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Introduction
Introduction
Why choose this course?
Overview
Would you like to develop a base of knowledge on a broad range of social, political, and cultural disciplines?
For those with an interest in the humanities and social sciences, studying Liberal Arts at Oxford Brookes means undertaking an exciting multidisciplinary degree. Your learning will be drawn from subjects that include:
 English Literature
 Languages
 History
 Politics
 Philosophy
 History of Art.
You’ll study a variety of topics, covering a range of global and local issues, including world politics to the development of European societies. You'll develop communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills as you engage with these various subjects. You’ll graduate with a diverse mix of skills and perspectives that will set you apart in the job market, opening up a wide range of career options to explore.
Modules
Year 1
Compulsory modules
Culture, Identity and Society
In this module, you’ll gain core analytical skills for your degree as you explore the intercultural differences between societies and expressions of identity. You’ll also enhance your communication skills, which are essential for any future career.
Reading Wonderland: The Literature of Oxford
In this module, you’ll investigate Oxford’s rich literary life, both past and present. You’ll dive into texts written, performed and set in Oxford city.
As you think about how the city’s literature is shaped by its geography, population and reputation. You’ll read established texts and writers, as well as literature outside of centres of power and privilege. You’ll think critically about yourself and your own writing and analysis, in relation to the city’s spaces. You'll spend some time getting to know your new home by walking around it, and you'll be asked to create your own guided literary tour.
Political Socialisation and Ideology
Why do we vote the way we do? What affects our actions, and our political
decisions? In this module, we’ll investigate politics through human behaviour. You’ll explore political culture, and how we participate in a democratic society. We’ll also look at how humans are socialised to hold various political views. You’ll gain a key insight into how ideas and ideologies affect our behaviour individually and as a group.
Tackling Challenges through Liberal Arts
In this module, you’ll learn how to apply interdisciplinary thinking to solve real world problems. The emphasis will be on resourcefulness and critical thinking, helping you to discover and identify innovation solutions to contemporary, global issues.
As you explore the arts, humanities and social sciences, you’ll learn to understand the benefits and limitations of each discipline, giving you a truly multidisciplinary and holistic perspective to problem solving. You’ll gain a number of important skills such as how to identify, locate and apply reliable information effectively and efficiently.
Museum and Society
Why do we present works of art to the public? In this module, you’ll explore the role of museums, art galleries and exhibitions in shaping how people produced, displayed and received works of art from the mid eighteenth century to today. You’ll understand how museums and galleries create contact between artworks and the public who view them. You’ll gain core analytical skills, as you consider these places as historically relevant to art itself, rather than just containers for artworks.
Optional modules
Creative Writing 1: Voice and Craft in Poetry and Prose
In this module, you’ll enhance your abilities as a creative writer. You’ll participate in workshops where you’ll learn through reading, writing, discussion and feedback. You’ll practise your own writing, explore the interplay of creativity and craft, and analyse how you work as a writer. You’ll join other students in exploring approaches to crafting poetry and prose, through:
 practical writing exercises
 discussing each other’s work
 critically analysing the work of published writers
 exploring key writing practices
You’ll produce a portfolio of original creative writing, as well as a study of the aims and processes of your creative work. You’ll develop excellent writing habits, and the ability to reflect on your own writing practices. You’ll also understand the literary and cultural contexts of your own writing.
Language Options 1
Choose from post-beginner French or Spanish modules, and develop
communication skills essential for working in a multicultural environment.
Power and Dominion: Ideologies of the West, 1650-2000
In this module, you’ll gain critical knowledge of the ideas and concepts behind the rise of the West, and modern Western society. You’ll get to know the competing ideologies in Western society and power since the mid-seventeenth century. And you’ll explore marginalised groups and the processes of empire-building. You’ll gain the key skills to succeed in your degree, as you learn to:
 communicate knowledge
 present arguments
 solve problems in a scholarly way.
Theory of Knowledge
What does it mean to know something? Is knowledge different from mere belief? And is knowledge actually possible?
In this module, you’ll get to know the great thinkers of the past, and explore what they say about knowledge. You’ll explore the minds of:
 Plato
 Descartes
 Hume
 Locke
 Berkeley
You also focus on key debates about knowledge today. You’ll gain fantastic analytical skills as you consider:
 the meaning of perception
 if we can know something through hearsay
 if we can know the world beyond our minds
 if there can be a scientific account of knowledge.
Year 2
Compulsory modules
Global Literature and the Climate Emergency
The module will explore the capacity of different literary forms, to represent, explore and address climate change and the ‘slow violence’ of the environmental crisis and examine representations of climate, biodiversity and environmental crises across a range of periods, genres, and geographies. We will compare texts by writers of different ethnicities from multiple regions. Reading these texts, we will concentrate on certain key questions, such as:
 What capacity do literary texts have to imagine alternative futures or relations to nature?
 How might narratives help provide a framework for how we think about real-world environmental issues?
 How does literature represent and critique relationships between species, races, classes, and genders with the climate crises and their consequences?
 In what way are social and environmental justice intertwined?
Inventing the Future
You will explore the concepts of Future and Anticipation studies. You will do this by investigating different approaches to imagining the future as a concept in:
 philosophy
 literature
 culture.
You'll have the support to advance your debating skills. Then you'll take part in theoretical and philosophical debates while conceptualising the future.
Cultural Competence for the World of Work
This module provides an introduction to organisations, their structure and culture, and the behaviour of individuals and groups within them. This module incorporates elements which will enable you to understand your personal tendencies and will significantly contribute to your further professional success.
European Societies
In this module, you’ll investigate European societies. You’ll apply classic concepts in studying societies as you look at European villages and urban neighbourhoods. You’ll then explore broader contemporary issues, including:
 identity
 nationalism
 racism
 how we use history
 ceremonial issues
 tourism
 the EU
Optional modules
Creative Writing 2: Exploring Genre, Form and Style
In this module, you’ll develop your talent and range as a creative writer. You’ll build on the skills you gained in your Creative Writing (Introduction) module in Year 1. You’ll experiment with a number of forms and prose styles, including:
 crime writing
 travel writing
 science fiction
You'll also explore techniques of writing poetry through forms such as the sonnet. You’ll increase your creativity, and reflect on your creative choices, as you critically examine what you and your fellow students write.
Independent Study Module 1
This module provides you with the opportunity to explore a specific academic topic to greater depth or breadth. You’ll undertake a literary review on an agreed topic, adopting an interdisciplinary approach using at least two disciplines. This is a great opportunity to delve into the subject area that you’re most passionate about as you'll have the freedom to investigate any aspect of your agreed topic.
The Making of Modern Britain: Culture, Community and Family in Britain 1660-1918
How have families interacted over time? And how have they related to their communities? And governments?
In this module, you'll explore the social and cultural history of the family. You'll consider how gender, class, age and sexuality have affected our home lives. You'll look at what has made up a family over the years. You'll unpick how they marked births, marriage and deaths. And you'll discover how families coped with people who didn't fit with their norms.
You'll delve into:
 Making marriages
 Family rituals and material culture
 Sex and family planning
 Divorce, bigamy and illegitimacy
 Family secrets and shame.
Students must study one module option related to The Making of Modern Britain.
This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.
The Making of Modern Britain: Politics, Society and Culture in Modern Britain, c. 1815-1997
How has British politics changed since the end of the Napoleonic Wars? How has industrialisation, immigration and the growth of cities changed our lives? And how are views on gender, race and citizenship changing? In this module, you'll explore:
 changing party politics - and the rise of the Labour Party
 ideas on empire, citizenship and 'the nation'
 the changing role of women in British society
 the emergence of Scottish, Welsh and Irish nationalism
 sport, leisure and what we do in our spare time.
This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.
Language and Reality
How did language - the centre of our culture, family ties and business transactions - develop? In this module, you’ll get to grips with fascinating debates around language, and why philosophers have been so drawn to it throughout history. You’ll gain core critical skills, as you consider questions around:
 what language is
 whether we can study it scientifically
 the relationship between language and thought.
Language Options 2
Choose from French or Spanish modules at post-beginner or advanced levels, and further your communication skills essential for working in a multicultural environment.
Oxford Buildings
In this module, you’ll explore Oxford’s famous buildings first-hand. You’ll gain valuable analytical skills for studying the History of Art, as you explore the buildings in their social, environmental and architectural contexts. You’ll benefit from studying buildings directly, and visiting their sites. You’ll visit a diverse range of buildings in Oxford, from the renowned Oxford colleges to the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre.
The Making of the Modern World: Age of Revolution and Popular Protest
In this module, you’ll study the period of crisis that overtook Western society from the late 19th century to the start of World War II. You’ll look at the sweeping changes, uprisings and political extremism that created a sense of crisis. These include:
 urbanisation and mass politics at the end of the 19th century
 the Russian Revolution of 1917 and its impact
 the role of nationalism and imperial ambitions between the World Wars
 the rise of extreme political movements in Europe
 the role of consumerism in the 1920s and 1930s
Students must study one module option related to The Making of the Modern World.
This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.
The Making of the Modern World: Brave New Worlds: Evolution and its Discontents
Can we consider the French Revolution as the birth of the modern age? What caused this revolution, which transformed France from a monarchy into a republic?
In this module, you’ll study the origins of the revolution and its impact on the French people. You’ll explore the experiences of ordinary people - and see how they lived under the Jacobin dictatorship and Napoleonic wars. And you’ll investigate how the French Revolution created a new form of politics - that endures today.
Along the way, you’ll learn about:
 the Enlightenment, and changing understanding of freedom
 the shock waves that the French Revolution caused abroad
 the birth of modern democracy, nationalism, and socialism
 the evolution of street protest and the power of the people
Students must study one module option related to The Making of the Modern World.
This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.
The Making of the Modern World: Crisis of the West
How did the theory of evolution develop? And why is it so important in how we understand people? And in how we practise medicine? In this module, you’ll explore the history of evolutionary ideas and how they’re applied - in medicine and society. Studying primary texts and secondary sources, you’ll investigate how evolutionary scientists argued for their theories. And you’ll look at their explosive impact on Victorian public discussion. You’ll also consider more recent controversies - like human cloning, gene therapy and in-vitro fertilisation.
Students must study one module option related to The Making of the Modern World.
This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.
Dilemmas of Governing
How much did world leaders rely on history to make decisions? In this module, you’ll get to grips with governing strategy - from the 20th Century to the present day. You’ll choose either the British or Soviet states, and analyse how their leaders managed xrises and issues. You’ll also explore the relationship between politics and economics, and apply key approaches to the problems of governing.
Work Placement
Optional modules
Work placement
You will have the opportunity to undertake a work-based learning module as part of your degree. You’ll be responsible for organising your own work placement with the support of our careers services. Travel and associated costs of all work placements are the responsibility of the student, therefore it is advised that you organise your placement with this in mind.
This module gives you the opportunity to:
 Reflect on your interests and career aspirations
 Approaching potential employers about opportunities in their organisation
 Experience what it is like to be a professional in the chosen area
 Prepare for future employability.
Study placement
The Placement Year gives you the opportunity to study abroad at a partner university and/or undertake vocational practice and cultural experience in a professional setting. This can be carried out in the UK or abroad, depending on your language skills and programme of study.
During your Placement Year, you’ll practise a broad range of transferable skills. In particular, you'll enhance your organisational and communication skills as well as develop a greater sense of responsibility and independent learning strategies. For those of you with language skills, you’ll also improve all aspects of your linguistic competence
Year 3
Compulsory modules
Constructing Identities
What is identity? How do we express our identities? How do we recognise other identities? This module will incorporate views from linguistics, literature, philosophy, and sociology to help us piece together how identities are constructed and conveyed, and how understanding identities can benefit ourselves and our communities.
Researching cross-cultural experiences
In this module, you’ll analyse and present your experiences of your placement year. You’ll gain core critical skills for your final year, as you analyse your time living in a different culture, and the wider cross-cultural experiences of individuals or groups. You’ll do independent research on an aspect of the country you lived in that fascinates you. You’ll also present the outcomes of your research at an academic conference, giving you vital skills for your future career.
Optional modules
Creative Writing 3: Towards Professionalism and Publication
In this module, you’ll meet literary agents and editors, as you explore the submissions process for publication. You’ll understand how a book works as a whole, developing the skills you gained in your Creative Writing modules in Years 1 and 2. You’ll produce a 6000-word piece of writing on a theme or idea that fascinates you. You’ll also consider how this piece would look within a published work, for example, chapters from a novel, or poems from a proposed full-length collection.
Language Options 3
Choose from French or Spanish modules at post-beginner or advanced levels, and further your communication skills essential for working in a multicultural environment.
Thought and Consciousness
In this module, you’ll get to know one of the liveliest areas of current research: contemporary philosophy of mind. You will explore issues such as:
 What is the relationship between the mind and the brain?
 How are our thoughts capable of being about phenomena that exist outside of the mind?
 Where is the mind located? Is it in our skulls or does it stretch beyond the outer surfaces of our bodies?
 Is consciousness a mystery or can it be explained from a scientific perspective?
Laws, Empires, and Revolutions
In this module, you’ll get to grips with capitalism today. You’ll explore colonialism. And you’ll find out what the modern world can teach us about its laws and events. You’ll discover an alternative history of international relations - as you explore modern sovereign states.
Each week, you’ll take a crucial world event and analyse it. You’ll look at issues like:
 the Arab Spring
 struggles for human rights
 cross-border protests
 migrants and refugees
You’ll contrast these events with historical events which involved tension and legal debate, like:
 colonial trading companies
 slave revolutions
 capitulations
 the Treaties of Westphalia
 the Ottoman empire
Social, Cultural and Medical History: Life in Renaissance Italy
What was life like for ordinary people in Renaissance Florence, Venice and Rome? Millions of tourists flock to these cities every year. But in this module, you'll explore beyond the piazzas and palaces. You'll discover what life in 15th and 16th century Italy was really like. You'll examine:
 how age, gender and ethnicity affected urban life
 the impact of warfare, disease, natural disasters and climate change
 the stories of people on the margins - like sex workers and the homeless
You'll emerge understanding the rich and complex history of this fascinating period.
This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.
Social, Cultural and Medical History: Religion and Magic in Everyday Life
How does belief in magic affect our everyday lives? And how can religious beliefs shape our ideas and opinions? In this module, you'll explore beliefs - beyond the boundaries of religious institutions. You'll delve into the rituals, superstitions - and even cults - that have shaped our world view from the Middle Ages to the 19th Century. You'll examine:
 the cult of saints and relics
 angels and demons
 ghosts and fairies
 vampires
 folk magic and divination
 witchcraft and witch hunts.
This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.
Social, Cultural and Medical History: The History of Food, Politics and Society
Is it true that you are what you eat? And how does your experience of food shape who you are?
This module puts history on plate. You'll reflect on diet, food habits and material culture - and what this tells us about society. You'll explore how food has been used as a political tool, and as a political control. And you'll examine how food relates to our identities and how we socialise. You'll never look at what you eat the same way again!
You'll consider topics like:
 Food and famine
 Migration and globalisation
 Food as culture
 Material culture
 Gender and the body.
This module option is subject to availability in any given academic year.
Ethics, Power and World Politics
What can world leaders do, and what should they do? How much power should countries give each other? And how should states and individuals behave towards each other? In this module, you’ll get to grips with the key questions in world politics. You’ll explore:
 how we determine rights and duties
 how we both enable and restrict dominance
 how issues of race, gender and class interact
in relation to world politics. You’ll choose one of three topics that focus on international ethics and power - human rights, migration and immigration, or postcolonial perspectives.
Critical Citizenship
You will focus your attention on your critical skills and love of literature. Including how this can help guide you throughout your life. You will also look at how this relates to broader concerns with being a citizen. In its fullest social, political, cultural, embodied, and located sense.
On this module you will:
 Interrogate what we understand by the term ‘citizen’ and clarify its contested meanings in a complex and changing world.
 Explore how critical thinking can challenge assumptions about citizenship, and to forge new social and cultural ways of thinking.
 Assess how a knowledge of literature and literary culture might allow us to operate as critical citizens
 Consider the value and usefulness of literature in understanding and addressing the global challenges of the 21st century.
Independent Study Module 2
This module provides you with the opportunity to explore a specific academic topic to greater depth or breadth. You’ll undertake a literary review on an agreed topic, adopting an interdisciplinary approach using at least two disciplines. This is a great opportunity to delve into the subject area that you’re most passionate about as you'll have the freedom to investigate any aspect of your agreed topic.
Learning and teaching
Your tutors will introduce you to a wide range of teaching and learning methods. They will support you at every level of the course. You'll have close access to lecturers, small seminar groups, workshops and practical experiences.
You will learn through a variety of teaching and learning methods including:
 lectures, seminars, workshops and fieldwork
 one-to-one tutorial and small group discussions
 supervised independent learning
 work with a wide range of practical resources.
During your studies, you’ll gain a range of personal and professional skills. This includes skills in academic research, problem-solving, and written and oral communications. These skills will help with your future career advancement in many industries.
Entry Criteria
ENTRY REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
Home Office Share Code
For EU students only.
IF no Qualification
Please provide CV with at least 2 years of work experience, and employee reference letter.
Entry requirements
Specific entry requirements
Our standard entry requirement is three A-levels or equivalent qualifications. In some cases, courses have specific required subjects and additional GCSE requirements. In addition to A-levels, we accept a wide range of other qualifications including:
 the Welsh Baccalaureate
 the Access to Higher Education Diploma
 a BTEC National Certificate, Diploma or Extended Diploma at a good standard and in a relevant subject
 the International Baccalaureate Diploma
 the European Baccalaureate Diploma
 Scottish qualifications – five subjects in SCE with two at Higher level or one at Advanced Higher level, or three subjects in Scottish Highers or two at Advanced Higher level
 a recognised foundation course
 T-levels*.
 * T-levels are a relatively new qualification but are already included in the UCAS tariff. We welcome prospective students who are taking this qualification to apply. For some programmes with specific required subjects, particular subject areas or occupational specialisms may be required.
English language requirements
If English is not your first language then you will need to show that your English language skills are at a high enough level to succeed in your studies.
The entry requirement for your course will be expressed as an IELTS level and refers to the IELTS Academic version of this test. We are now also accepting the IELTS Indicator test, you can find out more about the test on the IELTS Indication site. The University however does accept a wide range of additional English language qualifications, which can be found below.
The university’s English language requirements in IELTS levels are as follows:
Course IELTS level
All other undergraduate courses 6.0 overall with 6.0 in reading and writing, 5.5 in listening and speaking
Law, Architecture, Interior Architecture, English Literature (including combined honours), English Literature and Creative Writing 6.5 overall with 6.0 in reading and writing, 5.5 in listening and speaking
Health and Social Care courses 6.5 or 7.0 overall with 6.5 or 7.0 in all components (see individual entries for course details)
Nutrition BSc (Hons) 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in each component
Built Environment Foundation,
Computing Foundation,
Engineering Foundation 6.0 with 6.0 in reading and writing, 5.5 in listening and speaking
International Foundation Business and Technology,
International Foundation Arts, Humanities and Law 5.5 overall with 5.5 in all skills
International Foundation Diploma 5.0 overall with 5.0 in all skills
If you need a student visa you must take an IELTS for UKVI test.
International Foundation Diploma (Extended pathway) 4.5 overall with 4.5 in all skills
If you need a student visa you must take an IELTS for UKVI test.
Assessment
ASSESSMENT METHODS
1. INTERNAL ENGLISH TEST if you don't have an English accredited certificate
2. Academic Interview
Wherever possible we make our conditional offers using the UCAS Tariff. The combination of A-level grades listed here would be just one way of achieving the UCAS Tariff points for this course.
Standard offer
UCAS Tariff Points: 104
A Level: BCC
IB Points: 29
BTEC: DMM
Further offer details
Applications are also welcomed for consideration from applicants with European qualifications, international qualifications or recognised foundation courses.
Learning and assessment
You’ll experience a truly diverse approach. You won’t be limited to studying one subject area - you can satisfy your curiosity to explore culture, history, literature, language and much more.
Your learning will be shaped by modules drawn from the Humanities and Social Sciences. In addition, there will be a Liberal Arts module each year where you will synthesise the approaches you've gained in your other subjects.
In Year 1, you’ll be introduced to a broad range of disciplines. These include Contemporary Culture, Literature of Oxford, and Politics. In your second semester, you can choose options in Creative Writing, History of Art, Languages, or Philosophy.
In Year 2, you’ll deepen your knowledge and skills in your chosen area of study. In addition to your compulsory modules, you'll choose between optional modules in English literature, History, History of Art, Languages, and Politics.
If you have selected the 4-year programme (with a Study Abroad/Placement Year), you’ll gain valuable practical skills through work experience in Year 3 in the UK or abroad.
Learning and teaching
Your tutors will introduce you to a wide range of teaching and learning methods. They will support you at every level of the course. You'll have close access to lecturers, small seminar groups, workshops and practical experiences.
You will learn through a variety of teaching and learning methods including:
 lectures, seminars, workshops and fieldwork
 one-to-one tutorial and small group discussions
 supervised independent learning
 work with a wide range of practical resources.
During your studies, you’ll gain a range of personal and professional skills. This includes skills in academic research, problem-solving, and written and oral communications. These skills will help with your future career advancement in many industries.
Assessment
Assessment methods on this course are diverse. Some modules use formal exams while others award all or part of the marks on coursework, for example, essays, reports, presentations and orals.
Assessment methods on this course are diverse. Some modules use formal exams while others award all or part of the marks on coursework, for example, essays, reports, presentations and orals.
Study abroad
If you have studied a foreign language throughout Years 1 and 2, the 4-year Sandwich programme offers the opportunity to go abroad for study at a partner university where you’ll improve your language skills. Alternatively, you could undertake a placement in a business organisation to gain practical work experience.
By choosing the study abroad or placement year option, you will widen your network of contacts, as well as gain confidence and transferable skills for both your course and career.
Career Opportunities
This Liberal Arts degree will enable you to develop a diverse mix of skills and perspectives. This breadth of knowledge will set you apart from the average job seeker.
You will develop as a well-rounded and confident graduate. This is because your course will teach you how to see things from many perspectives. Also, your work placement module will ensure you graduate with professional work experience.
Liberal Arts graduates are well placed for employment in many areas. These include:
 media (journalism) and film industry
 tourism and travel services industry including airlines and hotels
 banks and insurance companies
 local, state and federal government
 international non-profit organisations
 publishing companies
 Department of Defence and international embassies
 representatives in foreign companies.
Employers favour Liberal Arts students because of their broad education, their creative approach to problem solving and their ability to communicate. Liberal Arts is also an excellent basis for postgraduate study.
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