Featured module: Different Ways of Knowing

In this module we study the nature of knowledge. What is knowledge? How do we know what we know? How do we know that what we know is true and valid? After a thorough grounding in philosophical theories of knowledge, students will be able to appreciate the various ways different cultures construct, validate, hide, contest, and transmit knowledge; from written to oral history, to scientific and logical debate, to prophecy and sorcery. As students study the relationship between 'knowledge' and forms of socio-cultural organisation, we bring these debates home. Knocking down unhelpful ideas of 'West is to science as rest is to intuition', we conclude by reflecting on changes in knowledge in our own society – we examine conspiracy theories, misconceptions about science, the rise of 'post-truth' and the obsession with what the 'fake'.