Global Philosophies & Worldviews and English Language

GLOBAL PHILOSOPHIES & WORLDVIEWS

*This course is for 2025 entry only

*subject to validation

We live in a global society, and every day the apps on our phones and computers bring us new ideas and opinions from across the world. So, how do people negotiate this media-saturated world with its diverse - and sometimes apparently irreconcilable - ways of understanding the big questions? How do people coexist with others whose worldview is radically different to their own? What makes for a global citizen? 

This Major challenges you to grapple with these - and similar questions. You will explore what can be learned from the ‘wisdom’ of different traditions in our pluralist contemporary world - chiefly by asking how other people have worked through questions like these. In responding to this question you will explore in depth how non-Western philosophical and religious traditions have tackled them. 

You will also look at the ways that Western philosophers and Jewish, Muslim and Christian theologians have looked at these issues. Along the way you will look at how people form - and reform their worldview. You will ask such questions as does scientism lead to a reduction in human capacity for engaging with reality? Is the Western secularisation model fundamentally colonialist? 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Language has a profound influence on the way we see, construct and interpret the world around us. It shapes our identities and culture and can be used to manipulate the way we think. The English Language degree examines a wide range of varieties of English in their social, cultural and historical contexts. It teaches you how to closely analyse texts ranging from everyday discourse to fictional narratives to the language of the media.

Studying English Language provides you with a sound knowledge of how language is structured, how it developed and spread globally, and how it functions both in society and in our minds, but it also equips you with a variety of practical critical and analytical skills. We pride ourselves on offering a challenging and stimulating degree with a wide range of innovative teaching and assessment methods. We place an emphasis on employability through how language is used for professional purposes and the practical and transferable skills valuable in selected careers.

You will be taught by academics who are actively engaged in research and have published in their specialist fields. You will also benefit from the University’s Special Collections in the library, home to over 75,000 printed materials and complemented by an environmentally controlled vault that houses rare books and manuscripts from as early as the ninth century, as well as our close links with Liverpool’s cultural institutions. With a strong commitment to small-group teaching and the personal development of all of our students, we strive to support you in the pursuit of academic excellence.