BA Philosophy and International Relations

Compulsory modules

Reason and Argument 

Explore arguments in different contexts such as newspaper opinions, social media spats and philosophical treaties. You’ll develop critical thinking and logic to evaluate claims and arguments. 

Great Works in Philosophy 

You’ll delve into the most important philosophical works, considering the significance of each text and analysing the arguments within them to sharpen your critical skills. 

International Relations  

Investigate the main theories of international relations and discover how to critically examine and evaluate competing theoretical arguments. You’ll master the ability to reach and defend clear conclusions about such arguments and explore the contemporary international order through a theoretical lens. 

Politics of Climate Change 

Explore the political challenges and debates on climate change, analysing how and why decisions are made, their consequences, and underlying ethical issues. Through analysing climate change across various interconnected settings, you’ll reflect on the relevance of climate change across the wider discipline of political science.

War and Warfare 

Acquire a grounding knowledge of the role of war in international relations. You’ll focus on concepts and types of war, their causes, and how they relate to real-world issues in international relations and international security.  

Optional modules

Radical Philosophy 

Question your assumptions and beliefs by exploring radical philosophical claims. You’ll compare and contrast different ways of doing philosophy, such as phenomenology and deconstruction. 

Global Justice 

Discover global perspectives on justice and freedom, from the Buddha to Christian female mystics, to acquire new insights and question your own beliefs and ideas. 

Philosophical Skills for Life

Develop the skills needed to produce persuasive and nuanced academic arguments, research, and referencing. You’ll learn how to identify limitations and advantages of philosophical writing. 

These are the modules we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they're informed by the latest teaching and research methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Compulsory modules

The Study of Politics 

Learn how to identify different methods and approaches to the study of politics and international relations. You’ll study qualitative and quantitative methods of research, as well as methods of political theory, to prepare you for more advanced study in the subject.

Global Order

Discover what international order is, how orders function, and the variety of different ways that relations among political communities can be, and have been, organised. You’ll explore key dilemmas and trade-offs that characterise international relations and how contemporary problems are best addressed.

Optional modules

Ethical Argument 

Develop your knowledge and skills by considering arguments in moral philosophy and contribute to debate by learning how to argue in a charitable but critical way.  

Oppression, Inequality, and the Enemies of Democracy 

Explore the concerns of society by asking questions within contemporary political philosophy. You’ll enhance your ability to think reflectively and critically about the role of fairness in society. 

Meaning and the Mind

Consider questions such as How can there be minds in a physical world? How does a mental state (like a memory or a perceptual experience) come to represent the world? What role does consciousness play in the mind? Discuss and analyse some of the core arguments in philosophy of mind, including with historical reference to the figures who originally formulated those arguments.

Global Philosophies

Participate in cross-cultural conversations about global issues such as gender, race, social identities, and death. You will be introduced to and taught how to analyse a range of concepts, including Buddhist, Jain, and African American critical theories, performative theories, and phenomenological theories.

Aesthetics 

Explore topics that are central to philosophical aesthetics including beauty, definitions of art and truth in literature. This will enable you to develop critical understanding of philosophical problems raised by art and aesthetic experience.

Philosophy through the Ages: The Minds that Shaped our World  

You’ll engage with a range of ideas and theories from classic texts that mark some of the most important and influential ideas in philosophy, from Socrates to the present day. 

Ignorance, Doubt, and Relativism

Investigate the concept of knowledge and analyse and evaluate some of the core arguments in contemporary epistemology. You will learn about the different theories of knowledge and explore famous works from Ernest Sosa, Alvin Goldman, David Lewis, Edward Craig, and Miranda Fricker.

Political Classics 

Discover thinkers, ideas and traditions that have always played a central role in the study of politics. Through the writings of a selection of classic thinkers, you’ll explore difficult debates around private property, democracy, individual autonomy, and other topics that have never been resolved.

Contemporary Strategy 

Explore a series of contemporary problems and how they stand in the field of modern strategy. Through examples and practical simulations, you’ll gain an understanding of strategic problems and their relevance in the contemporary world.

Global Politics and History 

Learn how the study of history and the analysis of past events influence the study, contemporary debates, and practice of world politics.

The Media and Politics 

Develop your understanding of the role and influence of media in contemporary politics and society through a combination of lectures and media. You’ll refine your ability to engage broad audiences in political debate by producing a pre-recorded documentary that you’ll present as part of a radio broadcast.

British Government and Politics 

Discover the workings of British government and parliament and explore a range of related topics, such as elections, political parties, and the relationship between government and the judiciary. You’ll discuss current events and put your knowledge into practice through a micro-placement.

These are the modules we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they're informed by the latest teaching and research methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Compulsory modules

Dissertation in Philosophy 

Engage in original and independent research to produce an extended essay that focuses on a philosophical topic of your choice. You’ll also submit an assessed research proposal and give a presentation. 

OR

Dissertation in International Relations

Produce your own piece of work in consultation with an expert supervisor. You’ll plan and execute a project of your own devising, making use of ideas, materials and methods  introduced  in the first half of the year.  

OR

Independent Learning Module 

Choose a philosophical topic that fascinates you to form the basis of an extended essay. This will enhance your independent learning skills, self-awareness and ability to reflect on your progress and strengths. 

Optional modules

Free Will and Responsibility  

Investigate the concepts of freedom and responsibility using philosophical thinking and by applying approaches from different cultures.

Philosophy of Language: Animals, Babies, Colours, and Language Death 

Engage with questions concerning meaning, language and communication. To address these, you'll engage with foundational texts in linguistics, psychology and anthropology and research informed by developments in the cognitive sciences. 

Early Chinese Philosophy 

Deepen your understanding of the history of philosophy. You’ll focus on early Chinese philosophy to include the Confucian and daoist traditions, as well as moral, social, and political philosophy. 

Current Moral Philosophy

Explore current debates in ethics, roughly focusing on material published in the last 20 years. These debates could be totally new, or they could be current takes and debates about much older issues (such as Aristotle's ethics).

Fairness

Learn about leading contemporary theories of fairness, including the relation of fairness to impartiality, equality, proportionality, need, desert, and free-riding. You'll address conflicts between fairness and other values, while developing your skills in dealing with abstract moral concepts and normative arguments.

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility

Explore and debate critical issues in business ethics from a moral, practical and, sometimes, political perspective. You will learn about topics such as the morality of sweatshop labour, the ethics behind advertising, and the corporate obligation to do what is right.

Society and State in Ancient Greece

Study the classic works in Ancient Greek political philosophy, including some or all of Aristotle's Politics and Rhetoric and Plato's Republic and Gorgias. You'll look at the philosophers' conceptions of politics, society, and government, and examine their relevance to modern concerns and issues.

The Scandal of Film

Study the role films play in our cultural lives. Explore film in relation to reality, the human condition, philosophy and art.

Hume and Wittgenstein

Investigate the concept of knowledge and analyse and evaluate some of the core arguments in contemporary epistemology. You will learn about the different theories of knowledge and explore famous works from Ernest Sosa, Alvin Goldman, David Lewis, Edward Craig, and Miranda Fricker.

Speech Attacks: Bullshit, Lies, Propaganda

Discuss the foundations of speech act theory and examine ways that it has been applied to philosophical problems in feminist theory and political and social theory. Explore lies and bullshit, and what (if anything) is wrong with these uses of language. And we will discuss the nature of propaganda and 'fake news' and how to resist its effects. 

Paradoxes

Explore some of the great contemporary and historical paradoxes in philosophy, and their proposed solutions. Philosophy is full of paradoxes – logical, semantic, metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, and others, which shed light on big philosophical issues.

Metaphysics

Discover metaphysics, one of the foundation stones of philosophy, and how the way we deal with metaphysical problems affects our approach to problems in many other areas of philosophy, such as philosophy of mind and epistemology.

Philosophy of Religion

Explore the central topics within analytic philosophy of religion, examining both contemporary ideas and their historical origins. Through lectures and seminars, you will evaluate these concepts and consider their significance and validity. 

Dynamics of Civil Wars 

Explore the dynamics of political violence in civil wars through theoretical and empirical analysis of key problems, such as participation, recruitment, organisation, external support, rebel diplomacy, and rebel governance.

International Terrorism 

Learn what terrorism is and what distinguishes it from other forms of conflict and warfare in the international system. You’ll discover the causes and consequences of terrorism throughout history, which factors influence terrorist target selection and modus operandi, and the options available to counterterrorism.

British Foreign and Defence Policy since 1945 

Learn the theory and practice of how foreign and defence policy is made and explore real-life examples of these policies, from the end of the British Empire to Brexit. You’ll also examine a series of post-war challenges, from the Suez crisis to the conflict in Ukraine, and UK’s role in the world today.

War, Peace and International Ethics 

Examine the ethical questions involved in war through real-world case studies and philosophical thought-experiments. You’ll discuss different moral issues, such as humanitarian intervention, the role of individual and collective self-defence, civilian immunity, terrorism, torture, and the punishment of war crimes.

Critical Security Studies 

Explore the processes through which particular actors or practices are constructed as security issues and subjected to exceptional strategies. You’ll be introduced to the study of politics of identity, focusing on the relational construction of identities within popular media such as films.

US Foreign Policy

Analyse how American foreign policy decisions are made, who influences them, and how they have evolved over time. You’ll gain an understanding of crucial events such as the Vietnam War or the response to 9/11, while also exploring salient challenges faced by US foreign policymakers today.

Politics and International Relations of the Middle East 

Gain a nuanced understanding of the politics of Middle Eastern states and how they relate with international tensions and conflicts of the region. You’ll study the history of these countries and their state-civil society relations, as well as the international politics, roles of superpowers, and their interests in the area.

The Politics of Nuclear Weapons 

Examine the historical and political contexts for nuclear policy making, with an emphasis on the political and technical considerations affecting national choices. You’ll explore the issues surrounding non-proliferation strategies, nuclear security, and next steps for arms control.

International Political Economy 

Explore the interaction between states and markets, and between winners and losers, at domestic and international levels. You’ll discover the major theoretical approaches to international political economy through a range of topics, including international trade and finance, development, the effects of globalisation on the welfare state and the environment, and the use of economic sanctions.

Gender and Politics

Examine how gender manifests in the political domain, such as how stereotypes about masculinity and femininity shape political campaigns. You’ll also consider how gender intersects with race, ethnicity, and sexuality.

International Organisation in Global Politics

Gain employability skills for working within international organisations. You’ll analyse how organisations are designed, their effectiveness for solving cooperation problems and advancing national interests, and major challenges that they face.

These are the modules we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they're informed by the latest teaching and research methods.

Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.

You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.