Programme Specifications
Creative Writing and History
Information provided by Department of English and Creative Writing:
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
Information provided by Department of English and Creative Writing:
NAWE Creative Writing Subject Benchmark statement (2008) and underging review against QAA Creative Writing (2016)
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
History
Information provided by Department of English and Creative Writing:
September 2023
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
September 2023
Information provided by Department of English and Creative Writing:
gain a knowledge of the history, culture and theories of literature by studying a range of primary texts of different genres from different historical periods.
develop a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current literary problems and/or new insights, which are at the forefront of critical and theoretical debates.
explore the relationships between texts, and between texts and their contexts
develop the ability to write an originally conceived and sustained piece of research
become self-reflective readers of literary and theoretical texts
develop their own critical voice
become independent learners who can use a broad range of reference tools, assimilate and appraise substantial amounts of information, and address, define, and solve problems
develop an ability to arrive at independent conclusions and make judgements
develop an ability to express themselves clearly in speech and in writing
develop their own interests and manage their own learning through their choice of options
develop a broad repertoire of writing techniques
develop a responsiveness to the writerly demands made by subject matter, audience, genre, and style
develop the ability to work in a sustained and cumulative way on a writing project over an extended period of time
develop the ability to compose, revise, edit, sub-edit and finalise a piece of writing as part of a regular work routine
develop good habits of sustained, self-critical, and active engagement with chosen subject matter, including creative, imaginative, and transactional writing tasks
develop the ability to produce originally conceived and effective written work
gain a knowledge of the history, culture and theories of writing by studying a range of primary texts of different genres from different historical periods
develop a systematic understanding of knowledge, and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights, which are at the forefront of critical and theoretical debates about writing
explore the relationships between texts, and between texts and their contexts
investigate how different theories contribute to the practices of writing
become reflective readers of literary and theoretical texts
become independent practitioners and learners able to address, define and solve problems
develop an ability to arrive at independent conclusions and make judgements
develop an ability to express themselves clearly in speech and in writing
develop their own critical and creative voices
develop their own interests and manage their own learning
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
The Joint Honours Programme aims to develop learners’ interest in History, and to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the subject in relation to another cognate subject area. 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. Other 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’s value to society.
Information provided by Department of English and Creative Writing:
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills, qualities and other attributes in the following areas:
Information provided by Department of English and Creative Writing:
The successful student will have gained a knowledge and understanding of:
A1 their own writing practice, in terms of a reflective self-awareness of some of their own strengths and characteristics as a writer.
A2 the variety of options available to writers in presenting subject matter, and some of the effects of choosing one option rather than another
A3 some of the theories (for instance, of genre, register, rhetoric, and audience) which influence writing practice.
A4 key relevant aspects of the relations between texts, and between texts and their contexts
A5 a range of different literary genres from different historical periods
A6 a range of theories and debates about literature across different historical period
A7 the relations between texts, and between texts and their contexts
A8 the major theoretical issues associated with literature from different period.
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
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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
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A2 The ability to frame historical questions, and to search for and locate appropriate secondary and primary evidence in diverse forms, including the electronic.
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A3 The ability to read and use, critically and empathetically, a range of secondary texts and primary sources
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A4 The appreciation of the complexity and diversity of situations, events and ways of thinking in the past.
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A5 The understanding of the difficulties inherent in historical interpretation, and the means whereby historians deal with ambiguity, incomplete evidence and differences of viewpoints
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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
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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.
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A8 Reflexive and critical awareness of the forces of historical change and the ways in which they are explained in historiographical debates
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A9 The marshalling of lucid and coherent arguments in written and oral forms.
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A10 The ability to listen and to respond to the arguments of others.
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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).
Information provided by Department of English and Creative Writing:
Intellectual Skills:
The successful student will develop an ability to:
B1 Analyse and interpret a variety of texts
B2 exercise independent thought and judgement, and demonstrate self-direction in tackling and solving problems
B3 engage critically and self-reflectively with complex material, major concepts, and assess the significance of key literary thinkers
B4 interrogate and apply a variety of theoretical perspectives
B5 present sustained persuasive and coherent arguments
B6 communicate the results of their studies clearly and articulately
B7 plan and organise work and present work to deadlines
Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated:
Seminars and workshops are used to develop these skills, which are assessed by independently devised and researched coursework assignments and a dissertation.
Practical skills
The successful student will develop:
C1 research skills, including the ability to analyse issues and theories, to assimilate, select and organise relevant material, and to use a variety of research tools in paper and on-line formats
C2 writing skills, including competence in structuring and presenting arguments, word-processing skills, and the ability to used recognised presentational skills, including bibliographical and notational conventions
C3 an ability to work in groups
C4 time and task management, initiative, and personal responsibility
C5 independent learning ability required for continuing professional development
Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated:
core skills-based modules
student presentations
preparation for written assignments
essay writing
seminars with small-group components
independent study
extended research skill
Assessment
coursework assignments
essays on topics to be devised by the student
orally presented research papers
dissertation of writing project
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
10.2.1 Intellectual (thinking) skills – able to:
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B1 engage with the complexity and diversity of the subject
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B2 reason critically
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B3 apply historical methods and concepts
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B4 demonstrate independence of mind
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B5 communicate knowledge and ideas to others, in written and spoken forms
Intellectual skills are developed throughout the Programme in a variety of ways. These include the development of listening skills in lectures and comprehension skills in reading and note-taking (1), seminars, tutorials, dissertations and coursework (1-5)
Assessment
All forms of assessment measure learners’ abilities in each of the 5 intellectual skills by means of written responses in a variety of formats. Oral presentation is not yet formally assessed, but is developed in seminar and tutorial work.
10.2.2 Practical skills – able to
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C1 search out, sift, assimilate and deploy bodies of historical evidence from a variety of sources
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C2 demonstrate self-discipline in time-management and an ability to work both independently and collaboratively
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C3 read secondary sources critically
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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
All learners are introduced to these practical skills in the Year 1 core modules, and each is further developed in Years 2 and 3 in all modules. Module handbooks and Year Guides provide further guidance, especially in relation to essay writing and preparation. Skills modules in Year 2 introduce students to a set of particular historical skills, such as oral testimony, IT, statistical analysis, and the use of a wide range of evidence from field monuments to journalism. A separate Dissertation Handbook is distributed to all Year 3 students, while the Dissertation Module provides detailed advice on how to select a topic, search for sources, and structure and present the completed dissertation.
Assessment
Skills 1-3 are assessed primarily by means of coursework and examinations, whereas 4, though an important element in the assessment of all modules, is assessed principally by means of essays, projects and seen and unseen examinations in the Skills, Special Subject and Dissertation modules.
Information provided by Department of English and Creative Writing:
The successful student will develop an ability to:
D1 analyse issues and theories
D2 research, assimilate, select and organise relevant material using a variety of research tools in paper an on-line formats
D3 sustain academic writing across an extended assignment
D4 structure and present cogent and substantiated arguments that are complex and nuanced
D5 work as part of a group or team
D6 manage their time effectively
D7 produce word-processed documents to a high standard
Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated:
student presentations
group work
seminars in 'workshop' format
independent study
essay writing
extended research
Assessment:
coursework assignment
essays on topics to be devised by the student
orally presented research paper
dissertation/writing project
Teaching, learning and assessment methods used to enable outcomes to be achieved and demonstrated:
tutor-and-student-led workshops and seminars
encouragement of methods of working on longer pieces which incorporate on-going processes of composition, reflection, revision, and feedback
encouragement of habits of 'articulated practice', for instance, in the form of reflective working diaries and the acquisition of relevant theoretical ideas and terms
Assessment:
module assignments
writing portfolio
oral presentations
Information provided by Department of History and Welsh History:
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D1 demonstrate initiative, self-direction and self-motivation
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D2 demonstrate flexibility and independence of mind
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D3 demonstrate effective presentation and communication skills, orally and in writing
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D4 manage time and work to deadlines
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D5 search for and locate information in a wide variety of sources
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D6 contextualise, evaluate and cross-reference diverse forms of (often incomplete) information
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D7 work constructively in groups, and to assess the value and relevance of the ideas and arguments of others.
The Programme develops these qualities cumulatively, and in a number of ways. 1 and 2 are learned principally in essay and seminar preparation and individual essay tutorial and seminar discussion, while 3 and 4 are learned in essay/project writing, tutorial and seminar presentation. 5 is developed in all research-based exercises, from essay and seminar preparation to the Dissertation, if relevant. 6-7 feature strongly in all aspects of the Programme.
Assessment The Programme’s marking criteria reward quality demonstrated in 1-3 and 5 and 6. 4 is not formally assessed, but penalties are imposed on coursework delivered after the agreed submission date. 7 is not formally assessed.
BA Creative Writing and History [WV81]
Academic Year: 2023/2024Joint Honours scheme - available from 2019/2020
Duration (studying Full-Time): 3 yearsIntroduction to History
'Hands on' History: Sources and their Historians
Beginning Creative Writing Part 1
Beginning Creative Writing Part 2
Making History
Beginning the Novel
Beirdd a Noddwyr: Llên a Hanes c.1300-1500
Reading a Building
History as myth-Making: the 'Myth of the Blitz'
Interdisciplinary and decolonial history
Seals in Their Context in Medieval England and Wales
Victorian Visions: Exploring Nineteenth-Century Exhibitions
Recounting Racism: Oral History and Modern American Race Relations.
Classical Drama and Myth
Literary Theory: Debates and Dialogues
Literary Modernisms
Literature and Climate in the Nineteenth Century
Contemporary Queer Fiction
In the Olde Dayes: Medieval Texts and Their World
Writing Women for the Public Stage, 1670-1780
Effective Academic and Professional Communication 1
Telling True Stories: ways of Writing Creative Non-Fiction
Adventures with Poetry
Literary Geographies
Contemporary Writing and Climate Crisis
Place and Self
Literature since the '60s
Effective Academic and Professional Communication 1
Short stories: Grit and Candour
A Century in Crisis: 1790s to 1890s
Writing Selves
Shaping Plots
Diwylliant, Cymdeithas a'r Fictoriaid
Cymru a'r Tuduriaid
Famine in Medieval England
War, Politics and People: England in Context in the Fourteenth Century
Between Revolution and Reform: China since 1800
Roads to Modernity: Germany and Japan in the Age of Empires, 1860s-1930s
Environmental History of the Neotropics (Latin America and the Caribbean) in the Capitalocene
Culture, Society and the Victorians
Wales under the Tudors
Concro'r Byd: Twf a Chwymp Ymerodraethau Prydain a Ffrainc
Stori America, 1607-1867, ar Ffilm a Theledu
The British Isles in the Long Eighteenth Century
Medieval England and Germany, c. 1050-1250
The European Reformation
From Poor Law to Welfare State: Poverty and Welfare in Modern Britain, 1815-1948
The Nazi Dictatorship: Regime and Society in Germany 1933-1945
Wales and the Kings of Britain: Conflict, Power and Identities in the British Isles 1039-1417
Reading Theory / Reading Text
Romantic Eroticism
Effective Academic and Professional Communication 2
Remix: Chaucer In The Then and Now
Literatures of Surveillance
The Writing Project
Writing Horror
Writing and Place
Writing Music
Humour and Conflict in Contemporary Writing
Victorian Childhoods
Writing in the Margins: Twentieth-Century Welsh Poetry in English
Haunting Texts
The Mark of the Beast: Animals in Literature from the 1780s to the 1920s
Ali Smith and 21st Century fiction(s)
Effective Academic and Professional Communication 2
The Writing Project
Poetry for today
Crisis Writing
Writing Crime Fiction
Big Ideas: Writing Popular Science
Diwylliant, Cymdeithas a'r Fictoriaid
Cymru a'r Tuduriaid
Famine in Medieval England
War, Politics and People: England in Context in the Fourteenth Century
Between Revolution and Reform: China since 1800
Roads to Modernity: Germany and Japan in the Age of Empires, 1860s-1930s
Environmental History of the Neotropics (Latin America and the Caribbean) in the Capitalocene
Culture, Society and the Victorians
Wales under the Tudors
Concro'r Byd: Tŵf a Chwymp Ymerodraethau Prydain a Ffrainc
Stori America, 1607-1867, ar Ffilm a Theledu
The British Isles in the Long Eighteenth Century
Medieval England and Germany, c. 1050-1250
The European Reformation
From Poor Law to Welfare State: Poverty and Welfare in Modern Britain, 1815-1948
The Nazi Dictatorship: Regime and Society in Germany 1933-1945
Wales and the Kings of Britain: Conflict, Power and Identities in the British Isles 1039-1417