For most people even today Nero was one of the ‘bad’ emperors (he killed his mother), and Caligula was mad and depraved (he wanted to appoint his favourite horse as consul, and committed incest with his sisters); but the categorisation of emperors along moral lines is not a modern phenomenon. The emperor was without doubt the most important individual in the Roman world, the embodiment of the imperial project. His character, appearance, and actions were of fascination to contemporaries during and after his life. In this module we will survey Roman cultural responses to the office of emperor, and specifically the role played by prominent authors in creating a discourse on the individuals that occupied the imperial throne from its inception to Late Antiquity. We will also explore the role Imperial women played in validating the position of the emperor and as a means of undermining him. Several genres of ‘political’ literature flourished under the empire, which took the emperor as their primary subject - biography, historiography, and speeches of praise and blame. Their rise may partly have been a response to the concentration of power in a single individual, but they also constantly engaged in evaluating emperors in traditional terms of virtue and vice, turning emperors into examples of good or bad rule for later holders of the office. Such texts, then, played an active role in the creation of an image of an emperor both during and after his reign. In this module we will survey key texts and images chronologically from the first to sixth centuries, and consider how and why each author interpreted individual emperors; how the ideal of the emperor developed during that time; when and in what way it was acceptable to criticise an emperor, or how risky this could be; to what extent an emperor could influence the creation of his positive image via contemporary orators. We will examine some case studies of the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ of emperors such as Claudius, Caligula, and Constantine, and in the process you will gain a chronological overview of the Roman imperial period. Finally, we’ll reflect on how modern depictions of emperors, in formal biographies and TV/film depictions, compare to the concerns articulated in ancient texts and images.
In 1831 the philosopher John Stuart Mill struggled to define the ‘Spirit’ of the nineteenth century. ‘It is’, he wrote, ‘an age of transition. Mankind have outgrown old institutions and old doctrines, and have not yet acquired new ones.’ If the nineteenth century was, as is sometimes assumed, an age of complacency and confidence, it was also an age of anxiety and openness, experimentation and invention. This module examines the literature of this age of transition. Students enrolled in this module will learn about the material history of reading and publication, and investigate nineteenth-century experiments with genre and literary mode. Throughout, we will emphasise the ways in which the fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction prose written in Britain between 1800 and 1900 sought to invent new forms of writing and styles of expression capable of coping with new doctrines, institutions, and ways of living.
The ancient Roman elite was highly competitive, with families and individuals fighting for control and influence in all spheres of social and political life, in elections, in the law courts, in the arenas, theatres, and temples of Rome, and outside of the City in the provinces. We shall aim to understand Roman power: no small task, since the lexicon of ‘power’ in this period is so complex that no single English term does it justice. As well as studying the famous men who vied for supreme power at Rome during the late-republican civil wars – Sulla, Caesar, Pompey, Mark Antony, et al. – you will learn about how power was institutionalised (in the senate, the law courts, and the popular assemblies), communicated (via speeches, monuments, and spectacles), transferred between generations (by wealth-based privileges and access to rhetorical education), and ultimately restricted (in the hands of a sole ruler, Augustus). By the end of the module, you will have received a thorough grounding in the political life of first-century-BCE Rome, its contemporaneous societal and cultural representation, and the indelible impression it has left on the historiographical record.
Studying is not simply about transferring a set of facts from lecturer to students, but about developing yourself as an individual and recognising that you are responsible for your own learning. Knowledge in the 21st century is fast moving and in such a knowledge economy, where the shelf life of much knowledge is short, you will be expected to be a lifelong learner. In order to do this, you need to be a resilient learner, understand how you best learn and reflect on how you can improve. This module will help you actively engage with this process. “We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” Marcel Proust (French novelist 1871 – 1922)
Studying is not simply about transferring a set of facts from lecturer to students, but about developing yourself as an individual and recognising that you are responsible for your own learning. Knowledge in the 21st century is fast moving and in such a knowledge economy, where the shelf life of much knowledge is short, you will be expected to be a lifelong learner. In order to do this, you need to be a resilient learner, understand how you best learn and reflect on how you can improve. This module will help you actively engage with this process through a range of topics and tasks and will help you prepare to be a successful learner during your chosen degree. “We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.” Marcel Proust (French novelist 1871 – 1922)
This module takes a practical approach primarily through assignment/project lead application of concepts of yacht design, applicable to both powered and sailing craft. Four assignments in areas of initial design, hull design, sailplan and rig development and structures allow the participants to experiences the use of a variety of design tools and methodologies and develop skills in making engineering and design judgements.
This course provides part of the essential knowledge and skills required for conducting the Final Project module in the final year. SAS (Statistical Analysis System) is the leading data analytics software package. This module will cover the fundamentals of SAS base programming. On successful completion of this module, you will be able to use SAS software to read data, access, manage and manipulate ‘big’ data, solve problems, save programs and datasets, use conditional logic, combine files, produce tables and listings of data, and use data analysis techniques. The module will also help prepare you for the SAS Base programming certification.
Schopenhauer is one of the great original writers of the nineteenth century, and a unique voice in the history of thought. His central concept of the will leads him to a pessimistic view of existence: he regards human beings as striving irrationally and suffering in a world that has no purpose. This condition can be redeemed by the elevation of aesthetic consciousness and finally overcome by the will’s self-denial and a mystical vision of the self as one with the world as a whole. He relies on the philosophy of Kant in the Critique of Pure Reason, but is in many ways progressive, an atheist with profound ideas about the human essence and the meaning of existence which point forward to Nietzsche, Freud and existentialism. He was also the first major Western thinker to seek a synthesis with Eastern thought. The module offers an examination of Schopenhauer’s epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics, as contained in The World as Will and Representation and other works.
Science Communication involves the dissemination of science to a lay audience. Equally as important; a good scientist is a good communicator. Science Communication is essential as an aid for governmental and industrial policy making. It is needed to counteract any misperceptions about science and is becoming an obligation for publically funded work. It is an important tool for motivating our next generation of scientists. Hence, Science Communication can boost a student’s employability for a wide range of jobs. This module provides an introduction to the methods and resources a student will need in order to play an active role in communicating science both as an individual and as part of a team.
This module will consolidate and expand your knowledge and clinical practice. Clinical specialists will deliver the theoretical and practical aspects of this module. Using our dedicated clinical skills facility, you will apply the theory and perform a range of cardiac and respiratory tests on model patients before venturing out into your clinical placement.
This module will introduce you to the theoretical concepts and application of testing the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Our dedicated clinical skills facilities will allow you to apply your knowledge in a safe environment under the supervision of clinical experts. The inclusion of model patients will provide you with confidence and the communication skills required whilst out on your year 1 clinical placements.
Scientific computing is concerned with numerical representations and algorithms for solving problems that can be implemented as computer programs. This module gives an overview of the field of scientific and numerical computing. The module covers the most important aspects of numeric representation and algorithms for solving numeric problems. In particular, the module considers numerical methods for solving sets of equations, optimisation, matrix factorisations, differentiation and integration.
This module is designed to enable students to develop their approach and detailed understanding of the evidence base associated with their chosen research project.
This module involves the completion of a literature review in preparation for the student’s MSc dissertation project. The results of the literature review are presented in a written report and in a short oral presentation. To support the preparation of the review and its presentation, the module contains formal workshop sessions from communication and language specialists as well as from the library support. The completion of the review will then be supported by your research project advisor.
This module is an introduction to the basic skills and contexts of script writing. It is not aimed at any one specific medium but will offer introductions to the requirements of theatre and film. You will be expected to engage in some practical drama workshops script. Assessment will be based on the submission of a written script and accompanying critical reflection at the end of the module.
Dialogue, pace, setting, and story. Understanding the nuts of bolts of scriptwriting is not only key to a successful piece of theatre, cinema, or radio, but to all forms of creative writing or literary analysis. This course will introduce you to the art of scriptwriting through workshops, seminars, and though careful study of a range of contemporary playwrights. During the course, you will have the opportunity to develop your ideas thorough tutorials and peer feedback.
Understanding changes in sea level is of the utmost importance, as it: (1) shapes the coastlines; (2) affects the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people living in the world’s coastal regions, and (3) is a key indicator of climate change. Sea-level rise is one of the most certain implications of climate change, and one of the biggest challenges we face. It will cause significant and costly impacts on our coasts in the 21st century and beyond. In this course we will look at why understanding of sea level change is important and how we messure sea level. We will then examine the three drivers of sea level change, e.g., (i) mean sea level; (ii) astronomical tides; and (iii) storm surges, waves and extremes. We will look at how changes in sea level shape the coast (morphological processes). We will discuss coastal engineering and management strategies for dealing with sea level changes.
