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Science has become an indispensable component of our modern world and scientists are often held in a place of unquestioned privilege. From electrical power to space travel, to artificial intelligence, scientific developments have radically altered the ways in which we interact with each other, and understand our world and very own human nature. Yet science is fundamentally a cultural activity which is embedded within a wider social context. In recent years the often unquestioned privilege of science has been questioned more and more on both national and international scales as deep-rooted issues of gender inequality, racism colonialism, and so on, have emerged leading to increased distrust in the authority of science.

Given this situation what can we learn about the present state from the past? Shifting away from older intellectual scholarly approaches which only focused on the ‘great discoveries’, in this module we take a much broader historical and critical approach placing science it into its proper social and global context. In doing so, this module asks the question - how were scientific developments of the past shaped and/or influenced by religion, culture, politics, gender and empire? This module will use case studies to highlight overarching themes that address the challenges, complexities and inequalities which have emerged within the history of science.

The resurgence of the far right is one of the most striking and challenging features of the 21st century political landscape. Attitudes and practices that were marginal and unrespectable just decades ago have gained considerable traction, whether measured through election results or the shifts in public discourse around notions of race and nation. On this module you will learn to identify the distinctive features of far right thinking and practice by studying its manifestations in Europe and the wider world. Although the most notorious expression of the far right - fascism - is inescapably European in origin, these and other forms of authoritarian populism are much more widespread. You are asked to think about where far right ideas come from while also bearing in mind their variety, and the fluidity and contingency of their development since the late nineteenth century.

The resurgence of the far right is one of the most striking and challenging features of the 21st century political landscape. Attitudes and practices that were marginal and unrespectable just decades ago have gained considerable traction, whether measured through election results or the shifts in public discourse around notions of race and nation. On this module you will learn to identify the distinctive features of far right thinking and practice by studying its manifestations in Europe and the wider world. Although the most notorious expression of the far right - fascism - is inescapably European in origin, these and other forms of authoritarian populism are much more widespread. You are asked to think about where far right ideas come from while also bearing in mind their variety, and the fluidity and contingency of their development since the late nineteenth century.

The resurgence of the far right is one of the most striking and challenging features of the 21st century political landscape. Attitudes and practices that were marginal and unrespectable just decades ago have gained considerable traction, whether measured through election results or the shifts in public discourse around notions of race and nation. On this module you will learn to identify the distinctive features of far right thinking and practice by studying its manifestations in Europe and the wider world. Although the most notorious expression of the far right - fascism - is inescapably European in origin, these and other forms of authoritarian populism are much more widespread. You are asked to think about where far right ideas come from while also bearing in mind their variety, and the fluidity and contingency of their development since the late nineteenth century.

Is sex a biologically-conditioned experience that remains constant over place and time, or is sex and sexuality an ever-changing lived reality that reflects (and shapes) broader shifts within society and culture? This overarching question, fiercely debated by historians since the 1970s, is at the heart of this module which examines the turbulent history of same-sex relations of women and men. The module takes the moment of the 'invention' of homosexuality (and heterosexuality) in the late nineteenth century and considers the historical context of this moment and the significance of its impact on gay men and women through to the present. You will survey case-studies ranging from the Ancient World through to the contemporary, drawing together Biblical and artistic sources, criminal records, diaries, and published reports amongst others to compare understandings of same-sex relations in different eras and cultural contexts. This is a chronologically and culturally wide-ranging module, which challenges you to make critical judgements about the value of constructions such as ‘homosexuality' and ‘homophobia', and their place in historical discourse. Since the 1960s, the status of gay people and same-sex sexual relationships has proved one of the most controversial social issues in western society; this module takes a long view of the subject, evaluating along the way the significance of sex as marking the place of individuals within societies.

Is sex a biologically-conditioned experience that remains constant over place and time, or is sex and sexuality an ever-changing lived reality that reflects (and shapes) broader shifts within society and culture? This overarching question, fiercely debated by historians since the 1970s, is at the heart of this module which examines the turbulent history of same-sex relations of women and men. The module takes the moment of the 'invention' of homosexuality (and heterosexuality) in the late nineteenth century and considers the historical context of this moment and the significance of its impact on gay men and women through to the present. You will survey case-studies ranging from the Ancient World through to the contemporary, drawing together Biblical and artistic sources, criminal records, diaries, and published reports amongst others to compare understandings of same-sex relations in different eras and cultural contexts. This is a chronologically and culturally wide-ranging module, which challenges you to make critical judgements about the value of constructions such as ‘homosexuality' and ‘homophobia', and their place in historical discourse. Since the 1960s, the status of gay people and same-sex sexual relationships has proved one of the most controversial social issues in western society; this module takes a long view of the subject, evaluating along the way the significance of sex as marking the place of individuals within societies.

As the world responds to the global financial crisis, populist leaders have come to dominate political debate in countries across the world - from India to the United Kingdom to the United States. In engaging with this phenomena, we are faced with a conundrum - if populist leaders represent popular interests then why does the rise of such leaders appear to undermine the national institutions of democratic politics? Why does populism effectively undermine the interests of the people? In this module you will address this conundrum by exploring the advantages and disadvantages of populist politics through short histories of populist movements in the past. This module will empower you with a nuanced understanding of the conceptual and historical background of populist politics in our contemporary world.

As the world responds to the global financial crisis, populist leaders have come to dominate political debate in countries across the world - from India to the United Kingdom to the United States. In engaging with this phenomena, we are faced with a conundrum - if populist leaders represent popular interests then why does the rise of such leaders appear to undermine the national institutions of democratic politics? Why does populism effectively undermine the interests of the people? In this module you will address this conundrum by exploring the advantages and disadvantages of populist politics through short histories of populist movements in the past. This module will empower you with a nuanced understanding of the conceptual and historical background of populist politics in our contemporary world.

As the world responds to the global financial crisis, populist leaders have come to dominate political debate in countries across the world - from India to the United Kingdom to the United States. In engaging with this phenomena, we are faced with a conundrum - if populist leaders represent popular interests then why does the rise of such leaders appear to undermine the national institutions of democratic politics? Why does populism effectively undermine the interests of the people? In this module you will address this conundrum by exploring the advantages and disadvantages of populist politics through short histories of populist movements in the past. This module will empower you with a nuanced understanding of the conceptual and historical background of populist politics in our contemporary world.

“A stranger comes to town” is often called one of the only stories of great literature, and in this introductory module we explore ideas of strangers and strangeness in creative writing and creative writers. How do creative writers make language strange? How do they make the extraordinary ordinary, and the ordinary extraordinary? Isn’t the need to avoid cliché another way in which writing – whether realistic or experimental – needs to be somehow strange? Drawing upon a range of genres, forms, and narrative and poetic strategies, we will also consider the art of writing and the creative process as well as writers themselves. If writers must become, as Henry James put it, “one of those on whom nothing is lost,” maybe they, too, are the strangers who come to town.

The module will tap into many forms of writing to look at these concerns, from realistic fiction and sonnets to experimental poetry and the graphic novel, reading work by writers such as Zadie Smith, Alison Bechdel, Lorrie Moore, George Saunders, and Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. We will hone the practice of looking closely, using ekphrasis (writing inspired by other art forms) to develop that vital writerly skill. Emphasising that writing draws from many disciplines, we will ask you explore a subject outside the classroom (the environment, archaeology, architecture, etc.) and respond to that in a piece of creative writing.

In seminars, you will do writing exercises in fiction, poetry, script, narrative non-fiction and hybrid forms. Your assessment will be a portfolio of work which includes two polished versions of these early drafts. You will write a critical commentary, an essay which looks at an element of craft, drawing upon your reading of primary and secondary set texts and a visit from a published writer to discuss how it influenced your own work.