Programme Specifications

September 2023

The Programme aims to develop learners’ interest in History and Welsh History, and to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the subjects.  It offers learners a wide range of choice with regard to historical periods and themes from prehistory to the present, which include opportunities to study aspects of political, social, cultural or economic history.  Core modules focus on the acquisition of fundamental historical research skills and an understanding of historiographical issues.  In this way, the Programme aims to produce graduates who possess high level research and interpretative skills, and who have acquired a lifelong appreciation of History and Welsh History’s value to society.

• 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).

• 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

• 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.