Welsh and History (BA)

Research is central to the student experience at Cardiff and all our teaching is informed by the latest findings.

We offer a supportive learning environment, where you are enabled to acquire a range of skills and a wealth of specialist knowledge. You will learn through a wide range of teaching methods from interactive lectures, lively discussion-based seminars, and workshops to group work and tutorials. These on-campus activities will be blended with a range of online environments that will enhance your learning experience and enable you to extend your studies beyond the classroom. Seminars and workshops offer a rewarding experience to engage critically with the key ideas and reading on a topic. They provide a valuable opportunity to explore ideas and work closely with your lecturers and to learn from other students. In your second and third year, you have the opportunity to undertake a range of independent projects with the support of an expert in the field and one-to-one tuition.

Our teaching methods foster intellectual skills, such as critical thinking, close analysis, evaluating evidence, constructing arguments, using theory and the effective deployment of language in writing and in debate. We also help you gain experience in team working, independent research and time management in a supportive environment.

How will I be supported?

You will be supported by a number of different staff, some focusing on academic performance in a particular area and some looking at learning and progress more holistically.

You will be allocated personal tutors in both Welsh and History, who will guide you for the duration of your studies. You will meet with your personal tutors regularly in groups and individually to reflect on your progress and development across your studies. Your personal tutors can also guide you towards appropriate support if you experience difficulties or require specific information about your time at Cardiff University.

Additional module-specific support is provided by seminar tutors, lecturers and/or module convenors; support for independent research projects is provided by an academic advisor who will meet with you regularly.

You will have access through the University virtual learning environment to relevant multimedia material, presentations, lecture handouts, bibliographies, further links, electronic exercises and discussion boards.

Our undergraduate Education Support Teams provides academic and student support, and are there to provide information and guidance in response to any queries you may have.

The University offers a range of services including Student Futures to help you with your career planning, support services and events to help you manage your emotional, mental and physical health, support with financial issues and support for students with disabilities.

How will I be assessed?

Assessments include source criticisms, research projects, reviews, presentations, creative-critical portfolios and blog posts, alongside more traditional forms of assessment such as essays and tests/exams. Some of our assessments allow you to work collaboratively on a project, while others include writing and creating for different audiences; for example, you might be asked to design a museum exhibition or create a guide for using sources; and you may have the opportunity to create podcasts and digital texts for social media. Long essays in History allow you to address fundamental historical questions or explore an historical issue or debate in more depth.

In all cases, our assessments are designed to support you in developing your ideas, skills and competencies. They help equip you with skills to link your knowledge to local, national and global issues, and encourage you to be innovative and creative; to find new ways to address problems or ask questions; to collaborate in solving problems and presenting findings; and to present evidence-based arguments. The skills developed and assessed throughout the programme prepare you for entry into a range of graduate careers. Individual and group feedback on assessments and other learning provides you with the opportunity to reflect on your current or recent level of attainment.

What skills will I practise and develop?

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will be able to do as a result of your study at Cardiff University. They will help you to understand what is expected of you. 

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme can be found below:

Knowledge & Understanding:   

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to:

KU1: Understand key concepts and theoretical approaches that have been developed and are developing within History and Welsh;

KU2: Demonstrate a critical understanding of the development of the Welsh language from a linguistic, literary, social and professional context as well as an understanding of the attempts to restore and promote the language;

KU3: Critically analyse Welsh-language literary texts produced in a variety of genres and in different historical periods;

KU4: Engage critically and conceptually with the changing assumptions and methods that historians use to explain the past;

KU5: Demonstrate systematic knowledge and understanding of the complexity and diversity of the past in a single country or in relation to a particular theme.

Intellectual Skills:           

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to:

IS1: Critically analyse how meanings are created through language, and the affective power of language;

IS2: Critically appraise cultural theories and assess them in relation to evidence and common cultural assumptions;

IS3: Critically evaluate texts, concepts, and theories relevant to the context of the Welsh language and Welsh literature, using the appropriate vocabulary and terminology;

IS4: Utilise knowledge and appropriate skills and methods to identify and critically evaluate historical change;

IS5: Formulate and justify arguments about a range of historical issues, problems, and debates using historiographical ideas and methods;

IS6: Identify appropriate primary sources, reflect upon their nature, and analyse them critically to address questions and solve problems.

Professional Practical Skills:      

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to:

PS1: Produce written and spoken Welsh that is appropriate for the workplace and a wide variety of situations;

PS2: Demonstrate practical and professional skills in order to read, produce, and analyse written and oral texts of various kinds (which may include creative writing);

PS3: Apply information, understanding and skills in a professional context through work experience, reflecting and critically evaluating work experience opportunities, and producing a supervised extended essay or research project;

PS4: Ask cogent and focused questions and pursue answers to these questions through structured enquiry, selecting and interrogating an appropriate range of evidence.

Transferable/Key Skills:

On successful completion of the Programme you will be able to:

TS1: Demonstrate critical thinking, reasoning, and the ability to assimilate and summarise complex information and ideas though the independent selection and critical analysis of an appropriate range of evidence;

TS2: Summarise and critically appraise the relative merits and demerits of alternative views and interpretations and evaluate their significance;

TS3: Present complex findings and arguments clearly, concisely, and persuasively in a variety of formats;

TS4: Show enterprise skills to solve problems and analyse diverse, partial or ambiguous evidence using critical thinking, initiative, and creativity;

TS5: Effectively communicate complex information and arguments to diverse audiences, either individually or collaboratively as part of a team.