Programme Specifications

History

• September 2023

September 2023

• To provide students with a grounding in the range of approaches developed for understanding mediated communication, from their foundations in linguistic and visual communication to specific modes of communication in, for instance, journalism, advertising, different kinds of writing, and the current transformations of these in digital environments

• To bring these to bear specifically on current developments in new media, paying attention to processes of globalisation, and convergence and their implications

• To develop in students the knowledge and abilities to be able to consider critically and productively the role of traditional and new media in contemporary social and political processes

• To develop in students a range of skills and understandings that will enable them to take up employment within the wide range of jobs and industries concerned with the production, organisation, storage, distribution and use of mediated knowledge and communication

The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other  attributes in the following areas:

• Key concepts and theories of communication and mass communication

• The role of media in the history of communication

• Contemporary transformations of mediated communication associated with globalisation, digitisation and media convergence

• The role of mediated communication within specific (e.g. political) situations

• A1 Knowledge and understanding of human societies in the past through the study of a range of historical periods and themes in more than one country, and in different cultural contexts

• A2 The ability to frame historical questions, and to search for and locate appropriate secondary and primary evidence in diverse forms, including the electronic.

• A3 The ability to read and use, critically and empathetically, a range of secondary texts and primary sources

• A4 The appreciation of the complexity and diversity of situations, events and ways of thinking in the past.

• A5 The understanding of the difficulties inherent in historical interpretation, and the means whereby historians deal with ambiguity, incomplete evidence and differences of viewpoints

• A6 The appreciation of the basic critical skills of the historian in establishing and using rules of evidence and testing the validity of statements by developing a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to produce and interpret historical knowledge

• A7 Intellectual independence in the setting and solving of problems, the acquisition of bibliographical skills, the ability to gather, sift, select, organise and synthesise historical evidence, and the ability to formulate appropriate questions and to provide answers to them using valid and relevant evidence and argument.

• A8 Reflexive and critical awareness of the forces of historical change and the ways in which they are explained in historiographical debates

• A9 The marshalling of lucid and coherent arguments in written and oral forms.

• A10 The ability to listen and to respond to the arguments of others.

• A11 The understanding of the social value of History, and the fostering of a life-long enjoyment of History as a subject.

Learning/teaching methods and strategies:

Acquisition of 1 is through lectures, seminars (which include formal presentations, directed and student-led discussions), assessed coursework and individual essay tutorials. Additional support is provided by the resources of the University Library and the National Library of Wales. Acquisition of 2-11 is through a combination of Option and Survey modules with a range of skills and historiographical modules in Year 2 and Special Subject, Dissertation and general Historical Problems modules in Year 3. Throughout, learners are required to consolidate and broaden their knowledge by means of independent reading.

Assessment:

Assessment is by coursework (1, 3, 4-9), for which learners are offered regular feed-back, and by a combination of closed unseen examinations (1, 4-10), take-away examination (8) and where appropriate, projects (6) and dissertation (1-9). Trials are currently being conducted for oral assessment by means of formal presentations (9).

• The ability to examine critically a wide range of communication situations and forms, exploring their history, meanings and implications

• The ability to seek and to draw upon a wide range of sources

• The ability to measure critically the status and strength of knowledge-claims

• The ability to apply course-derived understandings to current social and political policy-debates

• The ability to analyse forms of language and visual communication for their complex meanings

• The ability to use a range of digital media and software applications, with due attention to issues of purpose and audience address

• B1 engage with the complexity and diversity of the subject

• B2 reason critically

• B3 apply historical methods and concepts

• B4 demonstrate independence of mind

• B5 communicate knowledge and ideas to others, in written and spoken forms

• C1 search out, sift, assimilate and deploy bodies of historical evidence from a variety of sources

• C2 demonstrate self-discipline in time-management and an ability to work both independently and collaboratively

• C3 read secondary sources critically

• C4 analyse primary sources in complex ways, including an ability to establish their provenance, analyse their content and language, and cross-reference them with other primary and secondary sources

During the course of and on completion of this scheme, the following transferable skills will be fostered:

• Oral and written communication will be developed through a range of assessed and non-assessed tasks. Students will be expected to produce a wide range of written work, from traditional academic essays and examinations to notebooks of reflective practice. Oral communication will be developed in seminar and workshop contexts, where the students will be expected to prepare and deliver presentations on set topics and discuss issues (both theoretical and in relation to certain texts/media), as well work towards the production of websites, short films etc. through practical modules.

• Personal initiative will form a key element in the successful completion of this scheme. Students will be expected to formulate their own work routine and demonstrate self-discipline and planning by meeting deadlines. Scope for following personal interests and developing creativity will also be allowed in some modules, where students will be able to formulate their own assignment tasks (based on the approval of the module co-ordinator) or produce films/websites on topics of their choosing.

• Many of the modules, particularly those that involve a 'practical' element, will require the students to work in teams. Further collaboration will be encouraged during seminar contexts where students will need to work collaboratively on set mini-tasks.

• Other transferable skills will include competent use of ICTs and other technologies. Students will be expected to word process their written work, regularly access e-mail, find and retrieve information on-line (as well as in the library context) and operate production/editing equipment.

• Students will have the opportunity to develop and apply a range of research skills

• D1 demonstrate initiative, self-direction and self-motivation

• D2 demonstrate flexibility and independence of mind

• D3 demonstrate effective presentation and communication skills, orally and in writing

• D4 manage time and work to deadlines

• D5 search for and locate information in a wide variety of sources

• D6 contextualise, evaluate and cross-reference diverse forms of (often incomplete) information

• D7 work constructively in groups, and to assess the value and relevance of the ideas and arguments of others.