Foundation Year Foundation in Humanities

Love, sex and death - how do these make us human? In this module, you’ll gain core analytical skills, key to studying Humanities at university, as you explore human bodies and emotions through time.

You’ll understand the ideas, practices and experiences that we have around bodies and feelings. You’ll also explore how bodies and emotions are shaped by:

You’ll analyse texts, images and artefacts to understand the core role of human emotions and bodies in our world.

• politics
• religion
• science
• medicine
• literary and artistic fashion.

You’ll analyse texts, images and artefacts to understand the core role of human emotions and bodies in our world.

How do genres - styles or categories of literature - grow from major events in history and culture? In this module, you’ll explore how drama and literary studies relate to genre. You’ll get to grips with genres as categories that have evolved historically to become key influences on culture, taste and fashion. You’ll investigate real life cases of key movements across a range of disciplines. You’ll also consider how art responds to life and life to art.

In this module, you’ll learn about basic theories of meaning-making. You’ll begin to undertake a critical analysis of systems of representation - which could be spoken or written language, and virtual or physical texts. You’ll come to understand how meaning is made, but also challenged, through acts of interpretation which often we’re not conscious of making. You’ll also be encouraged to reflect on your own role in producing ‘meanings’.

Do you dream of studying a Humanities subject at university? In this module, you’ll gain the core skills and strategies you need to succeed as a university student. You’ll build up knowledge of each of the subjects within our Foundation in Humanities course and learn how to turn critical reading into clear and successful undergraduate assignments. You’ll also learn effective study strategies, including:

• learning from lecture content
• taking part in seminars
• working and studying in groups.

What is a nation? Do nations develop through shared language or the history of a people? Are they about laws and governance, or habits and customs? In this module, you’ll get to grips with core themes from subjects, including:

• Sociology
• Politics and International Relations
• History
• Philosophy
• English Literature.

You’ll develop a strong understanding of the concepts of a nation (including elements such as borders and national identity) and its challenges.

This module gives you the chance to do independent research on a topic that fascinates you. You’ll gain the key skills you need to succeed as a university student, as you create, manage and complete your own research project. You’ll have one-to-one guidance from an expert academic supervisor in your chosen subject area who will support you to shape your research from your initial ideas through to your completed project.

This is your opportunity to explore some of the key issues (e.g.urbanisation, poverty and social exclusion, environmental concerns and gender issues) within the field of Development Studies. You’ll also look at the factors causing poverty in countries defined as less developed.

Exploring the fundamentals of how sociology, human geography and economics interact in the process of development. You’ll study key topics that will teach you to draw on your own knowledge and experience where possible to evaluate the policies in pursuit of development, and to address the problems faced by least developed countries. You’ll build your skills in identifying and reflecting on some of the key social, economic and environmental issues that challenge sustainable development.

At the heart of this module on Global Issues is a deep concern for the future of people and the planet. You'll explore current global issues and will consider their causes and impacts. You'll be invited to reflect on how to drive the changes so urgently needed for a more equitable and sustainable future.

You'll explore three overarching areas: power, people and planet and will utilise the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UNESCO ESD competencies as a framework of reference. You'll also draw on theoretical models such as Systems Thinking and Futures Thinking that support a transformative learning approach to build the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competencies that you'll need to navigate and respond to today’s ‘super-wicked’ problems.

By the end of this module, you'll be empowered with key skills of resilience, empathy and hope that are vital for working towards a fairer, fitter future.

In this module, you’ll dive into art and artists through the century. You’ll explore the Camden Town Group of painters. You’ll examine the abstract sculptures of Barbara Hepworth. And you’ll analyse the collages of Pop artists like Peter Blake. You’ll scrutinise paintings, sculptures and films. You’ll discuss how British artists tried to create modern forms of expression. And you’ll investigate the ways they promoted their work, like:

• exhibitions
• manifestos
• books
• little magazines.

You’ll participate in on-site visits, where you’ll examine works of art firsthand. You’ll also attend exciting lectures and seminars where you’ll explore your ideas and enrich your understanding of modern British art.

In these modules, you’ll gain the practical language skills to succeed in your French degree. As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of French, you’ll develop strong skills in French speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in French, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between France and other countries.

In these modules, you’ll gain the practical language skills to succeed in your Spanish degree. As someone with a beginner’s knowledge of Spanish, you’ll develop strong skills in Spanish speaking and writing, translating and interpreting. You’ll be able to express yourself effectively in Spanish, and gain a critical sensitivity to the intercultural differences between Spain and other countries.

How is political opinion, authority and democracy shaped and influenced? In this module, you’ll explore foundational issues in political philosophy through exploring the main political ideologies. You’ll start your journey with Liberalism as the default position in the West since the English, American and French Revolutions. Your focus then shifts to the ideologies that arose in response to Liberalism, including:

• Conservatism
• Communism
• Fascism
• Communitarianism
• Anarchism
• and Feminism.

You’ll also consider questions linked to the theory of knowledge, such as can any ideology be rationally justified?

You'll start an exploration of how educators can support and encourage curiosity and exploration in children, through the use of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM).

You'll focus on understanding and developing teaching methods that can enhance childrens' learning. Incorporating STEAM concepts into each of these areas. You will have the chance to

• investigate
• observe
• and create opportunities for hands-on experiments and problem-based learning.

You'll also join discussions on the challenges and difficulties that may arise when implementing STEAM in different educational settings.

Explore the study and understanding of Culture and Society by looking at relevant Customs, Icons and Symbols with a particular emphasis on communicative practice of reading and written language in contexts.

Sustainability, climate change, conservation: these are pressing contemporary issues with a rich and compelling history. This module will introduce you to the ways in which climate and the environment have changed over the past 6 centuries.

Explore responses and impacts from cultures and countries across the globe, from the 15th and 16th centuries, through to the present climate emergency.

Investigate environmental changes and how they were contested and experienced at communal, national and international levels. You'll think about the political, economic, social and cultural contexts of resource management, energy use and food production and consider future policy solutions.

You’ll engage with a wide variety of historical sources which we can use to understand environmental history, including:

• demographic sources
• institutional records
• visual sources such as maps and plans.

You'll gain digital history skills, through the digital mapping technology you'll use on the course.

On this module, you'll build your sense of a criminology community through collaborating and planning a criminology newsletter. This will help you take ownership of your criminology studies.

You'll build on the skills and knowledge you gained on Creating Criminology 1, where you will have interacted with guest speakers from careers and with recent alumni. You'll get to use alumni as interviewees for your Criminology newsletter. You'll also engage with discussions for your future after university, and where you can make a positive impact with your Criminology degree.