Keele University Prospectus Undergraduate | 2016 | Page 140
HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
Liberal Arts
Overview
Liberal Arts is an innovative and distinctive
programme which builds on Keele’s sixty year
history and founding vision of flexible,
interdisciplinary education for good, global
citizenship. It has a core curriculum of modules
in social sciences and humanities, with some
natural science related content.
Research based learning and teaching differentiate
this programme from the more familiar teaching
focused model of liberal arts. Keele’s small size,
together with its rich research culture and tradition
of interdisciplinary teaching, ensure a special
student experience. Much of the teaching and
other programme activities are located in the
architecturally impressive Keele Hall.
The programme is informed and shaped by two
core intellectual themes: sustainability and global
citizenship; and creativity and innovation. It makes
use of Keele’s 600 acre campus and the surrounding
area of the West Midlands and Manchester as ‘living
labs’, enabling hands on research into Britain’s
industrial history and current/future oriented issues
of economic regeneration, social innovation and
environmental sustainability. Local field trips are built
into the core modules.
Learning a modern language is encouraged though
not compulsory, and elective modules are available
in a choice of languages.
Studying liberal arts is intellectually exciting and
challenging, and it will encourage you to think
critically about the world around you. It will also
equip you for a range of challenging careers.
Course content
First year
Core modules:
Meet the System: Understanding the World
through the Liberal Arts Why the liberal arts?
Why interdisciplinary? This is a survey module
providing a grand tour of the liberal arts (social
sciences and humanities) guided by the concept
of the system and by systems thinking. It offers
an introduction to systems theory and examines a
range of systems including ecological, biological,
social, political, economic, information, organisations,
management and supply chains, and systemic
change in the past, present and future.
Ten Problems of Philosophy introduces you to ten
of the most fundamental philosophical problems and
the distinctive way that philosophers approach these
problems. You will acquire a basic understanding
of the problems themselves and the views taken
on them by major philosophers. You will learn to
critically assess the various philosophical positions
and arguments, and will be encouraged to develop
your own personal views.
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The module incorporates metaphysical problems
concerning free will and determinism, personal
identity, time, universals, and consciousness, as well
as epistemological problems concerning knowledge,
scepticism, and induction, and problems of
philosophical logic concerning existence.
Media, Messages and Metrics explores reading
literature, creative writing, cultural and technological
literacy, uses of textual, semiotic and digital forms
of communication, creative computing, networks, an
introduction to quantitative methods and numeracy.
You are encouraged, but not compelled, to take a
language as one of your elective module choices.
Other elective