Previous training in Art History is not essential. English English as an academic discipline involves the study of literature in the English language. Although the reading of literature involves pleasure, it also demands rigour and critical intelligence. In particular, English develops attentiveness to the workings of language that is highly valued in many walks of life. First year English subjects provide a broad history of the development of the literature of England until the nineteenth century.
Subjects are also available on literary theory, children's literature and literature and film.
History History's central concern is with the whole of our past, so it encompasses a vast range of human activity. Family and gender relations, race and ethnicity, class relations, the natural and built environment, and the everyday lives of ordinary people are among the fields which now provide the focus for some of the most stimulating work being done by historians. However, the chief role of the academic discipline of History is to ensure that those images of the past which people use as a basis for judgment are as accurate as possible, based on rigorous study rather than myth or prejudice. History teaching also emphasises the importance of skills such as information seeking, critical thinking, interpreting evidence, and writing coherently and persuasively. Philosophy Philosophy as an academic practice arises out of the attempt to answer questions that cannot be resolved simply by discovering more facts.