BA German and Politics
Year 4
(Award available for year: Bachelor of Arts)
Learning outcomes
On completion of the year/programme students should have provided evidence of:- being able to communicate fluently and appropriately, maintaining a high degree of grammatical accuracy, in German with native or other competent speakers;- being able to communicate effectively information, arguments and analysis in a variety of forms;- having consolidated and extended knowledge and understanding of complex structures and registers of German;- being able to demonstrate sophisticated receptive and productive language skills, and having had some practice in mediation language skills, in a variety of contexts;- being able to demonstrate an ability to evaluate critically one or more aspects of the literatures, cultures, linguistic contexts, history, politics, geography, social and economic structures of the German-speaking world;- demonstrate an awareness and understanding of one or more cultures and societies, other than their own, that will normally have been significantly enhanced by a period of residence in a German-speaking country;- work autonomously within a structured environment.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.
Transferable (key) skills
Students will have had the opportunity to acquire, as defined in the modules specified for the programme:- qualities and transferable skills related to the subject area(s) studied, valuable for employment, eg. be able to gather and critically evaluate information from a variety of paper, audio-visual and electronic sources, be able to use IT effectively both as a means of communication and as an aid to learning;- the ability to appreciate their strengths and weaknesses as learners;- skills necessary for the communication of information;- skills necessary for the exercising of personal responsibility and decision making.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.
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:- 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 critical opinion;- demonstrating a knowledge base that is both broad and, sometimes, specialized.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.