Liberal Arts

The BA (Hons) Liberal Arts is a degree for the future. Our students are working at the forefront of contemporary issues and ideas. The challenges that define our present and future are interdisciplinary. Climate change, technology, social identities and global conflicts are related to specific historical and political events—natural disasters, protest movements, the invention of new technologies and scientific discoveries. They are also driven by philosophical and sociological ideas about truth, freedom, morality and human nature. These events and ideas shape how we experience the world and ourselves. Understanding these challenges is vital for not only succeeding in a rapidly changing world, but for being a positive part of that change.

Liberal Arts students explore these issues by drawing on insights from across the humanities to understand four key issues: truth and disinformation in the age of social media; the environment and climate change; our relationship to technology; and how imagining the future impacts our experience of the present. Our students study how algorithms mould social attitudes, investigate environmental ethics and analyse how thought leaders are making decisions about the future. Alongside these modules, students have the opportunity to explore history, literature, politics, sociology and philosophy and ethics as they construct a degree focused on their individual interests.

This degree prepares students to work individually and collaboratively as they present ideas in essays, podcasts and creative digital projects. They graduate ready to face the future in their careers and in working for a better tomorrow.