Accessibility statement

Phenomenology & Psychiatry Advanced Module - PHI00116H

« Back to module search

  • Department: Philosophy
  • Module co-ordinator: Prof. Matthew Ratcliffe
  • Credit value: 10 credits
  • Credit level: H
  • Academic year of delivery: 2021-22

Module summary

The aim of Advanced Modules is to provide students with an opportunity to return to an issue raised in the corresponding third year Taught Module, having had the opportunity to reflect, under the guidance of the Tutor, on the module content as a whole together perhaps with the content of other, related modules students may have taken. The outcome of this reflection is an essay of 2500 words relating to that issue.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Summer Term 2021-22

Module aims

The aim of Advanced Modules is to provide students with an opportunity to return to an issue raised in the corresponding third year Taught Module, having had the opportunity to reflect, under the guidance of the Tutor, on the module content as a whole together perhaps with the content of other, related modules students may have taken. The outcome of this reflection is an essay of 2500 words relating to that issue.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students should:

  • know about a diverse body of philosophical and interdisciplinary research, concerning the mutually illuminating interaction between psychiatry and phenomenological philosophy.
  • understand some central and consistent themes of the phenomenological tradition and how those themes can be related to the experiences of people with psychiatric diagnoses.
  • be able to write an essay that explains some core themes of the phenomenological tradition and critically discusses their application in the context of psychiatry

Module content

Advanced Modules are taken in the Summer Term at the end of the student’s degree programme and are tied to the associated Taught Modules taken in the Autumn or Spring Terms of that year.

The choice of the topic is up to the student in discussion with their tutor. Students may, for example, (i) return to a topic touched on in their essay for the associated Taught Module that they were not able to discuss in detail there; or (ii) they may choose a new topic from the remainder of the content of the Taught Module to research, or (iii), with the agreement of their Tutor, pursue a topic that is related to the content of the module but that was not explicitly covered in the Taught Module. In all cases, students are required to produce an essay that displays some element of independent study, going beyond the materials already provided in the associated Taught Module.

Students are advised to contact their Tutors for their Advanced Modules over the Easter vacation to arrange a meeting for early in the Summer term.

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Essay 2500 words		 N/A 100

Special assessment rules

None

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
Essay 2500 words		 N/A 100

Module feedback

  • Feedback on formative work will be returned by a deadline agree with the tutor.
  • Feedback on summative work will be returned by the end of Week 10, Summer Term.

Indicative reading

J. H. Van den Berg, J. H. 1972. A Different Existence: Principles of Phenomenological Psychopathology. Pittsburgh: Duquesne University Press.

R. D. Laing. 1960. The Divided Self: A Study of Sanity and Madness. London: Tavistock Publications.

M. Ratcliffe. 2008. Feelings of Being: Phenomenology, Psychiatry and the Sense of Reality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

M. Ratcliffe. 2015. Experiences of Depression: A Study in Phenomenology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

L. A. Sass. 1994. The Paradoxes of Delusion: Wittgenstein, Schreber, and the Schizophrenic Mind. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.