Bridging the Humanities - IHY00002C

«Back to module search

Module summary

This module highlights the importance of combining different perspectives and methods, while developing key skills for interdisciplinary study in the Humanities. Building on the specific disciplines we looked at on Discovering the Humanities, we’ll consider fundamentally interdisciplinary fields such as the Environmental Humanities, Medical Humanities, and Digital Humanities, and consider the importance of interdisciplinary perspectives for studying complex topics like Mental Health, Gender & Sexuality, and Race. Examples of work and trajectories in these different interdisciplinary fields will help students chart their own individual study pathways for their degree, reflecting on their cross-disciplinary interests and making meaningful connections for further module options and research.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 2 2025-26

Module aims

This module aims to:

• provide a critical overview of key interdisciplinary fields in the humanities;
• introduce essential skills and methods for successful interdisciplinary study;
• support the development of students’ scholarly interests and identity.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of the module, you should be able to:

1. Demonstrate a critical understanding of and engagement with key interdisciplinary fields in the humanities.
2. Demonstrate a critical understanding of and engagement with methods for interdisciplinary study in the humanities.
3. Develop arguments and evidence which demonstrate critical analysis, research, referencing, and writing skills.
4. Articulate and begin exploring a set of scholarly interests which reflect a considered engagement with existing interdisciplinary fields.

Module content

Interactive lecture sessions will include scholars involved in the university’s interdisciplinary research centres, considering how different interdisciplinary fields position themselves and contribute to knowledge more generally. Seminars will provide a space for further connections across arts and humanities disciplines, as students develop individual study pathways for their degrees and begin to explore specialist interdisciplinary areas.

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	70
Essay/coursework	30

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	70
Essay/coursework	30

Module feedback

Students will receive oral and written feedback on formative work throughout the module, and written feedback on both summative assessments.

Indicative reading

• Allen F Repko, Rick Szostak, Michelle Phillips Buchberger, Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies (SAGE, 2016).
• ed. Karin Bijsterveld and Aagje Swinnen, Interdisciplinarity in the Scholarly Life Cycle: Learning by Example in Humanities and Social Science Research (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023).
• J. Andrew Hubbell and John C. Ryan, Introduction to the Environmental Humanities (Routledge, 2022).
• Stuart Murray, Medical Humanities & Disability Studies: In/Disciplines (Bloomsbury, 2023).