The aim of the module is to enable students to undertake an extensive piece of research on a topic of their choice in the field of their degree title, and to further develop their skills in research techniques and methods.

The 'fin de siècle' - stretching from the 1880s to the outbreak for the First World War - was defined by the clash between the old and the new. On the one hand, it was an era of scientific, technological, and philosophical innovation that inspired hope for the future as it pointed to humanity's apparently boundless creativity and mastery of the natural world. Yet, on the other, it was a time of febrile anxiety, in which premonitions of degeneration and decay captured the imagination and equally informed political and philosophical life.

'Sex, Death, and Decadence' examines the ways in which this optimism and anxiety shaped the political, cultural, and intellectual life of turn-of-the-century Europe. By engaging with a diverse range of primary materials, students will explore the ways in which, among others, debates over sex, symbols of death and decay, and fear over declining moral and racial standards, demarcate a specific moment in European history. This was a moment in which faith in rationality and progress seemed at once unquestionable, but also worryingly vulnerable.

This module offers students an opportunity to explore how American culture responded to questions raised by the modernisation of the United States between the end of the Civil War and the beginnings of World War 2.

This module examines the role played by the Soviet and post-Soviet security and intelligence agencies in the history of the Soviet regime and its satellites from the Russian Revolution of 1917 to the present day. The history of Communism is a key part of the history of the twentieth century; the Soviet Union's security and intelligence agencies played a key role in the history of Communism. The twentieth century was the most calamitously bloody century in mankind's history; the Soviet Union's security services, and those set up in their image, bear of a large share of the responsibility for that.

This Module explores the various vectors of international politics in the Asia-Pacific; and locates this dynamic region within the larger framework of global politics. Students are expected to demonstrate an appreciation of the web of interactions in the Asia-Pacific at the end of the module. Topics include political geography, diplomatic relations, international political economy, and identity politics in East Asia.

This module introduces students to key political issues in Middle East politics from a local, regional, and global perspective by employing relevant conceptual tools and empirically-informed analyses. It provides a historical overview of the main political developments of the region with the objective of exploring their role in shaping the contemporary Middle East.

This module examines the ethical (including moral, social, and political) dimensions of environmental thought, broadly construed to encompass a range of questions about human relationships with plants, animals, ecosystems, the climate, and the wider nonhuman world. Ethico-political frameworks explored might include ecologism, animal rights, biocentrism, and similar. Practical normative questions explored might include the ethics of diets and food systems; the political inclusion of animals; the question of who is responsible for putting right environmental harm; species conservation; green militarization; and green democracy.

This module introduces students to the nature, causes, types, and threat of terrorism, and the ways in which this threat is countered.

The aim of the module is to provide students with an advanced understanding of the nature of contemporary war. Students will understand and explain changes in the character of conflict. Issues such as technology on the conduct of war as well as climate change provide a new appreciation of how States fight.

This course examines the emergence, evolution and contemporary existence of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal) since 1945. It explores the moments of incorporation, trajectories of development and marginal spaces, apart from the mainstream of South Asia today.

The course aims to introduce the students to international conflict management and to foster critical thinking about international interventions aimed at stopping violent conflicts.

This module examines the history and politics of Anglo-American relations, from c.1900 to the present.

One 10-credit module from a list supplied by the Language Centre, levels dependent on candidates’ previous qualifications. Languages offered are:  French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish.