| Unit name | Dissertation Black Humanities |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HUMSM0014 |
| Credit points | 60 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
| Unit director | Dr. Robles |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School of Humanities |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
All MA in Black Humanities students are expected to undertake a dissertation as the culmination of the programme of study. The dissertation provides a structured and supervised opportunity for MA students to pursue independently an agreed topic of interest with reference to and emerging from their previous studies and to produce an appropriately advanced piece of research. The dissertation involves devising a realisable topic, which has the potential to contribute to knowledge of the subject. After a conducting a survey of literature and other relevant materials, appropriate methodologies will be devised in order to explore a research problem. It would normally be expected that this topic would arise from work already undertaken on the programme, creating an opportunity to explore a specialist area in more detail.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
The is a required unit for students on the MA Black Humanities The written dissertation is a key opportunity to develop your academic research and writing skills. The unit will give you the skills and confidence to purse a major piece of independent research which will make a contribution to knowledge of the field of environmental humanities. You will learn to work largely independently and to find and use a variety of different primary sources (e.g. literary texts, historical documents, audiovisual media) and secondary sources.
An overview of content
Because the dissertation is a student-led inquiry, the content of this unit will be driven by each student’s interests, existing expertise, and the field they wish to tackle. Students are encouraged to develop material from the taught content of the core programme, in order to expand upon topics, primary source bases, and research questions they have covered in some capacity. This is your opportunity to explore, and in doing so, to develop an area of specialism as a researcher in the field of Black Humanities.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
This unit aims to support you in undertaking an original piece of research in the field of Black Humanities, concerning a topic of your choosing. It will develop your understanding not just of the historical, intellectual and cultural frameworks central to the field, but also the ways in which researchers set about framing appropriate research questions and answering them. By the end of this unit, you will have transferable skills to do with project design, development, and management. But you will also be a researcher in your own right, having added to the collective disciplinary knowledge of the field.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this unit, a successful student will be able to:
This unit will be taught via regular tutorials with an allocated supervisor. This will vary in length and focus. The dissertation is a student-led, inquiry-based aspect of the MA Black Humanities programme. It thus requires students to develop a project idea, carry out independent study, and report back findings and research plans to their supervisor. The supervisor’s role is to offer advice and support in response to work generated by the student. Students will also be expected to manage their own schedule and workload, again with the support of a supervisor.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
The unit will be assessed by one written 12,000 word dissertation (100%).
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the form or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are normally confirmed by the School shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HUMSM0014).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
