University of Sussex

This course gives students an insight into aetiology, assessment, treatment, and service provision in clinical psychology in the UK. Selected topics covering adult psychological disorders, child and adolescent problems, the neuropsychology of psychological disorders, and learning disabilities are presented mainly by practicing clinical psychologists with expertise in these areas. 

This course introduces students to the structure and core elements of criminal liability. It engages with aspects of criminal law theory, and requires students to think critically about the types of conduct that should be criminalised and the circumstances in which individuals should be held criminally responsible for their actions.

This course explores representations of adolescence from the early 20th through to the early 21st century in literature, film, and popular culture. Students read texts that range across history, psychology, and writings about juvenile delinquency, but the focus is on reading novels, short stories, films, and graphic novels that represent the paradoxes of adolescence from the turn of the 20th century. This may include such works as: Back to the Future, Ghost World, Spring Breakers, The Hate U Give, and more. The course looks at the ways in which the adolescent morphs into the teenage consumer in the 1950s in novels such as Colin MacInnes’s Absolute Beginners. The course considers the adolescent as a site of cultural fantasy and cultural fears in relation to class, race, gender, and sexuality and the adolescent’s relationship to radical politics, subculture, suburbia, and nostalgia. On this experiential course, students explore how Brighton has been central for pushing boundaries and creating new waves in the medium of literature and film. Students also develop a deeper understanding of the construction of the categories of the adolescent and the teenagers in literature, film, and theory. This course may include a field trip to Brighton, following the trail of cult movie Quadrophenia.

This course provides an introduction to regional variation in the English language. The course is divided between an overview of the types of variation found and a practical part in which students have the opportunity to explore an aspect of variation and/or change in an original research project. The first part discusses aspects of accent variation, looking at major parameters of phonological differences and introducing some key accents in greater detail, and also explores grammatical and lexical differences between different regional varieties. Attention is also given to "new" Englishes and creoles and their phonological, lexical and grammatical features. The second part provides students with the tools to conduct their own empirical analysis, including methods of data collection and an introduction to phonetic analysis software.

This course introduces the most common psychological disorders and explores contemporary issues with regard to both diagnosis and treatment. Specifically, the course covers the diagnostic criteria and key theories of causation (including biomedical, cognitive, social, and psychological models) of anxiety disorders, mood disorders, PTSD, psychosis, and personality disorders. It also reviews treatments available and their efficacy. Students explore key debates in the literature and alternatives to the medicalized model of mental health (such as the critical psychiatry perspective) and discuss them within societal contexts.