Cradle to the Grave B: Welfare and Wellbeing Across the Lifecourse (8800F)

15 credits, Level 3 (sub-degree)

Spring teaching

This module aims to enhance the personal and academic development skills necessary for effective, active and independent study at undergraduate level in the social sciences, arts and humanities, and develop knowledge, understanding and critical awareness of the individual and society. Building on ‘Cradle to the Grave A’, this module makes links between individual lived experiences and the broader policy contexts of neoliberalism and globalisation. This module takes in a broad sweep of topics relating to welfare, wellbeing, life experiences and identities at different stages of the life course. It will move from analyses of contemporary issues in Education in the UK through to mental health across the life course, work, care and housing, music, ageing and social care and experiences of loss. Dimensions of gender, class, age, disability and ethnicity will be taken into account in understanding the impact of contemporary social, cultural and policy environments across the generations.

You will develop your critical, analytical and writing skills through weekly discussion, debate and analysis of academic texts, reflection opportunities to reflect and working towards an academic written assignment. There will be opportunities to undertake analyses of media and life history data, and to reflect on life and work experiences. You will be introduced to a range of theories and policies, providing analytical tools to enhance your understanding of the context in which we live. Engagement with the topics will provide a sound foundation for future studies, lives and work.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 33 hours of contact time and about 117 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.