BADrama and Philosophy

Study location	United Kingdom, Egham, Surrey
Type	Bachelor courses, full-time
Nominal duration	3 years
Study language	English
Awards	BA
Course code	WV45

Entry qualification	High school / secondary education (or higher) Required: At least five GCSEs graded A*- C or 9-4 including English and Maths The entry qualification documents are accepted in the following languages: English. Often you can get a suitable transcript from your school. If this is not the case, you will need official translations along with verified copies of the original.

Language requirements	English IELTS: 6.5 overall (with 7.0 in writing and a minimum of 5.5 in each remaining subscore) CAE: 176 overall (with no less than 185 in writing and a minimum of 162 in all other subscores)

Other requirements	At least 1 reference(s) must be provided. A motivation letter must be added to your application. A relevant portfolio is required.

More information	royalholloway.ac.uk/..-and-philosophy.aspx

Overview

Interested? To learn more about this study programme, entry requirements and application process, please contact one of our consultants in a country nearest to you.

Programme structure

Year 1

Theatre and Performance Making
You will encounter a range of creative methods for work-shopping practice, and produce a 20-minute performance as a response to one company.

Theatre and Culture
This module looks at the ways in which theatre reflects, intervenes and questions the culture around it. It will expand your horizons and introduce you to a range of unfamiliar practices.

Introduction to Modern Philosophy
In this module you will develop an understanding of how the ‘new philosophy’ of the seventeenth century set the modern philosophical agenda. You will look at the work of some of the most ground breaking philosophers of the period, such René Descartes and John Locke, and consider how later philosophers such as Gottfried Leibniz and David Hume took up and expanded their ideas. You will consider the fundamental questions which became central to the European Enlightenment, including those concerning knowledge and understanding and the relation between science and other human endeavours.

Epistemology and Metaphysics
In this module you will develop an understanding of some of the key problems that have preoccupied contemporary philosophers. You will look at logical questions relating to the structure of arguments, epistemological questions about the sources and limits of knowledge, and consider metaphysical questions that explore the relationship between minds, bodies, and the possibilities of human freedoms.

Introduction to Ancient Philosophy
In this module you will develop an understanding of ancient philosophical ideas and the ways in which philosophical arguments are presented and analysed. You will look at the thought and significance of the principal ancient philosophers, from the Presocratics to Aristotle, and examine sample texts such as Plato’s ‘Laches’ and the treatment of the virtue of courage in Aristotle, ‘Nicomachean Ethics’ 3.6-9.

Introduction to Logic
In this module you will develop an understanding of the formal study of arguments through the two basic systems of modern logic – sentential or propositional logic and predicate logic. You will learn how to present and analyse arguments formally, and look at the implications and uses of logical analysis by considering Bertrand Russell’s formalist solution to the problem of definite descriptions. You will also examine the the broader significance of findings in logic to philosophical inquiry.

Mind and Consciousness
In this module you will develop an understanding of the relationship between the mind and the brain. You will examine the key theories, from Descartes’ dualist conception of the relationship between mind and body through to Chalmers’s conception of consciousness as ‘the hard problem’ in the philosophy of mind. You will also consider some of the famous thought experiments in this area, including Descartes’s and Laplace’s demons, the Chinese Room and the China Brain, Mary and the black-and-white room, and the problem of zombie and bat consciousness.

Introduction to Aesthetics and Morals
In this module you will develop an understanding of the central problems and debates within moral philosophy and aesthetics. You will look at questions relating to both metaphysical and ethical relativism, including the ways we view our moral commitments within the world, how the individual is related to society, and the value and nature of the work of art. You will also examine approaches from the history of philosophy, including the Anglo-American tradition and recent European philosophy.

Year 2

Theatre and Performance Making 2
You will choose an option that enables you to focus on a particular creative skill, such as acting for camera, dance, playwriting, physical theatre, site-based performance or scenography.

Theatre and Culture 2
You will choose an option that enables you to consider the ways in which theatre and culture reflect and resist each other within a particular context, including feminism, popular theatre, theatre for young audiences, dancing bodies and global culture.

Introduction to European Philosophy 1 – From Kant to Hegel
In this module you will develop an understanding of the major debates in European and some Anglo-American philosophy. You will look at the key texts by eighteenth and nineteenth century philosophers Immanuel Kant and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, examining the continuing significance of their ideas. You will consider the major espistemological, ethical and aesthetical issues their idea raise, and the the problems associated with the notion of modernity. You will also analyse the importance of the role of history in modern philosophy via Hegel’s influence.

Mind and World

Year 3

All modules are optional

Optional modules

In addition to these mandatory course units there are a number of optional course units available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course units that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new units may be offered or existing units may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.

Career opportunities

The graduates go into a wide variety of careers, as well as further academic study. Many go into acting, stage management, broadcasting (including at the BBC), arts administration, journalism, teaching, health, marketing, and PR. Lots of our graduates also start their own performing arts companies.You’ll be familiar and confident in performance situations – skills which are vital for leading meetings and make you viable for visible leadership roles.

You’ll also walk away with considerable experience of technical, intellectual, imaginative, and practical skills, valued by most employers. Aside from these performance skills, you’ll also get skills in research and project management from the academic side of the course. Find out more about what our graduates are doing now.