This course aims to develop fundamental knowledge of and about marketing as a field of study and provoke critical thinking about the field. It provides an opportunity for students to consider alternative approaches to the study and practice of marketing. Readings and discussions examine the historical development of marketing thought and theory, as well as contemporary issues, alternative perspectives, and critical insights. The course considers the philosophical foundations of marketing practice and marketing thought and issues of scholarship and science in marketing. The course is interactive and involves critical discussion of the readings during both lectures and student presentations.

(LO1) Support the development of marketing students as autonomous learners and independent thinkers.

(LO2) Extend the imagination to draw creative interdisciplinary links within a diverse field of study.

(LO3) Enable future marketing managers to engage with leading-edge theory in a positive and open-minded way.

(LO4) Envisage the impact of current and future trends on the role and implementation of marketing.

(LO5) To encourage further research and enquiry into the 'edges' of the discipline.

(S1) Commercial awareness

(S2) International awareness

(S3) Lifelong learning skills

(S4) Ethical awareness

Teaching Method: Lecture
Description: Include critical discussion and interaction
Scheduled Directed Student Hours: 24
Attendance Recorded: Yes
Notes: Students are given a range of core reading on which to base the beginnings of their own research. They are encouraged to consult a wide range of reference types from newspapers to journal articles and books.

Teaching Method: Seminar
Description: Student-led seminars will facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experiences of cohort members.
Scheduled Directed Student Hours: 4
Attendance Recorded: Yes

Self-Directed Learning Hours: 122
Description: The module involves a range of teaching strategies including lectures, student-led seminars, case studies and guest lectures. Additional material will be in the form of web-based reading and research, selected texts, journal articles and contemporary magazine and press articles. Independent research and study will be encouraged throughout to comple ment group work activities. Students then develop their own research ideas and link these to the topics being covered. They review the wide range of materials discussed above to reach a holistic and considered view of the specific topic being discussed at the time.

Skills/Other Attributes Mapping

Skills / attributes: Commercial awareness
How this is developed: One of the lectures explores how one might attempt to succeed in a marketing career, thereby touching on commercial awareness.
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Coursework

Skills / attributes: International awareness
How this is developed: Many of the issues pertain to globalization, whether it is celebrity worship or the spread of supermarkets. A specific example would be a lecture that focuses on the global counterfeit trade.
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Coursework

Skills / attributes: Lifelong learning skills
How this is developed: The module is designed to permanentl y colour how students approach working life upon graduation. Such a process thought is person-particular and outcomes in terms of quantifiable lifelong learning skills cannot be guaranteed.
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Coursework

Skills / attributes: Ethical awareness
How this is developed: Each essay that students write in the assessment has an ethical slant
Mode of assessment (if applicable): Coursework

Neoliberalism;

Supermarkets;

Marketing to children;

Self help;

Counterculture;

Counterfeit brands;

Fast fashion;

Celebrity;

Marketing as a career.