Module manager: Dr. Alba Cercas Curry
Email: a.a.cercascurry@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
This module is not approved as a discovery module
This module explores philosophical traditions commonly grouped under “non-Western philosophy,” such as Chinese, Indian, African, and Islamic thought. Rather than offering a superficial survey, we examine how these traditions ask distinctive questions, use different methods, and develop their own visions of human life, politics, and the cosmos. Through selected thinkers and texts, we consider how they challenge Western assumptions, offer new conceptual resources, and open alternative ways of thinking about contemporary issues. Students also reflect on how philosophical inquiry varies across cultural contexts and why engaging with diverse traditions matters in a multicultural world. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
The aims of this module are to enable you to understand central issues within a non-Western philosophical tradition, explain the problems they raise, evaluate major attempts to address these problems, and develop and defend your own considered views.
These aims will be pursued through a mix of interactive lectures and seminars. Lectures introduce key concepts, texts, and arguments, and model critically engaged interpretation—showing how to analyse philosophical traditions on their own terms and evaluate rival interpretative and philosophical positions. Seminars provide structured practice in close reading, reconstructing claims and arguments, comparing competing interpretations, and articulating and defending your own critical perspective, including navigating disagreements both among the thinkers and among their interpreters.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1) Analyse and critically explain how selected non-Western thinkers/texts develop and justify their views on key themes covered in the module.
2) Reconstruct and defend your preferred interpretation of central claims and arguments in key passages from non-Western philosophical texts
3) Critically evaluate competing interpretative frameworks within the scholarly literature.
4) Develop and defend a sustained philosophical evaluation of the arguments studied.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
5) Search for and utilise appropriate material to support knowledge and analysis of topics (Academic, Work Ready, Digital and Sustainability skill)
6) Effectively communicate philosophical ideas in ways that respect and incorporate global and multicultural perspectives (Academic and Work Ready Skill)
The syllabus introduces major themes, thinkers, and debates from one or more non-Western philosophical traditions. Depending on the year, the module may focus on Chinese, Indian, African, Islamic, or other global traditions, with each iteration centred on a coherent set of compelling texts and questions.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lectures | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminars | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 180 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
Students will have structured opportunities to develop the components of their final portfolio. At various points, students will be invited to bring draft elements—such as text commentaries, short argument analyses, comparative reflections, or methodological notes—to class as material for guided activities linked to the distinctive skills being introduced that week. These activities will form the basis of in-class peer discussion and feedback.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio | Portfolio | 100 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 30/04/2026
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team