Reason and Revolution

Focusing on the intellectual, political and historical forces that have shaped the modern world, this unit develops the knowledge and skills required to participate in debates concerning the formation of contemporary culture and society. It introduces students to the core concepts of tradition and modernity, familiarises them with a range of positions and discourses in contemporary academic debates and examines the historical sources of these concepts and debates, with particular emphasis on the intellectual and social revolutions of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In focusing on key historical debates, and the positions that underpin them, the unit aims to provide students with an understanding of the critical discourses needed to analyse and interpret the systems that shape the contemporary world.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Analyse concepts and competing interpretations of tradition and modernity;
2. Examine cultural identities and institutions within traditional and modern societies;
3. Analyse breaks with and in tradition and modernity;
4. Examine the social, political, intellectual and historical sources and structures of the development of the modern world;
5. Identify a range of theoretical perspectives from the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in the interpretation and evaluation of the development of modern society.