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Interdisciplinary Final-Year Dissertation

Module description

This dissertation module offers you an opportunity to undertake independent research into primary material on a topic of your choice. You will work under one-to-one supervision to write an extensive piece of independent research. You will be able to develop and demonstrate knowledge of your chosen subject as well as transferable skills such as inter-personal communication, data collection and analysis, report writing, and effective time management which are all valuable whether you progress to undertake further study or employment.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The dissertation is compulsory for all final-year Combined Honours History and Politics or History and International relations students. By the time you have completed your dissertation you should be capable of pursuing research at a sophisticated level, be well aware of the possibilities and problems presented by the use of primary sources, and have an extensive knowledge of the scholarly literature on your subject.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Define a suitable research topic and pursue it to completion
• 2. Evaluate the main themes in works of history and politics or international relations
• 3. Assess the professionalism and scholarly value of published works in the two disciplines
• 4. Evaluate the reasons for changes in evaluative and interpretative trends in the literature of the two disciplines
• 5. Use primary sources in a professional manner
• 6. Present work in a scholarly fashion

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. Critically assess the work of scholars
• 8. Collate and critique data from a range of sources
• 9. Understand and deploy the terminology of the two disciplines in a comprehensible manner
• 10. Handle different approaches in areas of controversy
• 11. Analyse and differentiate between complex original sources

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 12. Pursue independent study and work
• 13. Digest, select and organise large amounts of material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment
• 14. Plan the execution of work over a very long time-scale

Syllabus plan

During the latter half of the academic year prior to their final year, you will be asked to identify, from a list of broad possibilities, an area which you might wish to study, and will then discuss its viability with the relevant member of staff. Once a subject has been agreed, you will set to work to produce a piece of work which makes significant use of primary sources. You will then research and write up your dissertation, with supervision on an individual basis. In terms of supervision, you will be entitled to a maximum of one hour to set up the dissertation subject, plus a further 3 hours maximum of consultation with the relevant tutor. It is envisaged that the bulk of your time will be spent on private study, at the rate of 10 hours per week. Supervisors will be allowed to see and comment on either a detailed plan of the whole work or a draft version of up to 25 per cent of the whole (usually one chapter). Dissertations are regarded as examinable components and as such, feedback will not be available until after the exam board has met.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

As appropriate to the topic chosen.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=11308
  

Key words search

History, politics, international relations, research, writing, historiography