T +44 (0)1206 873666 | E admit@essex.ac.uk | www.essex.ac.uk/philosophy | Philosophy Course modules


BA Philosophy First year


Introduction to Philosophy Either Death, God and the Meaning of Life or one first-year option


Either The Enlightenment or one first-year option


One option


Second year Conceptual Foundations of Modernity Ethics or one philosophy option


One philosophy option One outside option or one further philosophy option


Third year Four philosophy options (or their equivalent)


BA Philosophy, Religion and Ethics


First year


Introduction to Philosophy Death, God and the Meaning of Life


Either Critical Reasoning and Logical Argument or one first-year option


Either The Enlightenment or one first-year option


Second year


Philosophy and Religion Ethics One philosophy option One philosophy option or an outside option


Third year Topics in the Philosophy of Religion


Philosophy and Medical Ethics


Three philosophy options


BA Philosophy and Film First year


Introduction to Philosophy Introduction to Film The Enlightenment One first-year option


Second year


Philosophy and Film I Philosophy and Film II Philosophy and Literature* or one philosophy half-option


Two film options One philosophy half-option


Third year Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy* or one philosophy half-option Aesthetics of the Visual Arts* or one philosophy half- option


One philosophy option Two film options


BA Philosophy and History


First year


Introduction to Philosophy The Making of the Modern World 1789-1989 or Society, Culture and Politics in Europe 1500-1750


Two first-year options (Death, God and the Meaning of Life is a recommended option)


Second year


Making Histories: Concepts, Themes and Sources


One history half-option Nineteenth-Century Continental Philosophy


One philosophy half-option Rationalists and Empiricists* or one philosophy option One history option


Third year Two philosophy options One history option or a history dissertation One history option


* Recommended option(s) You may be able to take two philosophy half-options in place of one full option.


This information is a guide to course content and is subject to review on an annual basis.


If you are taking a single honours course, you can choose two or three options from various departments. The flexibility of the common first year gives you a broad intellectual base, and normally allows you the possibility of changing courses at the end of the year, providing one of your options is in another school, department or centre.


You will usually take four modules, or their equivalent, in your second and third years. If you are taking a single honours philosophy course, you must take our second-year core module, Conceptual Foundations of Modernity, which introduces major trends in the philosophy


of the modern era. We also recommend that you take Ethics, but otherwise you have a free choice of options.


Can I study abroad? We offer study abroad versions for all of our courses (apart from LLB Law and Philosophy). These courses enable you to broaden your understanding of the subject by studying at a partner institution in the EU (providing you have the relevant modern language qualification), or in the rest of the world (providing you have taken the relevant options in your first and second year), as the third year of a four-year course.


What modules will I take? First year Introduction to Philosophy – This module looks at ethical theories and their applications to issues such as euthanasia, abortion and the environment. It will also focus on the question ‘what is philosophy?’, considering fundamental questions concerning the nature and value of philosophic enquiry.


Death, God and the Meaning of Life – This module reflects philosophically on some of life’s big questions: What, if anything, is the meaning of our lives? How can we become wise? Can we make sense of human suffering?


Undergraduate Prospectus 2012 | 187


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