Course summary

From books and magazines to email and the Internet, texts are all around us. As texts of all kinds become more prominent and powerful in our lives, the ability to analyse them and appreciate their often elusive meanings becomes more highly prized. The English Studies degree at Stirling will enable you to recognise ideology and bias, and see through the spin of cultural and political debate. You’ll refine your ability to think and write clearly – valuable skills in many careers and professions. Our graduates are well prepared in these transferable skills and have an excellent success rate in finding rewarding employment in many fields.The English Studies degree at Stirling introduces students to the critical and theoretical study of English, Scottish and American literature. Students have the opportunity to engage with texts from a broad range of historical periods, from the Middle Ages to the present day. There is also a language pathway through the degree, allowing you to study modules in language and linguistics in each semester. How are our minds related to our bodies? Do we really have free will? What is knowledge (as distinct from merely true belief) and what can we really know – about the world around us, about other people, or about ourselves? How can we be confident we know what is right and wrong, just and unjust? And what would it take to live a morally good life? You have just been posed some typical philosophical questions, and if you seriously want to search for the answers then this is the course for you. Our degree course will challenge you to develop a strong set of critical, imaginative and informed reasoning skills, and deepen your understanding of the nature of the human mind, of language, of morality and politics, of art, of science, and of logic. We offer breadth and variety in this course. Some modules focus on particular historical figures, allowing students to really get to grips with one famous philosopher’s ideas – and how subsequent generations have argued over those ideas. Thinkers whom we study in depth include Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Mill, Marx, Wittgenstein, and Heidegger. Other modules focus on specific philosophical topics, such as the theory of knowledge; logic; metaphysics; philosophy of mind; moral philosophy; philosophy of science; environmental ethics; and many more. During your study at Stirling you will be introduced to the key issues in a wide range of topics within philosophy in your first two years. Then it is largely up to you which areas you wish to focus on – and you will be able, on the basis of what you have learned so far, to make informed choices among the range of higher-level modules available.