BA Philosophy and Politics(For students entering from September 2024 onwards)

Year 2

(Award available for year: Diploma of Higher Education)

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the year, you will be able to:
Philosophy LOs
1. Provide detailed explanations of ideas and debates from a wider range of philosophical areas of enquiry, concepts, theories and arguments
2. Demonstrate a more detailed understanding of the nature of philosophical thought and methodology through more advanced application of the skills needed to critically evaluate and identify different forms of philosophical argument
3. Identify connections between the two disciplines of Philosophy and Politics
4. Coherently develop, articulate and defend your own view on philosophical texts, arguments and ideas through complex arguments
Politics LOs
5. Demonstrate a broad understanding of concepts in Politics, as well as the practical competencies and techniques which are standard features in Politics.
6. Demonstrate understanding of a range of debates within the study of Politics, and especially the subfields of Political Theory, and Political Systems and Parties.
7. Develop arguments and evaluations of the main debates within the study of Politics
8. Appreciate and critically evaluate the appropriateness of different theoretical approaches used to understand the processes and dynamics of politics.

Skills Learning Outcomes
1. Express yourself orally and in written form in a clear, concise, focused and structured manner (Academic and Work Ready skill)
2. Use digital technologies to retrieve data and information, and communicate this information to others (Academic and Work Ready skill)
3. Find, organise, and produce complex summaries of ideas, arguments, information and/or data from a range of relevant sources
4. Evaluate the arguments and/or data of others and construct complex arguments of your own and/or generate new data (Academic and Work Ready skill)
5. Identify when, why and how to appropriately acknowledge someone else’s work and ideas (Academic and Work Ready skill)
6. Manage your time, prioritise tasks, organise academic and personal commitments effectively to meet deadlines (Academic and Work Ready Skill)
7. Work independently, and on own initiative (Academic and Work Ready skill)
8. Learn proactively and adopt effective learning strategies (Academic and Work Ready skill)
9. Be aware of your own strengths and development needs and seek/accept feedback (Academic and Work Ready skill)
10. Set and achieve goals (Work Ready skill)
11. Collaborate with others and appreciate the challenges of such collaboration (Work Ready and Enterprise skill)

Assessment

Achievement will be assessed by a variety of methods in accordance with the learning outcomes of the modules specified for the year and will include essays, presentations, portfolios, literature reviews, reports, learning logs, blogs, poster-presentations, and podcasts.
Assessment is streamlined so that modules have only one or two components of assessment, depending on module-specific learning outcomes. There will be varied forms of unassessed formative exercises allowing students to make progress with the LOs and skills outside an assessment context. Opportunities for explicit discussion and support will continue to be made available by module leaders in office hours and in routine meetings with academic personal tutors.
The Philosophical Method module will support students in their understanding of and proficiency in philosophical methodology and independent research, and identify connections between their two JH disciplines through identifying how philosophical questions can be applied to the context of political studies. It enhances students' generic philosophical skills and develops an interdisciplinary understanding of their programme (LOs 2-4). The module includes practical and group exercises to incrementally develop these skills.
Core modules and any combination of optional modules will enable students to achieve all the learning outcomes.