King's College London

This course explores what comedy can do through a survey of the stage comedy of the two greatest periods of theatrical creativity in London: the Elizabethan-Jacobean era and the Restoration era. It spans the the entire 17th century, with attention to continuities and revolutions in dramatic practice and the changing forms of comedy.

The end of the 19th century, roughly from 1880-1900 or so, has become one of the most dynamic fields in literary studies in recent years. The 1890s was a time of literary innovation, epitomized by a figure like Oscar Wilde, in which the "new" was championed. The course focuses on a range of literature and some visual culture from the period to consider the ways in which aesthetics and politics intersect. What is art for art's sake? How did agitation for women's rights or Irish home rule find their way into the culture of the day? Why were gender and sexuality so hotly discussed? How was empire imagined by the end of the century? Students examine ideas around aestheticism, decadence, degeneration, radical politics, urbanism, and empire. 

The course provides a broad introduction to epistemology by way of a selection of representative topics, including core questions (the nature of knowledge, whether we know anything, when is it reasonable or justified to believe something), open problems (epistemic paradoxes), as well as more applied issues at the intersection of epistemology and philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, ethics, political philosophy and/or philosophy of religion (topics may vary from one year to another).

This course studies the history of Britain from the mid-19th century through to 1945, with a focus on broadly defined political history. The course considers the impact of ideological, sexual, demographic, social, cultural, and economic change on the political process and policy-making in Britain. Students examine more conventional issues such as constitutional reform and party politics. Students also focus on aspects of social and economic history as well as some intellectual and cultural history. This option comprises the spring term of the yearlong course Politics & Society in Modern Britain, 1780-1945.

This course explores key philosophical questions relating to youth, young people, and children; considering their practical relevance. It does so by starting from the personal experiences of course members along with contrasting case studies of diverse life courses. What is it to be a child or a young person? How have these categories been applied to us, and by us, in our own lives, and how have they been applied elsewhere?