Bachelor of Arts in English

at University of Southampton - Avenue Campus United Kingdom

This BA Philosophy, Ethics and Religion degree provides you with the opportunity to explore deep  and far-reaching issues. You will engage with questions that have puzzled great thinkers for millennia, and are still relevant today: How should we live? What can we really know? Can religious beliefs be justified? And what is their role in society? How can we apply philosophy to real world problems such as global poverty?

You will explore these fundamental issues using the philosophical method of reasoned argument and critical scrutiny. You’ll investigate ethical questions and the nature of religion in society, across a wide range of fields including anthropology, history, and politics.

Our broad curriculum allows you to approach topics from multiple perspectives, with the flexibility to pursue your own interests. You can also take modules outside your main degree subject, to diversify your learning.

• Develop an understanding of basic philosophical arguments in matters of ethics, reason, and responsibility
• Study questions such as the duties of affluent people towards those living in poverty around the world
• Learn about the ethics of global poverty, science and technology, plus moral questions, and the nature of moral judgments
• Apply philosophical thought to language, morality, sex and other important aspects of life

You’ll learn in small groups in a relaxed and friendly environment. You can also take modules from other disciplines such as anthropology or psychology, study a language, or choose from a range of cross-disciplinary modules

Explore 19th century English literature in-depth with a master’s degree at the University of Southampton.

Our course gives you the opportunity to specialise in the culture and history of the 19th century, covering topics such as:

• Key debates in 19th century studies
• The literary marketplace and its cultures
• Changes to aesthetics and taste during the 19th century
• Issues of gender, race, class, science and capitalism
• Material culture and print culture

On completion of the course, you’ll be ready for a career in teaching, publishing, librarianship or cultural heritage.

You’ll get the chance to carry out advanced-level research and independent critical thinking, and to make effective use of archives, manuscripts, and research libraries.

This pathway is linked to the Southampton Centre for Nineteenth-Century Research, where an interdisciplinary group of over 70 staff, student and external researchers debate key issues in 19th century studies. The centre also hosts events including guest speakers, seminars and conferences.

We offer a flexible module structure which is designed to give you an advanced understanding of cultural analysis, textual interpretation and theoretical method.

You’ll explore the interrelations of text, theory and culture across the field of English literary and cultural studies. We’ll work with you to:

• develop your knowledge of critical and research methods
• raise your awareness of the historical and critical reception of literature in various periods
• explore the role of literature in a contested cultural framework

Discover how human civilisations evolved, and why people and societies have changed over time. Through the latest techniques and technologies, you'll investigate how our ancestors lived, from the earliest human origins, to Neolithic Britain and Ancient Egypt. On BSc Archaeology you could look into climate change at the end of the last ice age or what the chemical composition of human bones can tell us about diet during the medieval period.

Archaeology is the study of the human past through its material remains, such as:

• Buildings
• Monuments
• Artefacts
• Biological remains
• Written sources
• Landscape

Whether in the laboratory or on a dig, you'll develop transferable skills by exploring questions about people in the past and in the present.

On this archaeology BSc, you'll focus on scientific methods and techniques, with options including:

• Studying human and animal bones     
• Physics and chemistry of archaeological material
• Laboratory techniques for dating
• Maritime archaeology

You'll learn through research-led projects and practical field experience. You'll do a minimum of 3 weeks’ fieldwork as part of an active research project. This could include:

• Excavating archaeological sites
• Recording a standing building
• Conducting geophysical surveys
• Collecting archaeological material from ploughed fields

We have a purpose-built archaeology building, equipped with the latest science-based laboratories. Here, you'll gain hands-on experience with archaeological artefacts and materials, and receive the practical training needed for a career in archaeology.

We’re also offering up to 10 bursaries of £1000 each to incoming students (subject to criteria). These are from the Terry Mason Bursary and the University of Southampton Archaeology Bursary Fund.

Gain in-depth knowledge and develop your research interests on this MA philosophy degree. Whether you’re planning to take your research to a higher level, or want to build on your undergraduate studies, this UK course will meet your needs. You’ll study the central issues in philosophy, and follow your own interests through a range of optional modules.

Philosophy at the University of Southampton is renowned for its research excellence in areas such as aesthetics, normativity and the history of philosophy. 

On this Philosophy MA you’ll gain a thorough training in research skills as you study key works of the discipline. 

Compulsory topics cover ideas such as such as mind, knowledge and reality, and the philosophy of value. 

You’ll also have the opportunity to choose from a wide range of options covering particular areas and philosophers, from Wittgenstein to classical Indian philosophy. 

During your studies you’ll learn how to research, analyse, and present key transferable skills that will be invaluable to your future career.

Become fluent in a major international language, deepen your understanding of Linguistics and spend a year in a French-speaking country. You can complement your language learning with modules on History, Contemporary Society, Literature and Film.

What you learn on this French and Linguistics degree will prepare you for work across the world. French is native to France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and the French Caribbean, and it’s an official language in much of Africa and Asia.

You’ll start at a level that matches your ability in spoken and written French, which helps ensure rapid progress. You’ll also have excellent resources to support you. The Centre for Language Study at Southampton has everything you need.

A module in year 2 prepares you for the following year abroad. You can spend the year in countries such as:

• France
• Switzerland
• Belgium
• Canada
• Guadeloupe
• Martinique
• La Réunion

We have partner universities in the Erasmus exchange programme across France and Switzerland.

For movie lovers and history buffs, we offer this exciting and challenging film and history degree with year abroad. You'll examine film from a variety of perspectives: as popular art, big business and as a cultural record. You'll study history and the links between both subjects. A year abroad will enhance your understanding of visual arts and let you experience a new culture.

You'll study familiar classics alongside contemporary cinema, and genres including:

• film noir
• horror
• science fiction
• documentary
• animation

Your history modules will cover the development of historical debates, imagining the past, and topics ranging from ancient societies to the war on terror.

Our Framing the Past module looks at cinema's relationship with history. You'll study films about the distant past of Greece, Rome or Egypt, up to more recent times, such as heritage films about the British Empire or the Titanic.

You'll spend your third year abroad at an exchange partner university. You can study in English but will have opportunities to develop your language skills.

 As part of this course you can:

• take modules in film noir, animation, horror and sci-fi
• explore British, European and world cinema
• discover early film through archive visits
• access document collections, including the Wellington, Palmerston and Mountbatten papers
• use one of the largest Jewish document centres in Europe, the Parkes Archive
• submit your own film to our annual student film festival

On this BA Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree, you'll explore past and current socio-economic systems and discover how the world works. Learn quantitative tools, historical data, and the technical skills to analyse them. Philosophy modules will teach you logic and ethics, and how to critique the present order. You'll spend a year studying abroad to experience another culture and see a different world view.

On this broad, combined honours course, you’ll get a balanced education in all three Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) subjects. It is owned by the Philosophy department.

The degree helps you properly frame the questions that unite the subject of the PPE degree, and answer them in a rigorous but free-spirited way. These include questions on:

• Inequality
• Democracy
• Justice
• Globalisation
• Happiness
• Work
• Money

You'll spend a year studying at a university in another part of the world. Destinations include countries in Europe, Asia and North America.

Compulsory modules provide a strong grounding in key areas of study. Optional modules will let you pursue your own interests in topics as varied as:

• Logic
• International security
• Chinese politics

As part of this course, you can:

• Study topics that are unique to either philosophy, economics, or politics
• Gain professional skills in economics that will be useful in your future careers
• Learn how to conduct and present research
• Take part in other philosophy events held by the lifelonglearning team, where you can discuss philosophy in a relaxed atmosphere

You can take modules from other disciplines, such as anthropology or psychology, or choose from a range of cross-disciplinary modules. You can also study a language.

Explore how humans and our ancestors engaged with the world, and gain a fascinating insight into what it means to be human. This archaeology and anthropology with year abroad course combines aspects of the humanities and the sciences. You'll study global human diversity in time and space, in a truly interdisciplinary way. Along with studying the theoretical background, you'll do fieldwork as part of an active research project in the UK or abroad.

BA Archaeology and Anthropology with Year Abroad will give you an insight into how human societies came into being today, how they have changed over time, and the underlying reasons for human diversity today.

The degree integrates the disciplines of archaeology (the study of the human past through its material remains) and anthropology, which is made up of 3 areas:

• Social anthropology (exploring how people in different places create meaning and build communities)
• Biological anthropology (looking at the physiological and genetic diversity in present and past human and primate societies)
• Anthropological linguistics (the study of humans through the languages they use)

This course combines aspects of the humanities and the sciences. We have a purpose-built archaeology building, equipped with the latest science-based laboratories. You'll gain hands-on experience with archaeological artefacts and materials, and receive practical training for a career in archaeology or anthropology.

Our anthropology and archaeology degree with year studying abroad gives you the chance to spend a year at one of our partner institutions such as the University of Malta or the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona. This will give you the chance to discover theories and findings in exotic locations, boost your career opportunities and find out how to become an anthropologist or archaeologist.

This degree gives you the opportunity to study a minor subject alongside the main programme.

We’re also offering up to 10 bursaries of £1000 each to incoming students (subject to criteria). These are from the Terry Mason Bursary and the University of Southampton Archaeology Bursary Fund.

A Philosophy and History degree at Southampton provides you with an opportunity to explore the events and ideas which have shaped, and continue to shape, the world around us. You'll explore some of the biggest questions of philosophy: Is there a god? What is morality? Can there be objective facts in ethics and politics? How should we think about global poverty or sexual morality? As a history student you'll be able to develop your own interpretations of disputed narratives across a wide range of periods, from Alexander the Great to New World slavery and the Space Age, and many specialist areas including East and Central European history, South East Asian history and Jewish history. Strengths of the degree are a wide choice of topics in the history of philosophy, including non-Western philosophical traditions, and an exceptional diversity of options to choose from in both subjects.

You’ll be taught in small groups in a relaxed and friendly environment. You'll benefit from the expertise of academic staff whose research feeds directly into the course content.

Compulsory modules will give you a strong grounding in both subjects. Optional module choices will give you the freedom to pursue your own interests in topics as varied as metaphysics, Reagan’s America, and witchcraft in 17th century England.

You can broaden your knowledge by taking modules from other disciplines such as anthropology or psychology. You can also study a language.

In this degree you can:

• Develop an understanding of basic philosophical arguments in matters of ethics, reason, and responsibility
• Learn about different approaches to history and gain access to a large collection of primary evidence
• Explore how political motives and other forms of bias shape the way we think about the past
• Apply philosophical thought to language, morality, sex and other aspects of life
• Study areas of history rarely taught in most other UK universities, for example: East and Central European history, South East Asian history and Jewish history

Improve your knowledge of history and literature in English by studying them together. You could read fiction from Africa to help you understand European political history. You could gain new insights into the reign of James I by immersing yourself in the theatre of his time. A year abroad will enhance your studies and let you experience a new culture.

History at Southampton covers the ancient world to the present day. Our English modules explore writing from around the world and its connection to politics, the arts, identity and more.

With our advice, you can shape your degree to suit your own development. For example, you can:

• Learn to write screenplays
• Study Victorian sensation fiction
• Take several modules on the history and literature of oceans

Your studies will include critical analysis, presentations and group work. These will help you develop your conceptual thinking, communication and research skills.

You can take modules that support your year abroad, such as a modern language or European politics.

Our year abroad partner universities in Europe include:

• Barcelona
• Prague
• Frankfurt
• Lausanne

You can also choose universities outside Europe, including locations in:

• The United States
• Canada
• Australia
• South Korea

As part of this course you can:

• Join one of 40 student-led performing arts groups
• Take part in writing workshops at Nuffield Southampton Theatres
• Use a unique collection of rare books at the Chawton House Library
• Explore experimental writing with our Entropics events
• Get one-to-one tutorials on writing from our Royal Literary Fund Fellows

You can deepen your links to our History community by:

• Joining the dynamic, student-run History Society
• Use one of the largest Jewish document centres in Europe, the Parkes Archive