Loughborough University
Leicestershire, UK
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Loughborough University

Programme Specifications

Programme Specification

BA (Hons) History and English (2017 entry)

Academic Year: 2017/18

This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if full advantage is taken of the learning opportunities that are provided.

This specification applies to delivery of the programme in the Academic Year indicated above. Prospective students reviewing this information for a later year of study should be aware that these details are subject to change as outlined in our Terms and Conditions of Study.

This specification should be read in conjunction with:

  • Summary
  • Aims
  • Learning outcomes
  • Structure
  • Progression & weighting

Programme summary

Awarding body/institution Loughborough University
Teaching institution (if different)
Owning school/department Department of Politics, History and International Relations - pre 2018
Details of accreditation by a professional/statutory body
Final award BA (Hons)/BA (Hons)+DPS/BA (Hons)+DIntS
Programme title History and English
Programme code EUUB08
Length of programme The duration of the programme is 6 Semesters (three-year programme), 8 semesters (four-year programme) or 6 semesters plus one academic year (four-year thick sandwich programme). The three-year programme allows, at Part B (Semester Two) for a course of study to be taught in English at a foreign university.
UCAS code VQ13/VQ14
Admissions criteria

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/departments/phir/historyandenglish/

Date at which the programme specification was published Mon, 16 Oct 2017 16:32:21 BST

1. Programme Aims

  • To provide students with an intellectually stimulating environment within which they can develop knowledge, understanding and skills in both History and English.
  • To encourage a sense of enthusiasm for History and English; to foster critical, creative and independent thinking; and to develop a sensitive and disciplined approach.
  • To stimulate productive reflection on the similarities and differences between modes of study in both subjects.
  • To develop competence and practical skills which are transferable to a wide range of professions and employment as well as life experiences.

2. Relevant subject benchmark statements and other external reference points used to inform programme outcomes:

  • QAA History Benchmark Statement
  • QAA English Benchmark Statement

3. Programme Learning Outcomes

3.1 Knowledge and Understanding

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

  • the idea of academic disciplines as dynamic, plural and contested; developed within the broader framework of the social sciences and humanities;
  • the potential applications of concepts within a broader critical framework;
  • the main methodologies used in the analysis and interpretation of texts and other sources; 

and within the History portion of the programme:

  • past societies and historical processes over a chronological and geographical range;
  • the use of primary evidence in historical argument;
  • History as an academic discipline, its schools of interpretations, and the variety of methodological approaches and theoretical foundations;

and within the English portion of the programme:

  • a range of authors and texts from different periods of literary history, including those before 1800;
  • the distinctive characteristics of the different literary genres of fiction, poetry and drama;
  • an appreciation of the structure and function of the English language;
  • an appreciation of the power of imagination in literary creation and an awareness of the range and variety of contemporary approaches to literary study;
  • practical experience of a range of research and critical methods in English;
  • an awareness of the role of culture in a changing landscape of literary production; the ability to understand the epistemological underpinnings of different research traditions in the subject area.

3.2 Skills and other attributes

a. Subject-specific cognitive skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

1.  demonstrate a reflexive approach to learning;

2.  abstract and synthesise information;

3.  assess the merits of contrasting theories, explanations and arguments;

4.  critically evaluate and interpret a range of evidence, including texts and other sources;

5.  undertake problem-solving and decision-making;

6.  develop a reasoned argument;

additionally, within the History portion of the programme:

7.  appreciate the complexities and diversity of past events and mentalities;

8.  show a critical awareness of the problems inherent in historical sources and in interpreting the past;

9. solve problems with imagination and creativity.

and within the English portion of the programme:

10.  on successful completion of the programme students will have acquired critical skills in the close reading and analysis of texts and will have a thorough understanding of texts, concepts and theories relating to English studies;

11.  they will have an appreciation of the central role of language in the creation of meaning and will have gained rhetorical skills of effective communication and argument.

b. Subject-specific practical skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:

  1. locate and retrieve information using a variety of research methods;
  2. select, combine, and interpret different types of source material;
  3. deploy bibliographic skills including accuracy in the citation of sources and the use of proper conventions in the presentation of scholarly work
  4. present cogent and persuasive arguments in oral, written and practical form;
  5. undertake independent learning and research;
  6. recognise and critically debate moral and ethical issues underpinning particular debates or enquiries.
c. Key transferable skills:

On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to handle complex information in a structured, systematic and analytical way. They should be able to participate effectively in group work using communication effectively, including dialogue, writing formats and visualisation. They should possess effective organisational and time-management skills. They should posses an independence of mind, creativity and intellectual maturity. 

4. Programme structure

4.1

(1)      Candidates normally study a total modular weight of 60 credits in both History and English in each academic year (Parts A, B and C).  However, candidates may take 20 credits of Language options in each Part, chosen from a list produced by the Department of Politics, History and International Relations, depending on their previous qualifications.  These candidates must take at least 50 credits in both History and English in Parts A and B, and at least 40 credits in both History and English in Part C.

(2)        Candidates must take at least 20 credits in History and 20 credits in English in each Semester.

(3)       Candidates must take a total modular weight of 120 in each Part with a minimum module weight of 50 in each semester, taking into account both compulsory and optional modules.

(4)          Due to timetabling constraints, not all option combinations may be available.

 

4.2          Content

(1) Part A – Introductory Modules

Students must be registered for a minimum of 50 credits and a maximum of 70 credits in each Semester

History Component

(i) Compulsory Modules (total modular weight 20 Credits)

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

EUA001

Introduction to Academic Studies

1

10

EUA704

What is History?

2

10

 

(ii)  Optional Modules (total modular weight 40 Credits)

Students can either take a 20 credit module in each semester, or a 10 credit module with a language option.

Code

Title

Modular Weight

Semester 1

 

Either:

 

EUA701

Modern Europe: From the Enlightenment to the Present (20 Credit)

20

Or, for candidates taking a Language Option:

 

EUA702

Modern Europe: From the Enlightenment to the Present (10 Credit)

10

Language Option - One 10 credit module from a list supplied by the Language Centre, levels dependent on candidates’ previous qualifications

10

Semester 2

 

Either

 

EUA703

Modern World History: New Perspectives (20 Credit)

20

Or, for candidates taking a Language Option:

 

EUA707

Modern World History: New Perspectives (10 Credit)

10

Language Option - One 10 credit module from a list supplied by the Language Centre, levels dependent on candidates’ previous qualifications

10

 

English Component

 

(i)  Compulsory Modules (total modular weight 40 Credits)

 Students should choose one 20 Credit module from each Semester

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

EAA104

Introduction to Poetry

1

20

EAA102

Introduction to Language

1

20

EAA888

Literary and Critical Theories

2

20

 

(ii)  Optional Modules (total modular weight 20 Credits)

 

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

EAA011

Writing in History

2

20

EAA001

Introduction to Film Studies

2

20

EAA200

How to Do Things with Digital Text

2

20

 

(2) Part B – Degree Modules

EITHER  

(a)  Standard Route

NB Candidates choosing Language modules (10 credits in each Semester) should include these modules as part of the English component.

History Component

(i) COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 10 Credits)

 

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

EUB708

Crafting a Dissertation

2

10

 

(ii)  OPTIONAL MODULES (total modular weight 50 Credits)

Candidates should note that combinations of modules of the same titles but with different credit-weightings are mutually exclusive.

History optional modules are likely to cover:

  • European History

  • History of the 19th Century

  • Global History

  • British History

English Component

(i)  Compulsory Modules

None

(ii) Optional Modules (total modular weight 60 Credits)

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

EAB008

Victorian Literature

1

20

EAB035

Weird Tale

1

20

EAB039

Nineteenth Century American Literature

1

20

EAB113

Introduction to Linguistics

1

20

EAB154

Chivalry from Chaucer to Shakespeare

1

20

EAB710

Renaissance Writings

1

20

EAB012

African American Culture

2

20

EAB020

Diverse Voices

2

20

EAB110

Introduction to Multimodality

2

20

EAB114

Elephants and Engines: An Introduction to Creative Writing

2

20

EAB711

Eighteenth Century Literature

2

20

EAB712

Modernisms

2

20

Two x 10 credit modules, one from each Semester from a list supplied by the Language Centre, levels dependent on candidates’ previous qualifications.

1 & 2

20

 

OR

(b)  INTERNATIONAL SEMESTER ROUTE

Candidates may replace the modules required for Part B Semester 2 with an approved course of study taught in English at a foreign University.  Candidates will undertake assessed work equivalent to 50 credits, as required by the Department of Politics, History and International Relations, along with a Distance learning Research Design module. Candidates must register for a total of 20 Credits of History and 40 Credits of English modules in Semester 1.  Candidates should note that combinations of modules of the same titles but with different credit-weightings are mutually exclusive.

History optional modules offered in Semester 1 are likely to cover:

  • History in the 19th Century

  • Global History

  • British History

 Semester 2

 

 

EUB709

Crafting a Dissertation (Distance Learning)

2

10

EUB001

International Semester

2

50

  

(3)          Part I

Candidates following the four-year programme are required to undertake an academic year abroad (Part I) which occurs between Part B and Part C at a French-, German- or Spanish-speaking university, following an approved course of study leading to the Diploma in International Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation XI.  Candidates may also follow an approved course of study at a foreign university where teaching is in English leading to the Diploma in International Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation XI.

Candidates following the four-year thick sandwich programme are required to spend the third academic year (Part I) EITHER undertaking an approved Assistantship at a school or other approved placement in a French-, German- or Spanish-speaking country, leading to the Diploma in International Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation XI, OR undertaking an approved placement in the UK or abroad leading to the Diploma in Professional Studies in accordance with Senate Regulation XI.  Participation in study abroad or a placement is subject to Departmental approval and satisfactory academic performance during parts A and B.

 

(4)  Part C – Degree Modules

Students must be registered for a minimum of 50 credits and a maximum of 70 credits in each Semester. Credits from either Dissertation must be split equally (20:20) across both Semesters.

 (i)           COMPULSORY MODULES (total modular weight 40 Credits) 

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

One module from:

 

 

EUC701

Dissertation in History

1 & 2

40

EAC009

English Dissertation

1 & 2

40

 

(ii)          OPTIONAL MODULES (total modular weight 80 Credits)             

Candidates taking Languages modules (10 credits in each Semester) must choose these modules as part of the English component if taking the Dissertation in History OR as part of the History component if taking the English Dissertation.

History Component

Candidates must choose History modules to the value of 60 Credits from the following list.  Candidates who have chosen to take EUC701 Dissertation in History should take a further 20 credits of History modules from a list supplied to total 60 credits for this component. 

History optional modules are likely to cover:

  • British Political History

  • History in the 20th Century

  • Global History

English Component

Candidates must choose English modules to the value of 60 credits from the following list.  Candidates who have chosen EAC009 English Dissertation should choose a further 20 credits of English modules from the list below to total 60 credits for this component.

Code

Title

Semester

Modular Weight

EAC002

The Return of the King, Literature 1660-1714

1

20

EAC016

Cruel and Unusual

1

20

EAC314

Maps and Motors

1

20

EAC440

The Modern Poet

1

20

EAC001

Radicals and Reactionaries: Writing Women in the 1890s

2

20

EAC109

Romantic Writings

2

20

EAC300

Rare Shakespeare

2

20

EAC701

Global America

2

20

Two x 10 credit modules, one from each Semester from a list supplied by the Language Centre, levels dependent on candidates’ previous qualifications.

1 & 2

20

  

5. Criteria for Progression and Degree Award

5.1 In order to progress from Part A to Part B, from Part B to C, and to be eligible for the award of an Honours degree, candidates must not only satisfy the minimum credit requirements set out in Regulation XX but also achieve a module mark of at least 30% in all modules in each Part.

5.2 Provision will be made in accordance with Regulation XX for candidates who have the right of reassessment in any Part of the programme to undergo re-assessment in the University's special assessment period.

6. Relative Weighting of Parts of the Programme for the Purposes of Final Degree Classification

Candidates' final degree classification will be determined on the basis of their performance in degree level Module Assessments in Parts B and C. The percentage mark for each Part will be combined in the ratio Part B 40%, Part C 60% to determine the final programme percentage mark.

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