Programme And Module Handbook
 
Programme Specification


Date Specification Approved
College College Arts and Law
School Eng, Drama, & Creative Studies
Department English Literature
Partner College and School History
Collaborative Organisation and Form of Collaboration
Qualification and Programme Title B.A. English Literature and History with Year Abroad Full-time
Programme Code 130C
Delivery Location Campus
Language of Study English
Length of Programme 4 Year(s)
Accreditations This programme has no outside accreditations
Aims of the Programme English

The range of analytical, research, independent learning, communication and organisational skills acquired in this half of the programme equips graduates to pursue further study or employment in English and related disciplines The programme develops skills which can be utilised in a wide range of careers.

Students engage with the range of literature in English from the medieval period to the present day, with a concentration on literature from the British Isles. The programme aims to develop a broad knowledge and understanding of English literature. Students acquire critical skills in the close reading and analysis of literary texts, rhetorical skills of effective communication and argument, both oral and written, bibliographic skills appropriate to the discipline; an understanding of cultural norms; and an awareness of how different social and cultural contexts affect the nature of language and meaning.

The programmes provide a structure in which each level builds on the skills and knowledge acquired in the previous stage. First-year foundation modules in literature equip students with knowledge and methods to enable them to undertake their own learning. The programme offers a wide range of modules on different topics and periods of literature over the three years. There is a choice of focused final-year options, some of which provide a route to graduate study at the University of Birmingham.

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.

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 pr
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.
English
A substantial number of authors and texts from different periods of literary history, including a proportion from periods before 1800 in the original language, and of the principal literary genres relating to those periods.
Different critical and theoretical approaches in the study of literature, and of the literary, cultural and historical contexts that inform both the writing and reading of texts.
Specific periods, or writers, or literary subjects and themes, from different periods of literary history, including a proportion from periods before 1800.
Thematic and generic links between texts across a wide historical range.
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).
English Lectures and seminars (L C, I and H). An individually supervised dissertation at LH; Year abroad
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).
EnglishAssessment at Level C is predominantly by a mix of unseen examination and assessed essay.

Level I assessment is by unseen examination and assessed essay.

A major dissertation is a feature of Level H, which also offers assessment by extended essay and by seen (pre-release) examination depending on the modules chosen by the student.

Assessment as required by the host institution as part of year abroad
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
English
Engagement with texts, primary and secondary:

By the end of Level C: the ability to demonstrate confidence in reading novels, plays and poems of different kinds and lengths;

By the end of Level I: the ability to read, with understanding, literary texts from different periods and genres;

By the end of Level H: the ability to synthesise a wide range of primary and secondary materials and to read independently beyond prescribed texts in order to diversify and contextualise study.
The ability to examine critically diverse forms of literary discourse, including one’s own work and the work of one’s peers:

By the end of Level C, the ability to apply notions of genre and literary period to specific primary texts;

By the end of Level I, the ability to locate literary texts in relevant historical and generic contexts; and to analyse the literary effects produced of different types of intertextuality.

By the end of Level H, the ability to select appropriate modes of analysis and apply them to primary texts in the course of a piece of independent research
The capacity for independent thought and judgement, and the ability to argue in a critical and self-reflective manner:

By the end of Level C, the ability to discuss the key differences between university-level literary study and the methods and expectations experienced at earlier stages of education;

By the end of Level I, the ability to construct arguments informed by, but not dependent upon, secondary material;

By the end of Level H, the ability to construct detailed, balanced and substantiated critical arguments; and to place those arguments in their appropriate scholarly fields.
Skills in critical reasoning, and the ability to apply and critique systems of analysis and interpretation:

By the end of Level C, the ability to apply selected critical / theoretical approaches to the reading of literary texts;

By the end of Level I, the ability to distinguish between different critical approaches and to use these approaches appropriately;

By the end of Level H, the ability to evaluate the relative merits of a range of critical and theoretical points of view.
The ability to formulate appropriate research questions, to undertake large-scale substantive research, to apply relevant critical methods and to sustain an argument through a lengthy individual project.
The ability to use independently libraries, catalogues, bibliographies and other reference sources independently, such as EEBO, ECCO, LION, ODNB, and OED, to make appropriate use of the internet, the e-library, the physical library and other libraries; and to find and use suitable editions of literary texts.
The documentation, citation and presentation, according to the MHRA style guide.
Effective skills of communication, including the ability to present sustained and persuasive written and oral arguments; the ability to write fluently in an appropriate academic register and to apply an understanding of the qualities valued in a literary essay (summarised in the English Department document ‘Qualities of a Literary Essay’).
The ability to work with other students through the presentation of ideas and information and collective negotiation.
The ability to acquire substantial quantities of complex information of diverse kinds in a structured and systematic way, to sift and organise material independently and critically, and to evaluate its significance.
Information technology skills that contribute to digital literacy such as word-processing and the acquisition, use and critical evaluation of data in electronic formats.
Time-management and organisational skills, as demonstrated by the ability to plan and perform effectively in unseen examinations, the ability to carry out and present a substantial piece of independent research, and the ability to prioritise one’s work in order to meet set deadlines.
Cross-cultural awareness (ability to understand, communicate effectively and interact with people across cultures)
To develop a range of marketable skills including problem solving, communication, patience and perseverance, determination, self-motivation, analytical and study skills through direct interactions with society and institutions in another country.
History
1-3: Attendance at and contributions to lectures, seminars, and tutorials, alongside independent study and engagement with digital resources and exercises.


EnglishLectures and seminars (L C, I and H). An individually supervised dissertation at LH.

Year Abroad
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.
EnglishAssessment at Level C is predominantly by a mix of unseen examination and assessed essay.

Level I assessment is by unseen examination and assessed essay.

A major dissertation is a feature of Level H, which also offers assessment by extended essay and by seen (pre-release) examination depending on the modules chosen by the student.

Year abroad module (assessment as required by host institution)