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BA Archaeology and History

Academic Year 2019/20

A programme specification is required for any programme on which a student may be registered. All programmes of the University are subject to the University's Quality Assurance processes. All degrees are awarded by Queen's University Belfast.

Programme Title BA Archaeology and History Final Award
(exit route if applicable for Postgraduate Taught Programmes)
Bachelor of Arts
Programme Code ARL-BA-JS UCAS Code VV41 HECoS Code 100302
ATAS Clearance Required No
Mode of Study Full Time
Type of Programme Joint Honours Single Length of Programme 3 Academic Year(s) Total Credits for Programme 360
Exit Awards available

INSTITUTE INFORMATION

Teaching Institution

Queen's University Belfast

School/Department

Natural and Built Environment

Framework for Higher Education Qualification Level 
www.qaa.ac.uk

Level 6

QAA Benchmark Group
www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements

Archaeology (2014)

Accreditations (PSRB)

REGULATION INFORMATION

Does the Programme have any approved exemptions from the University General Regulations
(Please see General Regulations)

None

Programme Specific Regulations

N/A

Students with protected characteristics

No barriers to access or progression

Are students subject to Fitness to Practise Regulations

(Please see General Regulations)

No

EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF PROGRAMME

On completion of the programme the student will be able to:

• demonstrate sound knowledge and understanding of the scope and key intellectual issues within the disciplines of Archaeology and History, and in-depth knowledge of selected specialist areas within these disciplines

• demonstrate key transferable skills, for example critical thinking, data recording and handling, evaluating primary and secondary sources, processing and interpreting complex information

• demonstrate broad knowledge of the global scope of both disciplines and specialist knowledge of the archaeology and history of selected regions

• show awareness of the varied social, economic and environmental parameters underpinning past political and cultural change

• display an appreciation of the character and role of archaeological sites and landscapes in the present, including ethical and legal considerations and the relevance of public engagement

• demonstrate qualification in and key skills for lifelong learning and career development, including independent research abilities, team work, written and oral expression

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Learning Outcomes: Cognitive Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Gather, organise and deploy evidence, data and information; and be familiar with appropriate means of identifying, finding, retrieving, sorting and exchanging information

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Coursework, tutorials, seminars, oral and poster presentations

Methods of Assessment

Essays, dissertations, independent projects

Analyse concepts and ideas, and have the capacity to consider and solve problems, including complex problems to which there is no single solution

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, seminars, tutorials, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, exams

Present well-developed arguments in written and oral form with clarity and fluency

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Coursework, tutorials, seminars, oral and poster presentations

Methods of Assessment

Essays, reports, oral and poster presentations, tutorial assignments, seminar assignments, exams

Select, design and execute a programme of primary research, including data acquisition, analysis, interpretation, and communication under time-managed conditions and within word limits

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Project design, dissertation and independent project

Methods of Assessment

Essays, dissertations, independent projects

Display critical awareness of a range of key terms, concepts, approaches, techniques and debates in method, theory and practice relating to both disciplines

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Directed reading, tutorials, seminars, oral and poster presentations

Methods of Assessment

Coursework assignments, class tests, exams

Appreciate a range of historical and cultural perspectives on academic enquiry

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Directed reading, tutorials, seminars, oral and poster presentations

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, dissertations, independent projects

Engage with and interpret layers of meaning within primary sources and evaluate written sources critically in their context

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Directed reading, tutorials, seminars, coursework

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, dissertations, independent projects

Assess and appraise differing views on significant areas of academic debate

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Directed reading, tutorials, seminars, coursework

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, dissertations, independent projects, exams

Discriminate between what is central and what is peripheral to the issue in question

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Directed reading, tutorials, seminars, coursework

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, dissertations, independent projects, exams

Exercise critical judgment on the basis of varied and problematic evidence and according to the persuasiveness of the arguments or the reliability of the evidence used

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Coursework, tutorials, seminars, oral and poster presentations

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, dissertations, independent projects, exams

Reflect on their own learning and seek and make use of constructive feedback

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Coursework, tutorials and seminars

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework

Recognise the importance of explicit referencing and the ethical requirements of study, which requires critical and reflective use of information and information technology in the learning process

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Coursework, tutorials and seminars

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, dissertations, independent projects

Learning Outcomes: Transferable Skills

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Use electronic media and information technology (e.g. word processing, spreadsheets, computer-based mapping, graphing and image processing)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Practicals, provision of online resources

Methods of Assessment

Practicals, field and lab reports, dissertations, essays, presentations

Access library/museum/archive and World Wide Web resources

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Introduction to library services in Induction week, training sessions in use of online resources, practicals

Methods of Assessment

Appropriate uses of resources expected in all continuous assessment

Work effectively and creatively both independently and in a team setting

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Fieldwork, tutorials, seminars, practicals, research design training, one-to-one guidance on dissertation and independent project research

Methods of Assessment

Report and dissertation writing, essays, presentations, practical assignments

Manage time efficiently, work under pressure and to deadlines

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Completion of practicals on time, oral presentations, coursework deadlines

Methods of Assessment

Practicals, oral presentations, all continuous assessments, dissertation and independent project

Take notes and summarise accurately and effectively

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures and tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Oral presentations, seminar discussions

Present ideas and arguments orally in both formal and informal contexts; and the capacity to sustain a reasoned line of argument in the face of others, to listen, engage in sustained debate, and amend views as necessary in the light of evidence of argument

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Tutorials and seminars

Methods of Assessment

Oral presentations, seminar discussions

Understand the role and use of feedback in assessing and improving performance; and respond constructively to criticism

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Dedicated feedback sessions with course tutors

Methods of Assessment

Written feedback is provided for each type and instance of assessment

Reflect on intellectual and professional priorities

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Engagement with Personal Tutors and Careers Liaison Officers

Methods of Assessment

Not formally assessed, but each student is allocated a Personal Tutor in Level 1 and meets with him/her throughout the duration of the degree programme

Demonstrate self-reliance, initiative, adaptability and intercultural awareness

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Erasmus programme and other study-abroad programmes with international universities

Methods of Assessment

For international exchanges, students enrol on and are assessed through the host institution’s undergraduate programme

Learning Outcomes: Knowledge & Understanding

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Display knowledge of the nature, relationships, context, development and contemporary practice of History and Archaeology as academic disciplines and as professions

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars, field teaching, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework, dissertation

Display knowledge and critical awareness of primary archaeological and historical sources and their contexts (including landscapes, sites, monuments and artefacts)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars, practicals, field teaching, supervised research, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework, dissertation

Display knowledge, both comparative and specialised, of selected archaeological and historical periods and societies (prehistoric through contemporary), regions (Britain & Ireland, Europe, the Mediterranean, North America, Africa) and research themes (e.g. human evolution, the development of complex societies, cultural change through time and space, human-environment relationships)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars, field teaching, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework, dissertation

Display knowledge of a range of key terms, concepts, approaches, techniques and debates in the method, theory and practice of both disciplines

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars, field teaching, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Exams, coursework, dissertation

Demonstrate an awareness of continuity and change over an extended period of time

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, exams

Critically evaluate documentary sources in a detailed fashion

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, dissertation

Demonstrate awareness of the diversity of specialisms within both disciplines

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, exams

Appreciate the role of both disciplines in society and the varied ways in which it can be presented to a non-academic audience

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, dissertation

Learning Outcomes: Subject Specific

On the completion of this course successful students will be able to:

Demonstrate direct experience and competence in a range of core practical and interpretative skills, to an advanced level, involving the recording and analysis of primary archaeological evidence

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, practicals, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Coursework, dissertation, lab and field notebooks

Conduct research on archaeological sites, monuments (e.g. SMR, library, archives) and museum collections

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, practicals, field teaching, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Coursework, dissertation

Demonstrate field skills (e.g. surveying, excavation, site sampling, coring, recording, safety)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, practicals, field teaching, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Assessed fieldwork, practicals

Show an awareness of post-fieldwork requirements (e.g. artefacts and materials research, human and animal bone research, illustration, sampling, data analysis, data presentation)

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, practicals, supervised research

Methods of Assessment

Coursework, dissertation, lab notebooks

Demonstrate an appreciation of the legal policy and ethical frameworks for research and professional practice in both disciplines

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, tutorials, seminars, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Coursework

Show an awareness of the wider public interest in History and Archaeology and the public benefit of both disciplines

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, seminars, field teaching

Methods of Assessment

Coursework

Display respect for historical and archaeological context and evidence and a greater awareness of the historical processes unfolding in our own time

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Seminars, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Coursework, oral presentations

Understand how people have existed, acted and thought in the always different context of the past

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, seminars, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Coursework, oral presentations

Read and analyse primary sources, both critically and emphatically

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Independent study, seminars, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Essays, dissertations, oral presentations

Appreciate the complexity and diversity of situations, events and past mentalities

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, seminars, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Essays, dissertations, oral presentations

Appreciate different viewpoints and the problems involved in interpreting complex, ambiguous, conflicting and often incomplete material

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, seminars, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Essays, dissertations, oral presentations

Display awareness of the rules of evidence utilised by historians and archaeologists to test the validity of documentary evidence

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, seminars, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Essays, dissertations, oral presentations

Recognise that not all statements are of equal validity

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Lectures, seminars, tutorials

Methods of Assessment

Essays, dissertations, oral presentations

Show familiarity with bibliographic convention and the ability to research, reference and present written work according to the requirements of the subject area

Teaching/Learning Methods and Strategies

Tutorials, seminars, directed reading

Methods of Assessment

Essays, coursework, dissertation, individual project

MODULE INFORMATION

Stages and Modules

Module Title Module Code Level/ stage Credits

Availability

Duration Pre-requisite

Assessment

S1 S2 Core Option Coursework % Practical % Examination %
Working Class Communities in the UK 1900-1970 HIS3012 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
The Expansion of Medieval Europe, 1000-1300 HIS2047 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
The Rise of Christianity 2: The Conversion of the Roman Empire HIS3071 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
After Slavery: Race and Labour in the Post-Emancipation US South HIS3082 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Thinking through Things Theorizing Global Archaeology ARP2043 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Human Evolution and Innovation through Prehistory ARP3087 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 45% 0% 55%
The Northern Ireland Conflict and paths to peace HAP2001 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Apocalypse! End of the World. HAP2065 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
History and Society HIS1005 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Europe in Prehistory ARP1008 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 60% 0% 40%
Recording History HIS2063 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Introduction To World Archaeology ARP1013 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 50% 50% 0%
The Archaeology of Islands ARP2058 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Exploring History 1 HIS1003 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Critical Thinking in Archaeology and Palaeoecology ARP3089 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 50% 50% 0%
Nationalism and Liberation in 20th Century Africa HIS2061 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Radical Musics: Understanding Sounds of Defiance across Disciplines HAP2000 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
The Origins of Protestantism HIS3022 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
That Vast Catastrophe HIS3033 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Kings, courts and culture in Carolingian Europe HIS3079 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Cultures of Knowledge in eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland HIS3135 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 70% 30% 0%
Revolutionary Europe, 1500-1789 HIS2057 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Cabinets of Curiosity: Museums Past and Present HIS2067 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Popular Culture in England 1500-1700 HIS3018 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Politics and Society in 20th Century Ireland HIS2012 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 30% 10% 60%
Exploring History 2 HIS1002 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 30% 10% 60%
Dissertation HIS3077 3 40 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Paths to Independence and Decolonisation in India and East Africa HIS3133 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
From Romans to Normans: The Archaeology of Historic Europe ARP1010 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 30% 30% 40%
Life, love, and death in England and Ireland, c.1350-c.1700 HIS2052 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Ireland in Prehistory ARP2041 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 40% 40% 20%
The American South 1619-1865 HIS2028 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Twentieth-Century China HIS3132 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Archaeology in Practice ARP2057 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
Archaeological Excavation ARP1014 1 20 YES 16 weeks N YES 75% 25% 0%
From St Patrick to the Plantation: The Archaeology of Historic Ireland ARP2045 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 60% 0% 40%
Archaeology/Palaeoecology Dissertation ARP3056 3 40 YES YES 24 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
History and Historians: Contested Pasts HIS1001 1 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
The American South, 1865-1980 HIS2029 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 30% 10% 60%
The Roman Origins of the East and West; From Augustus to Charlemagne HIS2049 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Uniting Kingdoms HIS2064 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
The Peasants' Revolt 1381 HIS3011 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
The Soviet Union 1921-1991 HIS3039 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
The Irish Revolution, 1917-1921 HIS3073 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Thatcher's Britain HIS3127 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Sin Cities? Everyday Life in the Modern Metropolis HIS3128 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Society, Death and Disease ARP3053 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 80% 0% 20%
From Slavery to "Say Her Name": Black Women in America HIS3131 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Religion and Empire: Christian Missions ro Africa, Asia and Middle East HIS3099 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Pop Culture and Protest in U.S. History HIS3130 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Europe between the Wars, 1919-1939 HIS2050 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Visualising China's encounter with the West HIS2066 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Early Medieval Europe: archaeologies of kingship, religion, and society ARP3085 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
The making of contemporary Britain: 1914 to the present HIS2018 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 30% 10% 60%
The Second World War in Europe HIS3010 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%
Domestic, Symbolic and Funerary Monuments in Prehistoric Europe ARP3088 3 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 40% 35% 25%
Palaeoenvironmental Techniques ARP2051 2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
3 20 YES YES 12 weeks N YES 100% 0% 0%
2 20 YES 12 weeks N YES 90% 10% 0%

Notes

* module includes four-week field excavation in June ** students are normally required to take either ARP3056 or HIS3077, they may not take both

At each Level/Stage students are required to take 60 credits worth of ARP modules plus 60 credits worth of HIS modules from the list