Art History and Philosophy & Ethics BA (Hons)

ART HISTORY

Liverpool has more museums and galleries than any UK city outside London. It also hosts the country's largest contemporary art biennial. This makes it a lively place for studying art history.

In your three years, you'll explore art and visual culture from a wide historical range. You'll focus on modern and contemporary art. Hope’s partnership with Tate Liverpool and National Museums Liverpool enriches the course. You'll hear from guest speakers in the museum field. You'll also get access to Liverpool’s best art collections. The course focuses on critical thinking and visual literacy. It explores different approaches and theories in art history.

Hear from student Bryony Large about what it's like to study Art History at Hope. 

PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS

The Philosophy and Ethics course at Hope explores life’s biggest questions and the nature of morality: on what basis do we judge things as good or evil? It challenges you to examine your assumptions, opinions, and worldview. Key questions include: Do we need to believe in God for life to have meaning? What does it mean to be human? Do we have free will, or is life determined?

This philosophy and ethics course uses primary texts by philosophers like Plato, Aquinas, Descartes, Hume, Kant, and Nietzsche. You will learn to analyse and evaluate arguments. Also, you'll enhance your ability to express your ideas clearly. You will learn the basics of philosophy. As you advance, you'll study topics like religion, political philosophy, and applied ethics. You'll also explore modern issues like human personhood, artificial intelligence, ecology, and animal rights.

Studying in Liverpool provides a rich cultural context for exploring the human condition through art, performance, and social life. The course at Liverpool Hope is contemporary and timely, particularly in applied ethics and the study of religion in the modern world.

This philosophy and ethics course gives you the skills to tackle ethical and ideological challenges today. You'll prepare for many jobs that need critical thinking and the ability to handle complex, conflicting ideas.