Our staff have an unusually wide range of research interests, and this is reflected in the rich variety of courses on offer.
'For example, in addition to the traditional courses offered by any first-rate philosophy department, our curriculum has included in recent years courses on topics such as feminism, the philosophy of film, the philosophy of sex, the philosophy of climate change, and the aesthetics of nature, as well as on figures from the Continental tradition including Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Heidegger and Kierkegaard.'
Research
Our main overlapping areas of research interest in Philosophy at Southampton include:
Analytic Aesthetics and the History of Aesthetics
Wittgenstein and Early Analytic Philosophy
Language, Logic and Metaphysics
For more details see our Research pages.
Teaching
Our Undergraduate and Postgraduate programmes aim to:
- provide understanding of the main areas of philosophy and of the concepts, arguments and positions of major philosophers in the Western tradition
- develop the discipline-specific and key skills required for further study and/or employment
- encourage students to think critically, develop the ability to learn independently and remain receptive to fresh ideas and approaches
We place great emphasis on small group and one-on-one tuition, which we provide from the first year of study, and pride ourselves on the broad and flexible curriculum we offer. Our student group is small enough to maintain a friendly 'family' atmosphere, but large enough to generate plenty of life and activity.
Part time study
All of our degree programmes can be taken part-time.
We also offer Philosophy courses and events that are open to the public. Our highly successful Philosophy Café, held at lunchtimes at the John Hansard Gallery, and our lectures at the Southampton City Art Gallery, are an opportunity to discuss philosophical ideas. They are open to enthusiasts from the local community as well as those from within the University.
These courses form part of a humanities-wide programme of part-time study and cultural events in Humanities Lifelong Learning.
In the video below, Dr Genia Schӧnbaumsfeld discusses what inspired her to study Philosophy and follow an academic career in the subject.