Programme Specifications
History and Heritage
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
The Programme aims to deepen learners’ knowledge and understanding of the application of historical skills to ‘Heritage’. It offers learners a range of modules relating to history and the heritage industry. Core modules focus on the development of historical research skills and an understanding of historiographical issues relating to modern society and heritage concepts, while the dissertation offers learners an opportunity to develop their research skills still further through an intensive investigation of a chosen topic. In this way, the Programme aims to produce graduates who possess advanced research and interpretative skills, and who have developed an understanding of a complex body of knowledge, some of it at the current boundaries of the discipline, together with its application in the heritage context. The analytical techniques and problem-solving skills developed in the course of this scheme can be applied in many types of employment. The Programme is designed to provide the practical skills and theoretical awareness required to work with historical materials in a wide range of heritage-related occupations, whether directly in terms of graduate trainee positions in museums or heritage sites, or indirectly in such spheres as tourism, local authority cultural services, national parks and the media. It can also form the basis for further postgraduate research work. The course offers a distinctive combination of modules, including treatment of local history sources, the politics and economics of heritage, the legislative framework and governance/advisory structures, together with IT skills and opportunities to develop language skills.
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
the programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
A1 Knowledge and understanding of the heritage industry through advanced study of source materials, politics, organisational structures and economics of heritage.
A2 A critical awareness of current problems and recent developments in the study and management of heritage.
A3 An understanding of the debates surrounding the application of historical techniques to heritage sites.
A4 The ability to evaluate critically current research in the field.
A5 Reflexive and critical awareness of the forces of historical change and the ways in which they are explained in historiographical debates.
A6 The ability to frame historical questions in relation to current academic debates.
A7 A practical understanding of the techniques of research and enquiry which are used to produce and interpret historical knowledge.
A8 The marshalling of lucid and coherent arguments in written form, both in the form of shorter essays and projects and in the form of a dissertation.
A9 The ability to engage in original historical research: to formulate appropriate questions; to locate, gather, select, organise and synthesise large bodies of evidence; and to construct an extended historical argument drawing on that evidence.
Learning/teaching methods and strategies:
Acquisition of 1 is through seminars (which include formal presentations, directed and student-led discussions) and assessed coursework and individual essay tutorials. Additional support is provided by the resources of the University Library, the National Library of Wales, the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historic Monuments Wales, Ceredigion Archives and the Ceredigion Museum, and through study visits to heritage sites and organisations. Acquisition of 2-8 is through a combination of Core and Option modules, while 6-9 are acquired through the research for and writing of a Dissertation.Assessment:
Formative assessment is by coursework (1-8), including bibliographical and documentary exercises, historiographical essays, reports and interpretational projects on which learners are offered regular feed-back. Summative assessment is by dissertation (6-9).
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
10.2.1 Intellectual skills
On completion of the Programme students will be able to-
B1 a willingness and ability to learn and acquire knowledge.
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B2 the ability to deal with complex issues systematically and creatively and make sound judgments in the absence of complete data.
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B3 the ability to reason critically.
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B4 the application of historical methods and concepts at an advanced leve.l
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B5 the ability to formulate researchable problems.
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B6 self-direction and originality in tackling and solving problems, and act autonomously in planning and implementing tasks.
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B7 the ability to communicate knowledge and ideas clearly in a style appropriate to purpose.
Learning/teaching methods and strategies Intellectual skills are developed throughout the Programme in a variety of ways. These include the development of skills of comprehension and critical analysis in reading and note-taking (1-2), seminars, tutorials, coursework, and the preparation of a dissertation (1-7).
Assessment
All forms of assessment measure learners’ abilities in each of the 7 intellectual skills by means of written responses in a variety of formats. Oral communication is not formally assessed, but is developed in seminar and tutorial work and through discussion with heritage professionals and oral presentation of students’ research proposals.
10.2.2 Practical skills
On completion of the Programme students will be able to-
C1 the ability to search out, sift, assimilate and deploy large bodies of historical evidence from a variety of sources, both written and non written (e.g. images, landscape or artefacts).
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C2 self-discipline in time-management and an ability to work independently.
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C3 the ability to read secondary sources critically.
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C4 the analysis of a primary sources in complex ways, including an ability to establish their provenance, analyse their content and language, cross-reference them with other primary and secondary sources, and use them in the formulation of an historical argument or present them in an interpretational project.
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C5 the employment of a range of bibliographic skills
Learning/teaching methods and strategies
All learners are introduced to these practicalskills in Module 1: The Skills and Sources of the Historian, and they are further developed in the substantive modules (Modules 2 and 3). Programme and module handbooks and Year Guides provide further guidance, especially in relation to essay writing and preparation. The preparatory module for the dissertation (Module 4) provides detailed advice on how to select a topic, search for sources, and structure and present the completed dissertation.
Assessment Skills Assessment Skills 1-3 are assessed primarily by means of coursework, whereas 4, though an important element in the assessment of all modules, is assessed by means of essays, projects and dissertation and, more specifically by documentary analysis and transcription in Module 1. Skill 5 is assessed by search exercises and bibliographical essays in Modules 1 and 4.
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
On completion of the Programme students will be able to
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D1 initiative, self-motivation, and independent learning ability.
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D2 flexibility and independence of mind.
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D3 effective presentation and communication skills, orally, visually and in writing.
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D4 the ability to manage time and work to deadlines.
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D5 the ability to search for and locate information in a wide variety of sources, including electronic media.
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D6 contextualisation, evaluation and cross-reference diverse forms of (often incomplete) information.
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D7 the ability to work constructively in groups, and assess the value and relevance of the ideas and arguments of others.
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D8 the formulation and management of a research project.
The Programme develops these qualities cumulatively, and in a number of ways. 1 and 2 are learned principally in essay and preparation and individual essay tutorial and seminar discussion, while 3 and 4 are learned in essay-writing, project preparation and seminar presentation. 5 is developed in all research-based exercises, from essay and seminar preparation to the Dissertation. 6-7 feature strongly in all aspects of the Programme. 8 is developed in working on the Dissertation.
Assessment The Programme’s marking criteria reward quality demonstrated in 1-3 and 5-6 at both formative and summative levels. 4 is not formally assessed. 7 is not formally assessed, but 8 is assessed through the marking of the DissertatD1 initiative, self-motivation, and independent learning ability.
MA History and Heritage [V192W]
Academic Year: 2024/2025 scheme - available from 2002/2003
Duration (studying Full-Time): 1 years