Programme And Module Handbook
 
Programme Specification


Date Specification Approved 28/09/2005
College College Arts and Law
School History and Cultures
Department History
Partner College and School Philosophy
Collaborative Organisation and Form of Collaboration
Qualification and Programme Title B.A. History and Philosophy Full-time
Programme Code 1526
Delivery Location Campus
Language of Study English
Length of Programme 3 Year(s)
Accreditations This programme has no outside accreditations
Aims of the Programme History:

The History side of the programme provides students the opportunity to acquire an understanding of historical events and processes – and of the enduring legacies of the past – across a range of topics that span a diverse range of chronologies (from the Bronze Age to the present day) and geographies and scales (from the West Midlands to Africa, Asia, and the Americas). In so doing, the programme develops a range of analytical and organisational skills, independent and critical thinking, and the ability to synthesise and communication information and ideas. These attributes will be developed through three interlocked strands of the curriculum:

• Studying History through which students will develop a specialist knowledge of particular historical topics that span a range of periods (from the ancient world to the present day), of geographies (from the local to the global), and themes;
• Understanding History through which students will develop an understanding of the theoretical and methodological development of the discipline and its place in contemporary culture and society;
• and Doing History through which students will undertake original historical research both as an individual and as part of a team.

The programme also attunes students to contemporary challenges within and beyond the discipline – globalisation; sustainability; inequalities – to the importance of thinking critically about heritage, conservation, and the place of the past in public life. As such diversity is the heart of the curriculum. The programme recovers and reintegrates the voices of those previously marginalised by virtue of race, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, or excluded by virtue of dominant narratives of the past and enables and encourages students to explore the histories and cultures of different peoples, societies, and cultures from around the world. The programme challenges students to engage with communities in the city, the region, and beyond.

The programme facilitates the development of a wide and diverse range of transferable skills – in research, in analysis, in evaluation and synthesis, in organisation, and in communication – and thus prepares students both for further study and for a wide range of careers beyond the academy.

For year abroad programmes only:
The year abroad will provide students with the opportunity to immerse themselves in the society and culture of a foreign country while gaining experience of a different academic environment and way of teaching. The year abroad also provides an opportunity for students to improve their existing language proficiency (where applicable) as well as enhancing their organisation and communication skills and their employability through a proven ability to succeed in a foreign setting.

For Computer Science programme only:
Computer Science is both an academic discipline in its own right and an enabling technology for other disciplines: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences as well as Science and Engineering. The focus here is firmly on Computer Science as an enabling technology. The programme aims to provide a solid, self-contained and coherent core of computer science suitable for combination with a variety of other academic disciplines. It aims to provide:
1. A grounding in the theory underpinning modern developments in computer science.
2. An introduction to practical software design and implementation.
3. A range of options in computer science to cater for a variety of interests and backgrounds.
Philosophy
The programme aims to provide students with the opportunity to engage with the range of expertise and internationally recognized research undertaken in the Dept. of Philosophy. Through these various aims and provisions, the programmes will enrich the lives of students who take them, and will provide society with the resource of graduates who can think
Programme Outcomes
Students are expected to have Knowledge and Understanding of: Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods: and assessed using the following methods:
History:
A broad body of historical information characterised by geographical range. thematic breadth and chronological depth.
The range of sources available to historians – including, but not limited to, textual primary evidence – and an awareness of both their value and their limitations.
The historiographical development of core debates in and beyond the discipline, history, and an appreciation of the reasons for continued controversies;
The conceptual, theoretical, and ideological influences on historical events and processes, and on their interpretation.
The enduring legacies of the past and the relevance of historical knowledge and understanding to the interpretation of contemporary events.
Year Abroad only:
Demonstrate the ability to study relevant topics at an international institution and appreciate the difference between study in the UK and overseas.
The texts, theories and arguments of some of the major analytical philosophers, both past and present.

Some central theories and arguments in some of the core areas of analytical philosophy: metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and moral and political philosophy.

Some theories and arguments that are the subject of current research in contemporary analytical philosophy

A range of techniques of philosophical reasoning, and how those techniques are brought to bear on philosophical theories and problems.

Basic logical notation and proof procedures, and of the most important ways in which those techniques inform analytic philosophy in general.

Year Abroad only Demonstrate the ability to study relevant topics at an international institution and appreciate the difference between study in the UK and overseas.

1-5: Attendance at and contributions to lectures, seminars, and tutorials, alongside independent study and engagement with digital resources and exercises. 6: Year Abroad (as delivered by the host institution).
Lectures, tutorials, seminars discussion, independent study, close crucial reading of texts, the design and construction of essays and other assessments
History
1-5: The completion of written formative and summative coursework (i.e. essays, assignments, source analyses, book or article reviews, portfolio assessment, take-home papers, and – for BA only – Dissertations) of varying lengths.

6: Year Abroad Module (assessment as required by host institution).
Philosophy
Exams, essays, coursework exercises, project work
Students are expected to have attained the following Skills and other Attributes: Which will be gained through the following Teaching and Learning methods: and assessed using the following methods:
History:
The ability to evaluate, analyse, synthesise, and interpret a wide range of primary and secondary historical material, and to demonstrate an appropriate awareness of the historical contexts in which these materials were produced
The ability to understand relevant methods and concepts from historical studies and from other related disciplines – including, but not limited to, anthropology, archaeology, economics, political science, and sociology – and to apply these in conjunction with historical evidence.
The ability to communicate ideas and arguments effectively both in writing – across a range of different forms and styles – and orally, displaying appropriate intellectual flexibility and disciplined imagination
To interpret philosophical writing from a variety of ages and traditions

To analyse positions and arguments

To present cogent arguments in defence of their views, verbally and in writing

To understand and use a range of specialised philosophical terminology

To display independent understanding of philosophical views and arguments, and to work independently - including devising and researching pieces of philosophical writing of various lengths – and in groups

History
1-3: Attendance at and contributions to lectures, seminars, and tutorials, alongside independent study and engagement with digital resources and exercises.


Philosophy
1-2, 6-10: Lectures, seminars, independent study and research: essays at levels 1, 2 and 3, dissertation at level 3. Group project work: assessed at level 1 (project), informally at level 2 (Study Tour). Oral presentations: group presentation at level 1 (project), , individually at level 3 (Special Subject).

3-10. Lectures, tutorials, seminars and workshop discussions (including, at Stage 1 and 2, sessions with explicitly methodological contents and sessions involving individual and group presentations), independent study, close reading of texts, the design and construction of essays and other assessments.

11. Year Abroad (as delivered by host institution)
History

1-3: The completion of written formative and summative coursework (i.e. essays, assignments, source analyses, book or article reviews, portfolio assessment, take-home papers) of varying lengths. Participation in oral presentations of varying length and format, delivered either as an individual or as part of a group.
Philosophy
1-2, 6-10. Examinations, extended essays, seminar presentation, group work, commentaries, reviews and other appropriate assessments, and (for BA only) dissertation

3-10. Exams, essays, coursework exercises, project work (and as part of several modules, group presentations).

11. Year Abroad Module (assessment as required by host institution).