2024/25

This module draws together concepts of habitability from across the university, exploring both the realities of habitability and our own reactions to it.

We will look at habitable conditions both on- and off-Earth, discuss the possibilities for habitable environments in our own Solar system, and study how we find and understand habitable planets in the wider galaxy using modern telescopes. We will also investigate life at the extremes, considering extremophiles on Earth and what they might tell us about habitable conditions elsewhere, as well as examining the sustainability and long-term habitability of our own planet. We will look at how these concepts are woven throughout popular culture, assessing the representations of habitability and ‘the other’ in film. Finally, we will try to place a historical context on “the new Space Age” with its growing stream of talk about other planets, colonisation, and off-world activity

The Science of Music module (IL016) aims to introduce students (in all subject areas and with any level of musical, mathematical or scientific expertise) to the relationships between science, music and mathematics. The module will explore multiple facets of Music by combining tools from a variety of disciplines, from Physics and Maths to Psychology and History, with contributions from a range of professional musicians.Link opens in a new window

Teaching for the module will be based around 9 2-hour workshops and a field trip (on a Saturday mid-February) to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.