What is emotion? This unit takes a philosophical approach to this question in an attempt to understand why people respond to events in a certain way. Is there a difference between an emotion and a bodily feeling or is one a consequence of the other? View course on original website...

How does what you say come to mean something? Does what you say inherently represent what you, the speaker, think it means, whatever that might be, or does what you say carry its own meaning, separate from your intentions in saying it? This unit introduces you to the key questions about how meaning is conveyed in language. View course on original website...

What is imagination and can philosophy define it in any meaningful way? This unit will introduce you to some of the possible answers to these questions and will examine why philosophy has sometimes found it difficult to approach imagination. It will then go on to examine the relationship that imagination has to imagery and supposition, charting where... View course on original website...

What is consciousness? How does the brain generate consciousness and how can a science of the mind describe and explain it adequately? This unit will introduce you to the slippery phenomenon that is consciousness, as well as some of the difficulties consciousness presents to science and philosophy. View course on original website...

This unit will define basic concepts and terms that are essential for an understanding of the culture and identity of the Roman empire. Terms such as ‘Roman empire’ and ‘imperium’ will be introduced in the context of the formation and expansion of the empire, and the unit will provide you with the background for further study of the Roman em... View course on original website...

This unit provides an overview of Open University Course Y160 Making sense of the arts. You will be introduced to the types of activities, tasks and assignments that you would be asked to undertake if you were to enrol on the course. View course on original website...

This unit examines the philosophical questions surrounding imagination. You will examine how beliefs have changed over the centuries and be able to contrast the views of Descartes with more modern ideas. View course on original website...

This unit gives you the opportunity to practise good study techniques using the theme of commemoration and memorials. It will help you to begin to think about how form influences meaning in the arts and how ideas influence approaches to the humanities. View course on original website...

This unit explores the commemoration of war through treating two war memorials – the Sandham Memorial Chapel and the Royal Artillery Memorial – as 'visual texts'. By helping you to respond to visual cues the unit aims for you to develop your understanding of these memorials, not only as memorials, but as artefacts or 'made objects'. It does this... View course on original website...

In this section we will consider how language can be used in different ways for different purposes. To do this we will use the theme of memorial and commemoration. In the first section we briefly discuss the life of the poet Siegfried Sassoon before examining both his poetry and prose. Through this we will see how he conveys meaning in different ways for different audiences using different forms... View course on original website...