This module will present key ideas characteristic of the 20th and early 21st Centuries, which may include ideas from science, political and social thought, new ways of thinking about the arts, etc. The module will comprise reading and discussion of original texts, but also explore the interaction of these ideas on wider cultural or social movements and events. We will focus particularly on cultural artefacts, novels, film, popular music, political speeches or cartoons, local or international journalism, etc. The module should be of interest to students of history, sociology, politics or literature, among other, insofar as it provides context for their other studies, and insofar as it provides a number of cases studies of the reciprocal influence of various types of culture (understood very broadly).

Portfolio, 100%
totalling the equivalent of 2500 words. (Learning outcomes 1-4)

This module will be entirely taught through a series of workshops, two hours per week. The workshops will permit a flexible use of time, divided as the subject requires between brief lectures, screenings, group discussion, or small group work.

Key information set data:
15% scheduled learning and teaching activities
85% guided independent learning

Library facilities, online learning facilities

Auster, Paul. (1995) Smoke. Studiocanal.
Bataille, Georges. (1995) 'The Notion of Expenditure' in Visions of Excess. Ed. and Trans. A. Stoekl. Minnesota.
Byatt, A. S. (2001) The Biographer's Tale. Vintage
Carruth, Shane. (2013) Upstream Colour. Metrodome.
Coppola, Francis Ford. (1974) The Conversation. Studiocanal.
de Beauvoir, Simone. (1948) The Ethics of Ambiguity. Trans., B. Frechtman. Citidel.
Einstein, Albert. (1920). Relativity: The Special and General Theory. Martio.
Goodall, Jane. (1971) In the Shadow of Man. Phoenix.
Kaufman, Charlie. (2008) Synecdoche, New York. Revolver.
Krugman, Paul. (2013) End this Depression Now! Norton.
Lang, Fritz. (1927) Metropolis. Eureka.
Lyotard, Jean-Francois. (1984) The Postmodern Condition. Trans. G. Bennington. Manchester U Press.
Rawls. John. (2001) Justice as Fairness. Harvard.
Stein, Gertrude. (2003) Tender Buttons. Dover.
Stoppard, Tom. (1992) Arcadia. Faber & Faber.

1. UNDERSTANDING OF SOME OF THE KEY IDEAS IN RECENT THOUGHT, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO WIDER CULTURAL OR SOCIAL EVENTS AND ARTEFACTS
Application
Knowledge & Understanding

2. THE ABILITY TO ENGAGE WITH CHALLENGING ORIGINAL TEXTS OR OTHER ARTEFACTS, RESOURCEFULLY AND WITH UNDERSTANDING.
Analysis
Enquiry
Learning

3. THE CAPACITY TO PURSUE, IN WRITTEN DISCUSSION AND IN ESSAY FORM, THE MEANING, JUSTIFICATION, IMPLICATIONS AND CONTEXTS OF MAJOR IDEAS.
Communication

4. AN APPRECIATION OF THE DISTINCTIVE METHODS AND CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE HISTORY OF IDEAS AS A DISCIPLINE, AND WITH THE RELATION OF INTELLECTUAL HISTORY TO OTHER ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES.
Enquiry
Learning
Reflection