Cultural Astronomy and Astrology PGCert

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

The Postgraduate Certificate in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology is a distance learning course that explores how people have understood and connected with the sky, stars, and planets throughout history. This course is run by the Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture and provides a chance to learn how these connections have shaped human culture and beliefs. This programme introduces the idea that the cosmos has been a central part of human life for thousands of years, influencing everything from religion and art to politics and architecture. Cultural Astronomy and Astrology looks at the ways people across time and place have made sense of the universe and their place within it. You will study both astronomy, the scientific study of the stars, and astrology, the practice of linking the movements of celestial bodies to human experience. The course takes a broad humanities approach, using disciplines like history, anthropology, and archaeology to help students understand the rich connections between the cosmos and human culture. A key focus of the course is the difference between astronomy and astrology and how these two areas have been understood and used by different cultures. You will also study how the sky has been important in religion, the arts, and ideas about the mind. Archeoastronomy, the study of how astronomical symbols and alignments appear in ancient and modern architecture, is an important part of the programme. By examining the skies from both a scientific and cultural perspective, you will learn how different societies have related to the stars.

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies