Chinese Studies and Philosophy BA (Hons)

Lancaster University

Lancaster’s joint Chinese Studies and Philosophy degree is taught by the Department of Languages and Cultures in conjunction with the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion.

Your Chinese Studies programme gives you the opportunity to acquire high-level language skills while gaining a thorough understanding of China's historical, cultural, social and political background in a global context. You will learn language and culture in innovative and engaging ways. For example, students learn the Chinese language in its social and cultural context by participating in a wide range of activities through the Chinese Friendship Project. Recent activities have included a day trip to Manchester Chinatown, Chinese Food Corner, Chinese Film Night, Chinese festival celebration, and more.

In Philosophy, you will acquire an understanding of key problems in various core areas of philosophy such as epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and social philosophy, as well as the answers that have been offered by historic and contemporary philosophers. You will also cultivate your own critical perspectives on philosophical problems and questions, and develop a range of methods for analysing, critically engaging with, and discussing such problems.

Your first year comprises an exploration of the Chinese language and its cultural context as well as an introduction to some of the central problems in philosophy and the theories produced in response to them. Chinese may be studied at either beginner or advanced level. Alongside this, you will study a minor subject of your choice.

Building on your language skills in Year 2, you will study the culture, politics and history of the Chinese-speaking world in more depth in Shaping Chinese Society: Moments and Movements, as well as select one module which is international in scope and promotes a comparative understanding at a global level, such as Understanding Cultures. You will combine these with Philosophy modules such as Values and Objectivity and Metaphysics.

Spending your third year - the International Placement Year - abroad in a Chinese-speaking country makes a major contribution to your command of the language, while deepening your intercultural sensitivity. You can study at a partner institution or conduct a work placement. Staff members within the department will work with you to ensure that you are fully prepared before embarking on your placement in a Chinese-speaking country.

In your final year, you will consolidate your Chinese language skills, and study specialist culture and comparative modules, such as Masculinities and Modernities in China and Imagining Modern Europe: Post-Revolutionary Utopias and Ideologies in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century. You will also select Philosophy modules such as Logic and Language or Philosophy of Art. You will also have opportunities to combine your interests in both subjects in longer, supervised projects.

Beginners Languages

Studying a language from beginners level is somewhat intense in nature so we only allow students to study one language from beginners level. Please bear this in mind when looking at our first year module options. If you apply to study a degree with a language from beginners level, your optional modules will only include higher level languages and modules in other subject areas.