world projects with lasting value. Through hands-on collaboration and problem-solving, you will develop innovative projects, learn how to bring ideas to life and explore ways to sustain them.
Whether you are working in a team or individually, you will be encouraged to experiment with different approaches to making a difference in artistic, cultural, social and community spaces.
As you come to the end of your degree, you’ll develop the crucial ability to apply your knowledge and skills to diverse contexts. Engage with a topic of contemporary relevance on the world stage and discover your potential to make a difference.
What happens when radically different forms of art meet? How do these fused forms change our understanding of the world? We will draw on material from different periods and continents, to explore works of art where, for example, film meets history, poetry meets philosophy, fine art meets sociology, religion meets fiction, and theatre meets politics.
What does it mean to imagine a world without borders? Using materials typically derived from case studies, reports, archives, film, television and literature, this module foregrounds interdisciplinary approaches. You will be encouraged to develop your understanding of migration and displacement, and to envision alternative global migration futures in ways that can impact future policy, political and societal perspectives.
What are the possibilities and pitfalls of community and citizen action, voice and agency? This module uses interdisciplinary case-studies to critically examine collaboration with communities.
You will participate in activities such as a mock citizens' assembly, visit local community groups and hear from a range of guest speakers on concepts like power, race, gender, class, affect and justice.
What do we understand by queerness? Looking back at earlier interpretations, we imagine how queerness might evolve — how it might be lived, felt and understood in the future.
Who does technology benefit or harm, and what should its role in society be? This module examines the social and ethical issues surrounding the development of modern technologies and their use in the modern world, with a vision to shape our future relationship with technology.
How do ideas understand, transform and conserve the world? In this module we will study examples of powerful ideas such as the nation, free speech, liberation, the free market, culture and nature. We will use case studies to help us explore the relationship between analysis, imagination and practice.
How do we experience love and friendship across differing social structures and cultural practices? How do these concepts change across time?
In this module you’ll explore these shifts using historical and social case studies. You will come to understand how these ideas and practices continue to shape human experience.
How might we engage with the implications of environmental transformation locally, nationally and globally? Where do we have agency and capacity to intervene?
This module brings together a range of perspectives—historical, political, philosophical and cultural—to explore the nature and severity of the effects of the climate crisis on our world.
