Humanities Foundation Year

On this module, you will learn about several examples of war and conflict, including the English and Irish Civil Wars, the two world wars and the Shoah. You will explore the multi-faceted way historians, writers, critics and artists have engaged with conflict, and work with a diverse range of sources and media on the subject of war and conflict to hone your analytical skills, historical and cultural understanding of war and conflict. In the process, you will practice team-working and presentation skills, as well as traditional research and essay-writing skills.

On this module you will explore concepts and theories of identity. You will engage with ideas of class, sexual difference, gender, racial and ethnic identity across the Humanities. You will then apply these theoretical understandings of personal and collective identities, analysing and interpreting identity represented and embodied in textual, linguistic, visual, filmic, and televisual sources. You will explore the ways in which notions of identity have evolved historically, and the ways in which particular identity groups have suffered exclusion and oppression.

On this module you will complete a released test and develop a 1500-word essay demonstrating and evidencing the broad range of academic, professional and transferable employability skills you have developed throughout the Foundation year. These will include demonstrations of cogent academic prose, accurate academic citation, research skills, independent learning, oral presentation, and team work. You will develop the skills required to complete these assignments throughout semester one, drawing on the content of the module’s lectures, workshops and seminars.

On this module you will explore the history and culture of Newcastle and the North East. As you explore you will learn to find scholarly resources that help you interpret the region’s past and culture. At the same time you will learn how to evaluate primary and secondary sources whether they are buildings, books, or blogs. Finally, you will learn how to create an archive of research so that you can develop your own meaningful accounts of the lives and events that have shaped the region. The module will introduce you to some key people, places and periods in the history and culture of Newcastle and the North East, and you will also have the opportunity to investigate the region guided by your own specific interests.

Political and social life is often shaken by claims about scandalous circumstances and events. In some cases, such revelations are the result of thorough investigations by activists and journalists, who help uncover serious misdeeds. In other instances, however, social media and ‘fake news’ amplify conspiracy theories and lies, casting suspicion on innocent people. The module approaches these different phenomena from a historical perspective.

There are two major strands to this module. First, you will investigate how, at different points in history, particular individuals or groups became the victim of false allegations. Potential examples include the fate of women who faced accusations of witchcraft as well as the stereotypes and myths that were deployed against Jews. In covering such cases, you will gain a better understanding of the perfidious power of rumours and lies. The second strand deals with political scandals and their attempted cover-ups. In some cases, such scandals amounted to significant milestones in political history. For example, the Watergate affair – revolving around major abuses of power by US president Richard Nixon – was uncovered by journalists, leading to Nixon’s resignation and becoming a reference point in American politics. You will also learn about scandals that involved corruption or people’s private lives – and the way in which they were covered in the media.

As a whole, the module advances your understanding of specific places, events and time periods, while tackling issues that are of ongoing significance.

This module challenges you to analyse the themes of ‘offence’, ‘discrimination’ and ‘censorship’ across the disciplines of English Language and Linguistics, Literature and Creative Writing. From Shakespearean insults to the language of hip-hop, from banned books to non-standard language, this module explores the question of what is ‘offensive’ language and literature, and asks what responses, if any, offensive language and literature provoke in society?

Using theories drawn from language and linguistic study, and from critical and cultural theory, and through reference to a range of cultural forms – including drama, novels, poetry, pop music and ‘everyday discourse’ – this module interrogates the concept of offence from a variety of perspectives. What is offence? Why are certain terms, aspects of language-in-use, and texts deemed offensive? How do ideas about what is offensive change over time and in different contexts?

In asking these questions, this module will provide you with an exciting opportunity to explore language, and a range of canonical and non-canonical texts, in relation to broader debates about what is deemed acceptable – and unacceptable – in language and literature at particular historical moments.

This module showcases the wider applications of Humanities research outside of the academic sector, ensuring that students are aware of the potential uses and value of their university degree from the outset. It achieves this by exploring just some of the many ways in which Humanities academics work with external groups and organisations in the wider world beyond universities. In turn the module encourages students to reflect on the ways in which their degree offers a wide set of skills and approaches to learning that can be deployed in an enormous range of settings including: human resources; local councils; police, the NHS, the legal sector; government work and policy; cultural and heritage institutions; environmental agencies; the charitable and NGO sector; schools and education. Whilst teaching students about the potential relevance and application of their degree in the widest sense, the module also helps students to refine their individual research interests and strengths by reflecting on, and developing, their own specific interests and skills whilst also working collaboratively on a bigger team project. The module therefore prepares Humanities students for future undergraduate study and graduate careers by making clear the role of universities as outward-facing institutions, and providing an opportunity for students to explore future professional interests within a supported environment.