Create a portfolio of investigative and critical writing which explores a particular philosophical topic in depth.

In this module you will be guided with expert support from Lancaster philosophers to develop your philosophical and independent study skills. Through deep engagement with a specific topic you will develop your ability to assess philosophical arguments and make independent judgements, informed by reasoning and evidence. You will engage with a text, problem, figure or body of work chosen by an academic within the philosophy team at Lancaster who is a specialist on the topic and work with their expert support, in groups and independently.

Project topics offered each year will be drawn from one or more of Lancaster’s many areas of expertise, such as:

• Global philosophy
• Comparative philosophy
• Ethics
• Metaphysics
• Political philosophy
• Applied philosophy
• Social ontology and epistemology
• Philosophy of science
• Philosophy of mind
• The history of philosophy
• Feminist philosophy
• Continental philosophy
• Aesthetics

Completion of this module will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need for further independent writing in your final year of study.

Develop your own research interests with expert support from a religion specialist.

Working on a focused topic, you will build the skills needed to interpret sources, evaluate scholarship and form a clear research question in Global Religions. Examples of topics include religion, conflict and peacebuilding; colonialism and religion in the Middle East; South Asian textual traditions; and love and friendship in Islamic philosophy and mysticism.

In this module you will explore how issues concerning gender, womanhood, and sexuality have played out in relation to culture and religious traditions across the world and through time. You will be encouraged to question preconceptions and examine – through an analytical gender lens – how practices of piety have both empowered and enabled, as well as controlled, women in expressing their experiences, identities, and agency. You will explore how religious texts, rituals, and institutions have constrained or facilitated gendered expressions using case studies from Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and indigenous traditions.

A focus on the subcontinent may examine sacred womanhood, investigating connections between power, antinomianism, transcendence, and female power-essences embodied in wild goddesses, women philosophers, and mystics. Alongside gender, womanhood, and femininity, you may also explore conceptions of transgenderism in religious imagery, mythology, and counternormative narrative traditions in which patriarchal hierarchies are questioned and subverted.

Within the context of Islam, you may consider how women have historically occupied roles as transmitters of hadith (prophetic tradition), jurists, and theologians, while also being subjects of legal, theological, and mystical discourses that both regulate and sanctify female bodies. Alongside this, you may explore the rich traditions of female piety and mystical experience within Sufism, where women have served as spiritual guides, poets, and saints, often occupying forms of authority that transcend formal hierarchies.

The module may also include a comparative focus on other religious traditions, bringing new questions to light about how gender and power intersect across different cultural contexts. Drawing on feminist, postcolonial, and decolonial approaches, you will examine global parallels in how women have negotiated, subverted, and reinterpreted normative gender frameworks in religions – whether through embodied practices of piety, counter-normative narrative, or decolonial feminist frameworks.

Critically engage with questions and debates about our socially connected lives and the ways in which we interact and act on the world through language and communication, individually and as a society, to shape knowledge and reality. In this module you will gain the skills and insight to ask questions which change each year but may include:

• How does communication work in our individual and collective lives?

• How might certain kinds of communication bring about ethical and political change (for example, by making something permissible or changing the boundaries of acceptable political discourse)?

• Are lying and other kinds of deception permissible, and if so, when and for whom?

• What does freedom of speech really mean, and how might duties and rights differ in this space for citizens, for the press, for politicians, for academics, and on social media?

• How can collective knowledge practices exclude or harm, do we have duties to address these problems, and what might work to do so?

• What is the nature and appropriate regulation of propaganda and hate speech?

• What are the ways in which patterns of attention and exclusion or inclusion in who we listen to and develop knowledge with may have ethical and political implications?

• What communicative protest and speech acts are legitimate in a democratic state?

You will leave this module with a better understanding of how practices of knowledge creation and participation, and of language and communication, may actively shape and determine the boundaries of our world, and with the skills to critically examine these forces in action across the media, social media, politics and society.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a new approach to philosophy began to emerge that questioned and interrogated the inherited western philosophical tradition from Plato to Kant. This new approach was later described as ‘continental’ philosophy.

In this module, you will discover some of the key thinkers from this continental tradition of philosophy. The particular philosophers will vary from year to year, but will include pioneering thinkers who have been particularly influential on later continental philosophers (for example, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and Wittgenstein) as well as more recent continental thinkers themselves (for example, Lyotard, Derrida, Levinas, Badiou, Žižek, Foucault, Arendt and Beauvoir). While engaging with their thoughts, we will consider difficult and enduring questions such as:

• What is the relationship between history and truth?

• How does subjective experience relate to universal truth?

• What is the significance of gender and embodiment in philosophical reflection?

• What is the role of language and discourse in philosophical claims?

• How might we conceive of the relationship between power and freedom?

On completion of this module, you will be able to understand and interpret the central arguments made by these thinkers and to assess their distinctive claims, methods and approaches and their continuing significance for philosophy and for how we ought to structure our societies and lives.

Explore how philosophical thinking can tackle real-world problems, from personal dilemmas to global challenges, by linking abstract ideas to concrete decisions.

In this module you will engage with an applied philosophical challenge, using your philosophical skills to provide compelling reasons in favour of your solution. Through production of a short podcast or in-person presentation, you will also develop your ability to engage in philosophical argumentation beyond the written word. And along the way, you’ll gain the tools to think clearly, act responsibly, and engage thoughtfully with the complex world around you.

Specific topics studied each year draw on Lancaster’s wide range of applied expertise and may include:

• Ethics and regulation in traditional and social media, in the era of mass global communication and impact

• Bioethical topics such as euthanasia, rationing, ageism, research ethics and public health ethics

• Health and illness, the concept of mental health, and the role of lay or patient knowledge versus medical expertise

• Ethics in professional and organisational life, including divisions of roles, decent work, unpaid and care work, the rights and duties of corporations and employers and codes of ethics

• Study of different scientific methods and their limitations

Throughout this module you will learn about topics in applied philosophy, while developing and practicing some of the many transferable skills that Philosophy graduates bring to a wide range of professional roles, such as critical problem solving, political and ethical reasoning, the clear identification of problems, and the art of communicating potential solutions to diverse audiences.

What does it take to have a mind? How does science work? Does human reason equip us to understand the external world? In this module we explore the nature of consciousness and reality, and the methods by which we understand them, focussing on key debates in the philosophy of mind and philosophy of science.

In the first part of the module, you will explore what it takes to have a mind, examining and critiquing some of the wide range of answers philosophers have offered to this intractable problem. Questions you will investigate include:

• What is the relationship between the mind and the brain?

• How do animal minds or artificial intelligence fit into our understanding of thought and consciousness?

• Can science ever provide us with a full understanding of how consciousness is possible?

The second part of the module turns to the nature of science itself. Modern science is often regarded as our most reliable guide to reality, but what justifies this status? In investigating the nature of science, you will learn about some of the most influential twentieth-century accounts of scientific method and theory-testing. Questions you will address include:

• How does science differ from non-science?

• Is there a scientific method?

• Should we believe in unobservable entities posited by scientific theories, such as quarks or superstrings?

• What are limits of scientific and rational inquiry?

Through wrestling with debates about the nature of consciousness, science, and the extent to which we can understand reality you will leave this module equipped with a greater understanding of some of the most difficult and enduring challenges in philosophy: what it is to be human, to have sentience, and how should we understand the vast body of scientific knowledge that shapes our collective world?

To what rights are humans entitled? How are those rights balanced with the rights of other organisms and the environment? How are they balanced with the needs of societies and governments? The protection of human rights has been used to justify international conflict and military intervention to save lives, yet human rights critics have argued that they are a form of cultural imperialism limiting the sovereignty of local populations.

You will explore the codification of rights, from Magna Carta and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the Geneva Conventions, and how questions of rights have manifested in movements for decolonisation and self-determination, debates on the use of capital punishment, and campaigns for gendered, disability and same-sex relationship rights. You’ll also explore how societies have considered rights in relation to landscapes, from the right to roam to the protection of spaces, from medieval forests to the creation of national parks.

What does it mean to die? Is it frightening? Will I see those I love again? What does it mean to kill, whether an enemy, a friend, or myself? Death is a universal human experience but, as you’ll discover, how we confront it has varied across history.You’ll explore varied experiences of death, from end-of-life care to execution, and from battlefields to pandemics.

Religion can shape beliefs and customs, from the theology of the afterlife to funerary rituals and the treatment of the corpse. Yet at the margins have always lain a shadowy world, where the restless dead return, the living seek to summon the departed, and the despairing take their lives.

You’ll discover the different means of investigating death, from the chronicles that describe the walking dead, to the archaeology of burial practice, and from murder trials to palaeogenetics, unlocking the passage of disease.

This module offers a critical introduction to the complex political landscapes of regions in the Global South, exploring how historical, economic and social forces have shaped contemporary states and societies.

You will examine colonial legacies and their lasting influence on political institutions, and the impact of external interventions on regions. The module also investigates the consequences of neoliberal economic reforms, the challenges faced during democratization processes, narratives of ‘development,’ and the dynamics of armed conflict and peacebuilding.

Consideration is given to grassroots activism as well as the role of regional integration and cooperation in shaping political and economic outcomes. Through these themes, you will develop a sophisticated understanding of power, resistance and development in the Global South.

Explore gender through a transnational and decolonial approach, as this module examines its intersections with race, class, nationality, sexuality, disability, religion and the environment.

You will analyse historical and contemporary examples from around the world, engaging with key debates that shape feminist research and activism. Drawing on diverse feminist perspectives, including Black, Indigenous and queer critiques, the module will challenge you to think critically about complex topics such as:

• Sex work
• Sexual violence
• Islamophobia
• Transgender rights
• Reproductive justice
• Ecofeminism
• Migration

The course also brings these perspectives and positions to bear on what it means design, conduct and reflect the researcher’s positionality in the processes and practices of qualitative research. Through these activities, you will explore how feminist theories connect with lived experiences and shape struggles for social justice.

Explore the two things that make us human – body and mind. Historians once regarded mind and body as the same across time and place. But more recently, historians have challenged this assumption, showing that changing societies have led people to experience mind and body in radically different ways.

You will explore patterns of continuity and change from the medieval to modern periods by investigating key themes such as:

• How ideas about mind and body have impacted gender, race and social class
• Violence and injury
• Sexuality and gender identity
• Changing experiences of disability and transformations in attitudes to healthcare

You’ll build the skills to historicise mind and body through innovative methodologies such as:

• Disability studies
• Histories of health and medical humanities
• Gender and sexuality studies
• Histories of clothing and bodily adornment
• Interdisciplinary approaches including osteoarchaeology
• Recent developments in material culture
• The study of lived experience

Move beyond introductory concepts to explore film theory in depth, examining how films construct meaning through form, representation, and audience engagement.

You will critically assess cinema’s relationship with artistic expression and spectatorship, engaging with complex debates that have shaped film scholarship since the medium’s inception. Focusing on advanced theoretical analysis, this module equips you with the conceptual knowledge and critical vocabulary to interpret films using semiotic, psychoanalytic, formalist, philosophical and cognitivist approaches.

You will explore key concepts such as cinematic modernism, subjectivity in film perception and cinema’s evolving relationship with philosophy. The module fosters independent critical engagement with the works of influential theorists, deepening your understanding of theoretical frameworks.

By applying these perspectives to a range of case studies, you will refine your ability to conduct detailed textual analysis. By the end of the module, you will have developed sophisticated theoretical and analytical skills essential for higher-level film study.

Spanning the linguistic and cultural contexts of France, Germany, Spain, and the Sinophone world, this module explores how language functions as a primary site of identity formation, political contestation, and cultural power. You will explore various topics, such as:

• Language standardisation and stigma
• Minority and regional languages
• Multilingualism and migration
• Linguistic nationalism
• Colonial and postcolonial language politics
• The relationship between language, class, and social reproduction

Through sociolinguistics, cultural theory, and the analysis of film and literature, you will investigate:

• The ways in which language policies reflect and reproduce relations of power, and how their human costs and exclusions are narrated from the point of view of language users in film and literature
• How literary texts and films represent linguistic variation, regional difference, and cultural belonging through visual and narrative strategies
• The relationship between linguistic prestige and social inequality, and how minority voices are marginalised or amplified
• How colonial and migratory histories have shaped the linguistic landscapes of France, Germany, Spain, and the Sinophone world, and how individuals within those landscapes receive and negotiate that inheritance
• The ways in which regional and minority languages (Alsatian, Catalan, Galician, and others) are negotiating their place within, and against, the dominant language policies of their respective national contexts
• How diasporic and multilingual communities navigate questions of linguistic identity and belonging, as lived experience and as artistic subject matter
• What the comparative study of language politics across different cultural contexts reveals about power, resistance, and cultural survival

Global and local political and economic affairs raise complicated philosophical issues. While political theory and philosophy often focus on normative questions – such as the nature of justice, freedom, or legitimacy – this module centres on the epistemological and methodological challenges that underpin our understanding of political and economic life. These challenges are no less important for how we think about contemporary societies and the difficulties they face and are, as you will discover, closely connected to more normative questions.

Concepts such as democracy or autocracy, money, taxation and national debt, power and economic growth – all are complex and contested:

• They raise metaphysical questions: what sorts of ‘things’ are they?

• They pose epistemological challenges: how can we know or measure them? Is it possible to study them without making assumptions about values?

• They provoke broader considerations: how do large-scale political and economic phenomena relate to individual people and their activities?

Through considering these questions on this module, you will gain an understanding of the special challenges involved in knowledge of our social, political and economic systems, and how philosophical thinking complements the tasks of political science and economics.

This module equips you with the skill set to analyse films from the UK, Europe, Latin America and China in their socio-historical contexts through core themes, typically migration, the environment, artificial intelligence and gender. You will make use of the ‘language of film’ (cinematic techniques and genre conventions) to explore migration, for example, through sociological concepts of human movement, the role of documentary in representing beneficial and detrimental approaches to the environment, the concept of ‘artificial culture’ through the blurring of human/non-human boundaries in film, and the relationships between masculinities and different forms of violence on screen.

In the process, the following questions, among others, are addressed:

• How do films deal with the complexity of topics relevant to modern society such as migration, the environment, artificial intelligence and gender?
• Do films which deal with these topics entertain viewers, instruct them, or both?
• How might the aims of these films be obstructed or enhanced?
• What role do production limitations and opportunities have to play?
• In what ways are cinematic techniques instrumental in our interpretations of those topics?
• How relevant are genre conventions and expectations to our readings of such films?
• What can be learned from both traditional and radical forms of cinema?
• What can we learn by applying lenses such as structural violence, community-formation and the gendered gaze?

20th-century British history is largely a story of change. The impact of democratisation, war, economic decline, the loss of empire, and internal fragmentation has resulted in a nation seemingly in constant flux, often unsure of its identity and its values.

In this module you will explore the patterns of social, economic, cultural and political change which have most affected the lives of the British since 1900. The overarching themes are the formation and reformation of identities based on class, gender, race, empire, nation, and the dual process by which the British were integrated into the state as citizens, and into the market as consumers. As well as being introduced to the key historiographical debates, in this module you will be encouraged to explore the subject through an eclectic mix of primary sources, including cartoons, posters, fiction, press reports, and advertisements.

Gain the skills you need to complete independent research in Politics and International Relations. Direct your own learning by developing a research project on your chosen topic. Throughout the module, you will develop knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative research methods, and you’ll analyse a large quantitative political dataset using various methods to test for statistically significant relationships between variables.

You will learn about three major approaches to qualitative research that will prepare you for future independent research work:

• How to conduct interviews

• How to analyse the discourse of political actors

• How to conduct comparative case studies

You’ll find that the skills you develop during this module will be a useful asset when seeking employment as a Politics graduate.

In this examination of the evolving landscape of global power, we identify the forces challenging the world’s leading nations and explore the fluid nature of influence in the 21st century.

We will analyse the shifting balance of power, explore the relative decline of traditional superpowers and the simultaneous rise of new actors on the global stage.

You’ll be encouraged to consider how economic, military, and cultural influence is being reconfigured in a multipolar world, reshaping traditional understandings of world order. Crucially, we will also analyse the internal and external pressures these powers face, form rising regional actors, to the evolving nature of global threats, and the erosion of traditional power structures.

Through different case studies and theoretical frameworks, you will gain a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between rising and established powers and the implications for global stability and future orders.

The future of state-funded welfare is one of the most pressing social questions of our time. This module explores the history, purpose and politics of welfare states, examining what social welfare is, who it is for and how it should be funded and delivered.

You will consider the social and political debates that have shaped social welfare and trace their development over time. Topics covered may include education, health, housing, social security and unemployment. You will explore how welfare systems are funded, managed and organised and analyse the impact of social welfare cuts on poverty and social inequality.

The module also examines the moral and political tensions within welfare debates, such as distinctions between ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ recipients. Engaging with diverse sources—including academic texts, policy reports, and media—you will develop critical insights into the past, present and future of welfare provision.

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.

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.

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.

Explore how religion and the modern state have developed in relation to one another across different historical and global contexts. You will be encouraged to question common assumptions about secularism and political authority and examine how religion continues to shape political life. You will further analyse how religious traditions both influence and are transformed by modern state structures.

You will engage with key questions such as:

• What role does religion play in contemporary governance?
• How have modern states redefined religious authority and practice?
• To what extent does religion support, challenge, or reconfigure political ideologies such as liberal democracy and human rights?
• Why does religion remain central to political mobilisation in many postcolonial and non-Western contexts?

You will explore how religion intersects with law, political authority, and national identity using case studies from Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and other traditions. Particular attention may be given to themes such as secularism and the postcolonial nation-state; religion and law-making; religion and human rights, especially in relation to minority and women’s rights; and religion as a site of political protest and resistance.

You may also examine the concept of civil religion, particularly in relation to nationalism and state identity, as well as the ways in which religion is mobilised in contemporary political discourse. Drawing on interdisciplinary approaches, including political theory, anthropology, and religious studies, this module highlights the global complexity of the relationship between religion and the modern state.

Design and complete a substantial independent research project on a topic of your choice, supported by expert supervision.

The module equips you with the methods and skills to connect different disciplines and approaches for example religious studies, politics, philosophy, history, gender studies or international relations in order to produce an original extended piece of work on global religions.

Politics is one of the most widespread and diverse phenomena of human experience. Yet it is often studied by relying on concepts, theoretical resources, and methodological approaches derived from a single intellectual tradition. This module seeks to reverse this trend by introducing you to global philosophical perspectives emanating from different intellectual traditions on a particular topic.

The philosophical traditions with which we engage will vary from year to year, but may include Chinese, Continental, Analytic, African, Feminist, Postcolonial, and/or Decolonial perspectives. The topics that we look at will also change but may include one or more of the following:

• Democracy

• Modernity

• Secularism

• Pluralism

• Rights

• Political legitimacy

We will consider how the theme(s) we focus on has or have been construed in different settings, and we will inquire into how these different construals can help us achieve a better understanding of today’s sociopolitical landscape, while also providing new perspectives on how to tackle some of the most pressing political problems of our times.

In addition to learning about different philosophical traditions, you will also reflect on the challenges of studying philosophy comparatively and engaging with philosophical traditions that derive from different cultural settings, developing a broader critical understanding of political community and life.

Engage with cutting-edge philosophical research, working with an academic philosopher on the topic of their live philosophical project and expertise. In this module you may be:

• Reviewing and critically commenting on the chapters of a manuscript

• Reading an academic’s recent publications and coming up with further questions and challenges to build on their ideas

• Discussing your module supervisor's new research and it's relevancy to contemporary philosophical debates

In student-led and discussion-based workshops you will present your own summaries and arguments, take part in guided debates, and work on the challenge of your final written piece: a paper which is not only informed by, but may itself eventually inform, current debates within the discipline. In doing so you will be joining the practice, shared by all professional philosophers, of contributing to the understanding and development of the field itself.

The specific question/s you will work on will vary year by year, but will be drawn from the interests and expertise of Lancaster's philosophy staff. They might include, for example:

• What is the best life for a human being

• What do psychiatric diagnoses mean

• What is personhood and what entities can be persons

• How can we respect human autonomy while making public policy

• What can combatant experience teach us about the ethics of war

One or more options will be offered each year.

In studying this module, you will deploy the skills you have developed in the first two years of your degree, gain in-depth knowledge of an important area of contemporary philosophical inquiry, and further sharpen skills in argument and critique – critical skills for both postgraduate study and a range of post-study careers.

Interconnected global crises and states of ‘polycrises’ or ‘wicked problems’ impact upon the daily lives of millions of people across the globe. Environmental, financial, security, diplomatic, political and military concerns all pose acute problems of knowledge and understanding, require individual and collective action, and raise questions around duties and rights for addressing multi-faceted complex problems.

Philosophical reasoning can play a key role in helping individuals, politicians, states and societies navigate these challenges, and in shaping and critiquing the principles for taking action. In this module you will actively work on developing your own philosophical contributions to addressing global crises, studying topics which may include:

• Themes from social epistemology, including the difficulty of creating shared knowledge in the face of societal challenges; institutions for scrutinising as well as disseminating knowledge claims; the need for diverse perspectives on so-called wicked problems, and also the challenges of combining and reconciling these.

• Themes from the philosophy of collective action and metaphysics, including the ways in which human beings can cooperate outside of formal institutions and create new institutions to address societal and international problems, as well as problems of diffuse responsibility amid complex or changing social structures.

• Themes from political philosophy, such as the difficulties and strengths of democratic institutions and the compromises they require; the challenges of reconciliation and institution-building after war and conflict; the challenges democracies face in light of populism, authoritarianism, corruption in the democratic process, and problems of disinformation.

Over the course of this module you will learn how different philosophical approaches can help us to think our way through our own responsibilities in these times, offering different perspectives on the various roles we can play in surviving, and even flourishing, in times of global crisis.

Pursue an advanced specialist topic in global religions through independent study and supervision. This module allows you to deepen your knowledge of a particular religious, philosophical, textual, political or cultural tradition, while developing advanced skills in researching primary text, critical reading and scholarly argument.

It is especially suited to students who wish to explore a focused topic beyond the taught module curriculum. Topics covered could be in Hindu, Buddhist, Christian, Islamic and Chinese philosophical traditions and comparative study will be encouraged.

What is critical theory? Why is it one of the most controversial areas of contemporary culture today? And to what extent do theoretical ideas about power, race, gender and identity change the way we think about the world?

On this module you will explore a range of classic and contemporary themes, trends and topics in critical theory from the 1960s to the present. You’ll take a deep dive into key thinkers like Foucault, Deleuze and Agamben and key concepts like biopolitics, globalisation and animal studies.

Study conceptual questions about the nature of power, justice, freedom and the state – and normative questions about the kinds of political structures we should adopt. This module builds on previous modules on political philosophy and theory by offering the opportunity for advanced study in the area.

We will consider questions such as how can democracy safeguard our interests, and how might it endanger them? What is equality, and is it desirable? What does it mean to claim that we have ‘rights’?

You will read contemporary and historical texts in depth and debate their implications for modern governance and society. You’ll gain a deep understanding of the theories behind key issues in contemporary politics, equipping you to analyse complex political concepts. You will also develop essential interpretive and argumentative skills, enabling you to assess competing viewpoints and contribute thoughtfully and persuasively to ongoing discussions about politics.

An important exploration of the key issues and challenges facing contemporary democratic states and movements in the 21st Century.

Arguably, modern democracy faces multiple challenges such as:

• The rise of populist movements
• Democratic backsliding
• Declining public trust in leaders and political institutions
• Globalisation and transnational government
• New forms of authoritarian leadership
• Increasing repression of dissent and protest

Taking a comparative approach, we will explore how these evolving challenges have impacted the politics of both democratic and authoritarian states, and we will evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies that have been taken to address them.

Using the skills in both research and comparative analysis that you have developed during the programme, you will carry out your own independent research and contribute to contemporary academic debate on the prospects for democracy.

The module includes a placement where you will work on real-world policy-making scenarios. You’ll gain practical experience and in-depth knowledge of the policymaking process within different political contexts. You’ll also deepen your understanding of key theoretical frameworks and concepts in policy analysis and development.

As well as gaining professional skills, you’ll discover how academic knowledge acquired during your degree translates into different policy-making contexts. By the end of the module, you will be able to conduct robust policy research using various methodologies and tools, evaluate the ethical implications of policy decisions, and advocate for ethics and value-based approaches to policymaking.

Examining a wide range of texts and authors from early periods to the age of the climate crisis, this module will explore the many and various ways in which the non-human world is celebrated, championed and exploited by the literary imagination.

You will explore questions such as:

• What do we mean by the ‘the environment’?
• What experiences, meanings and values do we take from, or discover in our surroundings?
• How have writers characterised the environment and in what ways might the literary imagination be significant for contemporary environmental concerns?

Why do we see gaps between what politicians say on immigration and what they do?

In the United Kingdom and in most of the Global North the movement of people across international borders is a key political issue of our time. The public, researchers and politicians across the political spectrum participate in passionate debates about immigration. Political parties make strong claims about how they would “manage” or “cut” migration, recognising that it is a key voting issue.

Meanwhile, the systematic study of human movement supplies us with robust evidence concerning such questions as:

• Is migration desirable or not?
• How should we understand its effects on origin and destination countries?
• How to address it in policy terms?
• Is migration a matter of human rights?
• Can border control be reconciled with respect for the rights of people on the move?

The module draws on cutting edge research in political science, international relations and similar fields. It equips you with fact-based evidence so that you can confidently participate in the ongoing societal debate on what it means to inhabit a world on the move.

What do we mean by 'dictatorship' in the 20th and 21st centuries? You will explore distinctions between totalitarianism and authoritarianism, single party rule, military and personalist dictatorships, for example. We will discuss the political, social and ideological conditions that enable dictators to come to power, consider the structures they put in place to establish and maintain their rule, and reflect on why so many dictators have clung onto power for so long.

This module addresses questions, such as:

• How have dictators represented their political projects to the people?
• What is the importance of rhetoric to the dictator?
• What kind of language have they used?
• What is the role of 'official literature' in representing the regime to the people?

You will read extracts from speeches, political tracts and literary material produced by dictators in order to explore the relationship between discourse and power. The module will also consider how writers, poets and film makers have critiqued dictatorship in their cultural production:

• What narrative strategies do cultural producers use to express their opposition to a dictator while writing under the control of the regime?
• What is the power of writing?
• How does writing from a position of exile change the way in which writers critique dictatorship?
• Does the writing of and author reproduce the same structures they are trying to counter?
• Does the writer, therefore, assume the role of a dictator?

This module focuses on the crimes that power makes possible. Criminological theory and research has traditionally prioritized the crimes of the powerless over and against the crimes of those that make laws, wield influence and capital or authorize State violence.

As such, this module will introduce you to theory, research, and case-studies on corporate and white-collar crimes, as well as state crimes like genocide and torture, in order to provide an analysis of the commission and punishment of such crimes.

In this module you’ll encounter advanced critical approaches to the study of war and security. Focusing on the social, political, and cultural complexity of war in the ‘late modern’ period, the module builds on theoretical knowledge gained previously in the course, to investigate and contest war’s increasing reach both around the globe and into everyday life.

Marking the transition from the Cold War to the ‘Global War on Terror,’ this module considers especially how contemporary war has changed in terms of tactics, technologies, and terrain, investigating the various spaces in and through which wars are fought.

Finally, the module considers the emergence of the so-called ‘New Cold War’ through in-depth analysis of the social and political complexity of active and contemporary war in the 21st century.

Explore the history of South Asia from the abolition of sati to the death of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. You will consider the social, cultural and political histories through which the idea of India was expressed and contested.

You will examine the debates and rebellions through which the European colonial project was resisted and South Asian identities were expressed and cohered. You’ll begin by considering how, in the nineteenth century, the translations, interpretations and classifications of subcontinental history, society and language were created.

How were ideas of identity, community and freedom formed in response to and against the incursion of European power in the region? Subsequently, how did the idea of the nation coalesce into something beyond Empire to create not one, but two nations: India and Pakistan?

How are health and illness shaped by society? This module explores sociological perspectives on health, illness and healthcare, focusing on how social structures and inequalities influence health outcomes.

You will engage with key debates on medicalisation, health inequalities, mental health and the politics of healthcare provision, considering how forms of social organisation shape access to care and the experience of illness. The module also examines how health is central to social reproduction—the processes that sustain daily life and future generations—including the role of care work, reproductive labour and biopolitics.

Drawing on contemporary and historical examples, you will critically analyse how power operates in medicine, how bodies are regulated and categorised and how definitions of ‘normal’ and ‘pathological’ are socially constructed. By the end of the module, you will be equipped to analyse health and medicine as deeply embedded in wider social and political contexts.

From music, film, and television to sports, fashion, and digital media, explore how cultural texts raise philosophical questions about identity, morality, power, and meaning, and examine how popular culture both reflects and shapes the way we understand ourselves and the world around us. In this module you will look at how philosophers have understood the production, circulation and reception of popular culture, and how it bears on our own autonomy, agency, power, and identity.

You will study themes which may include:

• Philosophical approaches to mass culture, cultural value, art, and aesthetic judgement

• Authorship, mass production, genre, kitsch, remix, and the ontology of reproducible artworks

• Identities, stereotypes, cultural appropriation, objectification, and other political issues in regard to popular culture and mainstream media

• The Frankfurt School on the culture industry and the critique of popular music

• Pragmatist, analytic and continental arguments for the aesthetic and social value of popular music, film, television and other forms

• Philosophical analysis of selected cultural artefacts as case studies – songs, films, novels, and visual art

In studying this module, you will gain an understanding of how philosophy provides tools for interpreting the stories we collectively tell and consume – and how those stories, in turn, influence our sense of self and the very fabric of the societies and world we inhabit.

In this module you will develop either a single extended piece or a portfolio of independent philosophical work. This may take the form of either (1) a philosophical dissertation or (2) a communication and engagement portfolio of outward-facing philosophical work targeting a diverse range of audiences.

1) Dissertation

Independent research and sustained long-form writing making up the core of professional academic philosophical study. With the Dissertation option, you have the opportunity to demonstrate your research and writing ability via completion of an independent dissertation project.

You will identify a specific philosophical topic from the wide range of research specialisms within Philosophy at Lancaster and, together with your allocated dissertation supervisor, develop a clear research question. you'll then engage with relevant primary and secondary texts to construct a compelling philosophical argument over a sustained piece of writing.

2) Communication and Engagement Portfolio

From public philosophy articles and podcasts to social media posts, science communications and policy advisory notes, academic philosophers regularly engage with, inform and persuade audiences beyond academia. This requires clear, compelling arguments and an understanding of the target audience.

With the Portfolio option, you will apply the philosophical skills and knowledge gained during your degree to communicate ideas to wider audiences. Working with your supervisor, and choosing from among the wide range of philosophical specialisms at Lancaster, you will develop a philosophical claim or perspective on a topic, engage in structured workshops to practice writing and presenting for diverse platforms, discuss your work with peers, and complete a portfolio of public-facing philosophy pieces across multiple media.

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Whichever option you choose, this module is an opportunity for you to complete your undergraduate student journey by demonstrating that you can expand on the knowledge base you have developed through your degree, and use the philosophical skills your programme has helped you develop, to produce your own independent work in philosophy. In doing so, this module will help you demonstrate, and further develop, your advanced research and communication skills, preparing you for both further academic study in philosophy and for professional roles that require skills in research, critical thinking and independent thought.

In this module we critically examine the politics and history of the Middle East and Asia Pacific, focusing on how these regional categories have been historically constructed and contested. Themes will include:

• Colonial legacies
• Nationalism
• Authoritarianism
• Gender and politics
• Religion and ethnicity
• Political movements
• Changing forms of governance

Through comparative case studies, you will be introduced to the diversity of political systems and experiences across the two regions, and you will investigate patterns of similarity and difference.

The module responds to contemporary global developments and supports critical reflection on state, society and regional identity.

In this module you will explore the relationships between sciences and cultures in an experimental “laboratory” environment, spanning scientific and humanistic knowledge in diverse linguistic and cultural settings across the world.

Topics covered include Spirits and Matter, Neoshamanism, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Science Futures, Transformations in Medical Science, Hospitals, Healthcare, Witchcraft, Cosmologies, Technocracies etc.

Sources come from multiple genres, such as speculative fiction, graphic novels, film, philosophical essays, and online talks. Focusing on diverse humanities perspectives and renderings of scientific goods and harms, this module asks intriguing questions relevant to the twenty-first century human condition:

• How do sciences and cultures interact, assemble and co-create in the world, and how do such co-creations shape and transform the world?
• How can we imagine the future of the relationship between sciences and cultures, and what is our role as interdisciplinary arts, humanities and social sciences scholars in imagining this relationship?
• How do diverse works explore the relationship between sciences and cultures?
• In what ways do cultural ideas and practices inspire new modes of engagement with science and technology?
• What unseen matters (e.g. microbes, particles) and horrors can science fiction render visible and comprehensible?
• Where is AI taking humanity: unexplored territories and are we the robots of a post-human future?
• What are the ways in which contemporary philosophy, literature and film dialogue and co-innovate with biomedical science, changing how we think and delivering real impact in healthcare?
• In what ways can contemporary technocracies be informed by ancient and new cultural traditions to ensure that the societies of the future forefront human-centred wellbeing?
• What are some of the diverse ways in which sciences and cultures, spirits and materials have interacted, co-created, and transformed in tandem across different contexts?
• In what ways can the humanities productively appropriate and reposition techniques and approaches from the sciences, and vice versa?
• What conditions facilitate the creation of new “formulas” that blend/explode/remould scientific and cultural ideas, norms, practices?

Engage with a significant philosophical text or collection of texts, working with an academic philosopher on the topic of their live philosophical project and expertise. In this module you will:

• Read deeply

• Develop interpretations

• Make reasoned assessments

• Find and engage with secondary literature

• Contribute to contemporary understanding and critique of your text(s)

In student-led and discussion-based workshops, you will present your own philosophical interpretations and arguments, take part in guided debates, and work on a portfolio of critical readings. In doing so you will be joining the practice, shared by all professional philosophers, of contributing to the understanding and development of the field itself.

The specific text(s) you will work on will vary year by year, but will be drawn from the interests and expertises of Lancaster philosophy staff. They might include, for example:

• Work by philosophers whose work had, and continues to have, major impact, such as Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor Mill, Hannah Arendt, J. L. Austin, or Iris Marion Young

• Work by significant contemporary philosophers such as Miranda Fricker, Peter Railton, Martha Nussbaum, or David Lewis

• Work from within a specific philosophical tradition, such as classical or modern Chinese philosophy, or work by nineteenth-century women philosophers.

One or more options will be offered each year.

In studying this module, you will deploy the skills you have developed in your first two years of study, gain in-depth knowledge of an important area of philosophy, and further sharpen your skills in reading, interpretation, and thoughtful response – critical skills for both postgraduate study and a range of post-study careers.

We are living in an era of accelerating crises – of democracy, capitalism, environment, and governance itself – that are reshaping the 21st century global order. In this module you will examine these intersecting crises and their uneven social, political and economic impacts.

Moving beyond traditional political analyses, the module offers an original perspective on the complex interplay of technological disruptions, economic instability, health emergencies and geopolitical shifts. Informed by critical public policy, political economy and sustainability debates, the module explores how different actors, from international institutions to grassroots movements, attempt to contain these crises and how they are transformed by them.

Our understanding of power, security and governance is being reshaped by a world where crisis has become the norm. You will assess competing understandings and responses to ongoing challenges through in-depth case studies of specific crises, critical debates around their nature, and forward-looking research about their possible trajectories.

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 different points of view from a range of guest speakers on concepts like power, race, gender, class, affect and justice.

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.

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.

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.

You will explore queer futures from a range of perspectives and viewpoints, while examining both feminist and queer theory, as well as queer media and cultural texts and material relating to areas such as activism, politics and healthcare.