Learning outcomes
The learning outcomes of the programme are described in four areas.
Knowledge and understanding
When you have completed this degree, you will have knowledge and understanding of:
- research methodologies relating to a range of different areas within the Classical Studies discipline
- the variety of fields that constitute Classical Studies the complexity of the source material in the ancient world
- how ancient authors use language to rhetorical and artistic ends
- evidence, methodology and interpretation relating to the role of the body in ancient Greek and Roman culture and society
- the way that classical scholars formulate and develop scholarly arguments
- the methodological steps involved in developing a dissertation question and writing a dissertation manuscript
Cognitive skills
When you have completed this degree, you will be able to:
- analyse critically a range of types of source material
- engage with modern issues, interpretations and debates
- analyse critically and integrate evidence from ancient sources with modern scholarly interpretation
- construct an effective scholarly argument on a range of topics/issues
- apply higher level skills required to evaluate the significance of multiple forms of data that form the contexts for objects of study
- evaluate complex and incomplete evidence from ancient sources and integrate this with modern scholarly interpretations
- deal with current ideas and debates in the field of body studies and develop the ability to analyse them critically
- recognise the influence of modern ideas on the way ancient material is approached and interpreted
- show originality in the application of knowledge, together with a practical understanding of how established techniques of research and enquiry are used to create and interpret knowledge in the discipline.
Practical and/or professional skills
When you have completed this degree, you will be able to:
- use feedback to effectively inform and modify work
- plan a research project from initial ideas to completion and develop an awareness of the problems and opportunities involved in original research and writing
- apply an appropriate scholarly referencing system to your work
- use independent higher-level research skills to facilitate locating material relevant to completing a project
- use resources such as libraries, ICT and Digital Humanities resources to improve your learning experience
- identify and critically discuss key issues relating to the discipline of Classical Studies and handle primary and secondary sources with confidence
- interact with fellow students and tutors in an online environment
Key skills
When you have completed this degree, you will be able to demonstrate the following skills:
Communication
You will be able to:
- communicate effectively in writing to a range of audiences
- be aware of the tools which can help you in the task of effective communication
- vary your means of communication according to the specialised task at hand.
Improving your own learning experience
You will be able to:
- design a programme of research and writing with minimal support from a tutor
- use feedback from your tutor and from fellow students effectively to modify this programme of work
- use other resources, such as libraries and ICT resources, to improve your learning experience.
Teaching, learning and assessment methods
You will have the opportunity to acquire all of the above skills which will be taught, learned and assessed concurrently in the course of studying the degree. You will be expected to show an increasingly independent and sophisticated approach as the skills and techniques of advanced study become more familiar, culminating in your dissertation, which will be a substantial and largely independent piece of work.
The modules will be presented and taught entirely online. Teaching will be coordinated by your tutor, who will advise you, comment on and mark your assignments, generally provide feedback and help you to acquire the skills of advanced independent study. Communication will be via the interactive VLE environment using conferencing software and forum sessions, as well as telephone and IT contact.
Learning will be via teaching blocks, which will concentrate on providing the tools for independent study, suggesting lines of investigation, and methods of analysis and providing bibliographical assistance. Your acquisition of the appropriate skills, knowledge, etc. will be tested regularly in the assessments.
Assessment
You will regularly be required to submit work (tutor-marked assignments) in the form of essays and shorter analyses; for the foundation module you will write three assignments and in addition be required to submit an end of module assessment; the subject and dissertation module consists of four assignments and a dissertation of 12,000 words.
The assessment exercises are carefully designed to reflect the learning curve of the degree, taken as a whole.