BA Politics and Theology and Religious Studies

Year 3

(Award available for year: Bachelor of Arts)

Learning outcomes

On completion of the year/programme students should have provided evidence of being able to:
- understand and demonstrate a coherent knowledge of the main issues in the contemporary scholarship of the disciplines;
- understand and use the main conceptual ideas in the disciplines;
- analyse and evaluate political issues;
- appreciate the uncertainty of knowledge within the academic disciplines;
- evaluate and make appropriate use of the scholarly literature;
- write, present and support arguments in a scholarly way;
- initiate and undertake an extended project;
- in the dissertation students should be able to demonstrate conceptual grasp and an ability to make a sustained argument;
- show an understanding of scholarship and recent research in Sociology;
- have the knowledge and ability to deploy various techniques of analysis and enquiry within Sociology, and develop a conceptual understanding of Sociological debates and describe and comment on particular aspects of scholarship and recent research in Sociology;
- demonstrate proficiency in the application of Sociological concepts and techniques;
- demonstrate a familiarity with the concepts, information, practical competencies and techniques of Sociology;
- demonstrate an ability to evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches within the discipline of Sociology; and appreciate their strengths and weaknesses as learners;
- demonstrate an awareness of the boundaries between Sociology and other disciplines;
- be able to apply generic and sociological qualities to standard situations outside the context in which they were originally studied;
- be furnished with a historically informed and theoretically aware academic understanding of the dynamics of political phenomena and an in depth understanding of political processes, both at the domestic and international levels;
- have a broad and balanced knowledge and understanding of key political theories, concepts, institutions and processes;
- have an up to date knowledge of the main political theories that structure our political systems, and the wider social forces that shape political life;
- have the ability to critically analyse British politics and international issues.

The programme will:
- provide students with an opportunity to study the engagement between Sociology and Politics;
- allow the study of the two disciplines to the same depth as any single honours student but with less the breadth in each discipline;
- provide a basis for further advanced study in either of the disciplines or in a cognate interdisciplinary area.

On completion of the year/programme students should have provided evidence of being able to:

- understand and demonstrate coherent and detailed subject knowledge and academic competencies some of which will be informed by recent research/scholarship in the discipline;
- demonstrate the understanding of more extensive knowledge in at least one area of specialism: Indian and Islamic Traditions; Religion, Culture and Society; Ethics and Christian theology and/or Biblical Studies;
- deploy accurately standard techniques of analysis and enquiry within the discipline;
- demonstrate a conceptual understanding which enables the development and sustaining of an argument;
- describe and comment on particular aspects of recent research and/or scholarship;
- appreciate the uncertainty, ambiguity and limitations of knowledge in the discipline;
- be able to identify and select relevant scholarly reviews and primary sources, using IT and other means, and make appropriate use of them;
- apply their knowledge and understanding in order to initiate and carry out an extended piece of work or project;
- show appreciation of the complexity of different mentalities, social behaviours and aesthetic responses, and of the ways they have been shaped by beliefs and values, and how beliefs, sacred texts and art forms have been shaped by society and politics;
- show sensitivity to the issues of multiple and conflicting

Transferable (key) skills

Students will have had the opportunity to, as defined in the modules specified for the programme:
- demonstrate transferable skills necessary for employment such as initiative, analysis of information, problem-solving, finding information;
- the skills of communication of concepts, facts and issues in a variety of ways;
- demonstrate an ability to apply a broad range of disciplinary aspects;
- draw on the scholarly material;
- evaluate the scholarly arguments;
- conduct independent work within the discipline;
- use critical ability.

Students will have had the opportunity to acquire, as defined in the modules specified for the programme:

- the transferable/key/generic skills related to the area(s) studied;
- the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility;
- the deployment of decision making skills in complex and unpredictable situations;
- the communication of information, ideas, problems and solutions in a variety of ways to a variety of audiences;
- the ability to undertake appropriate further training or postgraduate study;
- empathy and imaginative insight;
- self-discipline, self-direction, independence of mind and initiative;
- ability to attend to others and have respect for others' views;
- ability to gather, evaluate and synthesise different types of information;
-analytical ability and the capacity to formulate questions and solve problems;
- presentation skills, both oral and written;
- IT skills, including word-processing, communicating by email and using the web, accessing information from electronic as well as non-electronic sources;
- teamwork skills;
- writing skills, including accurate referencing and clarity of expression;
- ability to attend closely to the meaning of written documents.

Assessment

Achievement will be assessed by a variety of methods in accordance with the learning outcomes of the modules specified for the year/programme and will include:
- dissertation;
- oral assessment;
- written reports and log books;
- assessment essays;
- examinations.

These will demonstrate the ability to
- use the scholarly literature;
- analyse and evaluate arguments;
- show self-discipline and self-direction;
- conduct independent work.

Achievement will be assessed by a variety of methods in accordance with the learning outcomes of the modules specified for the year/programme and will include:

- demonstrating the ability to apply a broad range of aspects of the discipline;
- work that draws on a wide variety of material;
- the ability to evaluate and criticise received opinion;
- evidence of an ability to conduct independent, in depth enquiry within the discipline;
- work that is both evaluative and creative.