University of Wolverhampton, BA (Hons), Philosophy and Media and Communication Studies

Philosophy year 1 provides a comprehensive introduction to critical thinking and philosophy. It explores ways of living that are thought to be immoral, dangerous or unhealthy, and asks why we often find certain kinds of bad behaviour exciting and attractive. Year 2 looks at key traditions in moral philosophy and provides the chance to assess moral intuitions and concepts. Students can acquaint yourself with classical epistemology - the theory of knowledge - and its problems and difficulties. Students may also investigate the Enlightenment - widely regarded as the movement that formed the central institutions and structures of the modern western world. Year 3 embraces the ethical issues arising from relations between the individual and the State/the Law, and the means used to bring about legal and political change. Students could explore current understanding of conscious intelligence, or explore the traditional place of women within philosophy. Media and Communication Studies year 1 examines the role of the mass media in British politics. Students could also study the 'borderless' world of the Murdoch media empire, sex tourism and international drug mafias. The course also provides a comprehensive introduction to communication, media and cultural studies, and students might examine visual aspects of the media and popular culture, such as film, fine art, photography, and advertising graphics. Your second year lifts the lid on public relations, and explores the theory and practice of video production. You could look at communication ethics or digital media, or develop your ability to analyse newspaper and television representation of news and societal values. You may also investigate popular texts in various media, through focusing principally on fictional prose. The third year embraces TV soap opera, broadcast journalism, and different broadcasting approaches in Europe. Students will be able to tackle an extensive media and communications project, look at political and organisational communication, and investigate contemporary media in depth. Students could assess forms of global media and their relationship to local cultural contexts, and explore radio and the relationship between media and the world of sport.