Global Humanities 3: Post-Truth Worlds (Q9120)

15 credits, Level 5

Autumn teaching

This module will explore the most fundamental question of knowledge: how do we know? Through a combination of analytical engagements with specific topics–treated historically and comparatively –students will gain an understanding of the relationships between values, beliefs and facts as they come together to form a picture of what we (think) we know about the world. The intellectual narrative of the module begins with a philosophical exploration of the nature of truth, value and language, moves on to questions of fact, fiction and data, then explores issues of writing, representation and art. You will explore three distinct but inter-related topics—The Witch Hunt, The Virus, and The Archive—which will be approached across a wide range of cultural, intellectual, historical and disciplinary contexts. Teaching on the module combines talks, dialogues, and workshop activities to bring the questions explored to life.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2023/24. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to COVID-19, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses:

• Liberal Arts BA