- UCAS course code
- V500
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Bachelor of Arts (BA)
BA Philosophy
Develop the knowledge and analytical skills needed to examine today's biggest questions.
Duration: 3 or 4 years
Year of entry: 2025
UCAS course code: V500 / Institution code: M20
- Key features:
Study abroad
Scholarships available
- Typical A-level offer: ABB
- Typical contextual A-level offer: BBC
- Refugee/care-experienced offer: BBC
- Typical International Baccalaureate offer: 34 points overall with 6,5,5 at HL
Fees and funding
Fees
Tuition fees for home students commencing their studies in September 2025 will be £9,535 per annum (subject to Parliamentary approval). Tuition fees for international students will be £26,500 per annum. For general information please see the undergraduate finance pages.
Policy on additional costs
All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).
Scholarships/sponsorships
Scholarships and bursaries, including the Manchester Bursary , are available to eligible home/EU students.
Some undergraduate UK students will receive bursaries of up to £2,000 per year, in addition to the government package of maintenance grants.
You can get information and advice on student finance to help you manage your money.
Course unit details:
From Cloud Cuckoo Land to Atlantis: Utopian thinking in the Ancient World
| Unit code | CAHE30141 |
|---|---|
| Credit rating | 20 |
| Unit level | Level 3 |
| Teaching period(s) | Semester 1 |
| Available as a free choice unit? | Yes |
Overview
Imagining ‘other’ worlds and ‘perfect’ societies is one of the many activities that links our modern world to antiquity. This course considers some of the many ‘utopias’ developed by ancient authors, from ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’ in Aristophanes’ comedy, to Plato’s ‘Republic’, to Lucian’s account of life on the moon. We will consider why these authors and philosophers chose to imagine other worlds and how they expected their ideas to affect this world. We will also look at the influence of ancient utopian thinking on modern political thought and make comparisons with utopian ideas found in cultures beyond Greece and Rome.
Aims
- to introduce students to the nature and purpose of utopian thinking
- to introduce students to the wide range of utopian thinking found in ancient Greece and other cultures
- to introduce students to a representative comparative sample of texts written by Greek and other authors
- to encourage students to reflect on the influence of ancient utopian thinking on modern political and literary thought
- to enable students to discuss political and cultural alternatives with confidence and critical insight
Knowledge and understanding
By the end of this course unit, students will
- have read and discussed a wide range of examples of utopian thought from ancient Greece and other cultures and read, and discussed a selection of specific texts in further detail
- have analysed and reflected on the variety and complexity of purpose and presentation of utopian thought
- have critically evaluated a variety of examples of ‘utopia’, learning to positively evaluate ideas that they find disagreeable
- have come to understand and evaluate the influence of ancient utopian thinking on modern thought
Intellectual skills
By the end of this course unit, students will
- have developed their ability to critically evaluate political and cultural alternatives and to discuss texts in detail
- have developed their ability to compare and contrast different political and utopian suggestions and to evaluate and consider challenging and sometimes disagreeable ideas
- have learned to discuss and evaluate suggestions with which they disagree
- have developed their ability to evaluate the influence of the ancient world and its reception in modern political thinking and literature
Practical skills
By the end of this course units, students will
- have improved their ability to produce written summaries of their analysis
- have improved their ability to participate in robust, critical discussion of ideas
- have improved their ability to engage with material unfamiliar to them from across a range of genres
- have developed their ability to produce poster presentations, condensing complex ideas into accessible summaries
Transferable skills and personal qualities
By the end of this course units, students will
- have improved their ability to produce written summaries of analyses of texts and ideas
- have improved their confidence in participating in group discussions
- have improved their ability to adapt to a wide range of unfamiliar ideas and recognize connections between them
Assessment methods
Assessment task | Formative or Summative | Weighting within unit (if summative) |
Text analysis | Formative | n/a |
Text analysis | Summative | 50% |
Coursework essay | Summative | 50% |
Resit assessment
Assessment task |
Coursework essay |
Feedback methods
Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
Written feedback on Text Analysis | Formative |
Written feedback on summative assessments | Formative and Summative |
Oral feedback in lectures, seminars and office hours | Formative |
Recommended reading
- Plato Republic, Laws, Timaeus-Critias
- Lucian True History
- Homer Odyssey
- Aristophanes Birds
- Utopias in Ancient Thought (2021) edited by P. Destrée, J. Opsomer, and G. Roskam
- The Concept of Utopia (1990) R. Levitas
Study hours
| Scheduled activity hours | |
|---|---|
| Lectures | 22 |
| Seminars | 11 |
| Independent study hours | |
|---|---|
| Independent study | 167 |
Teaching staff
| Staff member | Role |
|---|---|
| Jenny Bryan | Unit coordinator |