s
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
Final
PART 1: COURSE SUMMARY INFORMATION
Course summary
Final award
MA Cultural History, Memory & Identity (Cultural Memory);
MA Cultural History, Memory & Identity (Making Histories: Public
History and Heritage);
MA Cultural History, Memory & Identity (‘Race’ Nation and Ethnicity)
Intermediate award
Pg Cert/Pg Dip Making Histories: Public History and Heritage
Pg Cert/Pg Dip Cultural Memory
Pg Cert/Pg Dip Histories and Cultures of ‘Race’, Nation and Ethnicity
Course status
Validated
Awarding body
University of Brighton
College
Arts and Humanities
School
Humanities
Location of study/ campus
Pavilion Parade
Partner institution(s)
Name of institution
Host department
1.
Course status
SELECT
2.
3.
Admissions
Admissions agency
Direct to School
Entry requirements
It is expected that the programme will recruit students from a wide
variety of intellectual backgrounds and traditions. Candidates for
admission will normally hold a BA (Hons) degree or its equivalent in
relevant or related subjects. These include social, cultural and
political history; cultural studies; film, media and communication
studies; humanities; sociology; history of architecture and design;
literary studies; visual and performing arts; history of ideas; politics;
information studies; anthropology; visual culture and the history of art;
historical and cultural geography; and other disciplines. Candidates
with experience of multi- or interdisciplinary study are particularly
encouraged to apply. Academic qualification for entry is normally
attained by securing an upper-second-class undergraduate degree,
or better. However, applicants with lower-second-class awards will
also be considered. International applicants should normally have a
qualification recognised as equivalent to the British BA (Hons) degree
by UK NARIC.
Candidates with suitable professional experience though without
degree qualifications, and those with proven experience of historical
Include any progression opportunities
into the course.
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studies at other than degree level, may be offered places on the
programme. Thus non-academic qualifications and/or experience
that demonstrate a high level of critical, analytical and/or historical
ability may be a substitute for academic qualifications. Applications
will be welcome from, for example, professionals in the fields of
teaching, journalism, museum and archive curatorship, oral history,
video- and film-making, digital media and arts, heritage, cultural
policy, health and social welfare, community activism, charity and
campaign work. Similarly, applications are encouraged from
members of local history groups and other local and/or amateur
historians with experience of historical enquiry or research. Such
applications will be considered in the light of the College of Arts
Academic Framework, which identifies clearly the process for transfer
and, where relevant, admission 'with advanced standing' or
accreditation of prior learning. Candidates with the potential to benefit
from this programme, but who are unable to commit from the start to
the MA, may apply to study in the first instance for an intermediate
award of Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma, with the
possibility of undertaking additional study at a later stage for the
higher award.
Candidates with English as a second language will need to display
their proficiency in English, normally through an oral interview and a
certificate of competence from a recognized body (such as
Cambridge Proficiency [CPE] language qualification or its equivalent).
A minimum level of 7.00 on the IELTS scale (or 600 TOEFL paper
test, 100 TOEFL iBT test) is normally required, with a particular
emphasis placed on the writing and reading elements.
Applications are made via Course Finder on the University’s website
<http://courses.brighton.ac.uk>. Applicants should use the Personal
Statement section of the form to indicate the relevance of their
academic and/or other experience to their application, the pathway(s)
and units which interest them most, their provisional ideas about a
dissertation topic, and the reasons why they believe they will benefit
from pursuing this particular course. Offers of a place will normally be
dependant upon a successful interview which will focus on the
candidate’s potential to benefit from and contribute to the programme
of study. Candidates at a distance from Brighton may elect to have a
telephone or Skype interview. Reference forms should be sent
directly to referees by applicants. Applicants seeking grant support
for their studies are advised to apply as early as possible for entry
onto the programme, others ideally before the end of June.
This course has been validated to accept the English for Academic
Purposes 'EMA' Extended Masters route. Details of this route need to
be read in conjunction with this programme specification and can be
found at: https://www.brighton.ac.uk/international/study-withus/courses-and-qualifications/brighton-languageinstitute/courses/extended-masters-route/index.aspx
Start date (mmm-yy)
September 2015
Normally September
Mode of study
Mode of study
Duration of study (standard)
Maximum registration period
Full-time
1 year (MA)
6 years
Part-time
2 years (MA)
Pg Dip 1 year
Pg Cert 6 months
6 years
4 years
3 years
Sandwich
Select
Select
Distance
Select
Select
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Course codes/categories
UCAS code
Contacts
Course Leader (or Course
Development Leader)
Dr Lucy Noakes
Admissions Tutor
Dr Lucy Noakes
Course Administrators: Clare Baker/Amira Driscoll (jobshare),
Humanities School Office, Pavilion Parade, tel. 01273 643089
cb267@brighton.ac.uk / akd1@brighton.ac.uk
Examination and Assessment
Name
Place of work
Date tenure expires
External Examiner(s)
Dr Katharine
Hodgkin
University of East
London
28 Feb. 2018
Examination Board(s)
(AEB/CEB)
Humanities
Approval and review
Approval date
Review date
Validation
19991
20182
Programme Specification
July 20153
July 20164
5
Professional, Statutory and
Regulatory Body 1 (if
applicable):
Professional, Statutory and
Regulatory Body 2 (if
applicable):
Professional, Statutory and
Regulatory Body 3 (if
applicable):
1
Date of original validation.
Date of most recent periodic review (normally academic year of validation + 5 years).
3
Month and year this version of the programme specification was approved (normally September).
4
Date programme specification will be reviewed (normally approval date + 1 year). If programme specification is
applicable to a particular cohort, please state here.
5
Date of most recent review by accrediting/ approving external body.
2
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PART 2: COURSE DETAILS
AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
Aims
The aims of the course are:
To further students’ intellectual and professional development by promoting their acquisition of a range
of academic and transferable skills and independent working patterns;
To help students to develop the skills necessary to devise, conduct and conclude research at a
postgraduate level;
To develop in students the ability critically to interrogate a range of sources, concepts and
methodologies pertinent to investigation of the relation between histories and cultures;
To foster in students a critical appreciation of the processes of historical and cultural construction, and a
developed awareness of the theoretical, conceptual and empirical issues involved in their study.
Learning outcomes
The outcomes of the main award provide information about how the primary aims are demonstrated by
students following the course. These are mapped to external reference points where appropriate 6.
Knowledge and theory
MA
The learning objectives of the programme are designed to ensure that
students have the opportunity to develop:
1) critical and innovative approaches to interdisciplinary study of the
interconnections between histories and cultures, memories and
identities in a variety of contexts at local, and/or national and/or
international levels;
2) the capacity to generate fruitful connections between (a) their critical
understanding and analysis of cultural constructions of ‘the past’, and
(b) their ability and confidence to produce their own historical
accounts and representations;
3) the skills necessary to support detailed analysis of a wide range of
historical and contemporary source material, sustained research, and
the presentation of research outcomes;
4) the methodological skills and techniques, and the theoretical and
historiographical awareness necessary for the making of histories
and for the critical investigation of their relation to cultures, memories
and identities;
5) a solid intellectual platform for those desirous of pursuing higher
research qualifications or appropriate career development outside the
academy.
PgDip
The learning objectives of the programme are designed to ensure that
students have the opportunity to develop:
1) critical and innovative approaches to interdisciplinary study of the
interconnections between histories and cultures, memories and
6
Please refer to Course Development and Review Handbook or QAA website for details.
Page 4 of 20
identities in a variety of contexts at local, and/or national and/or
international levels;
2) the capacity to generate fruitful connections between (a) their critical
understanding and analysis of cultural constructions of ‘the past’, and
(b) their ability and confidence to produce their own historical
accounts and representations;
3) the skills necessary to support detailed analysis of a wide range of
historical and contemporary source material, sustained research, and
the presentation of research outcomes.
PgCert
The learning objectives of the programme are designed to ensure that
students have the opportunity to develop:
1) critical and innovative approaches to interdisciplinary study of the
interconnections between histories and cultures, memories and
identities in a variety of contexts at local, and/or national and/or
international levels;
2) the capacity to generate fruitful connections between (a) their critical
understanding and analysis of cultural constructions of ‘the past’, and
(b) their ability and confidence to produce their own historical
accounts and representations.
Skills
Includes intellectual skills (i.e.
generic skills relating to
academic study, problem
solving, evaluation, research
etc.) and professional/
practical skills.
MA
At the end of Element 1, Term 1, MA students will have acquired a critical
understanding of some key conceptual, theoretical and methodological
issues, and central debates, within the field of their pathway; and will have
explored their application within a variety of particular instances and contexts.
They will have discovered the requirements of Masters-level work and
enhanced their written and oral critical skills to the required academic level
through participation in seminars, the preparation and delivery of seminar
papers, and the planning and writing of an essay.
At the end of Element 1, Term 2, MA students will have acquired, at a level
commensurate with postgraduate study, a detailed understanding of a
specific critical issue, cultural practice, form of representation, and/or
historical context, informed by the relevant theoretical and methodological
debates introduced in Term 1. Students will, in this process, have developed
their skills in critical analysis and in close, detailed reading of historical and
cultural texts, both in seminar work and in essay writing.
At the end of Element 1, Term 3, MA students will have acquired, at a level
commensurate with postgraduate study, a detailed understanding of a
second specific critical issue, cultural practice, form of representation, and/or
historical context, informed by their experience of applying relevant
theoretical and methodological debates in concrete analysis gained in Term
2. Students will, in this process, have further developed their skills and
fluency in critical analysis and in close, detailed reading of historical and
cultural texts, both in seminar work and in essay writing.
At the end of Element 2, MA students will have broadened and/or deepened
their understanding of historical, theoretical and methodological issues and
debates relevant to the field of their pathway or a commensurate area,
through the acquisition and development of the specific skills and knowledge
promoted by the option units of their choice.
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At the end of Element 3, MA students will have identified an agreed and
appropriate topic for their research project together with the strategy they
intend to adopt for its investigation, commensurate with masters study
achievement in terms of depth and focus of research and debate. They will
have developed an understanding of the importance of methodology in
research, considered the range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary methods
available in their field of study, and begun to develop an appropriate method
for their own research project. They will have acquainted themselves with the
role and structure of academic proposals; identified challenges and promises
of thesis identification; addressed the formation of an appropriate structure of
analysis and the choice of an appropriate writing voice; created an initial
bibliography and completed initial reading relevant to their topic and its
treatment; established a relationship with a supervisor, and agreed with him
or her a timetable for the submission of draft chapters and the completed
dissertation; and begun to formulate a rationale for the proposed
investigation, its aims, sources and methodology, situated in relation to a
critical overview of the field(s) of study addressed.
At the end of Element 4, MA students will have researched and interpreted
primary materials and analysed theoretical and critical debates relating to the
subject of their research; defined and utilized a research methodology
appropriate to the subject of their research; acquired a detailed and thorough
understanding of the subject of their research; and developed a clear cogent
argument about the subject of their research, all commensurate with a
Masters programme.
PgDip
At the end of Element 1, PgDip students will have acquired the same skills as
MA students.
At the end of Element 2, PgDip students will have acquired the same skills as
MA students, promoted by the option unit of their choice.
At the end of Element 3, PgDip students will have researched a particular
topic within a field of scholarship pertinent to their course, identified key
thinkers, and/or ideas, and/or debates within the relevant scholarly literature,
and developed their own critical perspective on this material, presented in
clear cogent argument commensurate with postgradute study.
PgCert
At the end of Element 1, PgCert students will have acquired the same skills
as MA students.
QAA subject benchmark
statement (where
applicable)7
No specific benchmark statement.
PROFESSIONAL, STATUTORY AND REGULATORY BODIES (where applicable)
Where a course is accredited by a PSRB, full details of how the course meets external requirements,
and what students are required to undertake, are included.
N/A
7
Please refer to the QAA website for details.
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LEARNING AND TEACHING
Learning and teaching methods
This section sets out the primary learning and teaching methods, including total learning hours and any
specific requirements in terms of practical/ clinical-based learning. The indicative list of learning and
teaching methods includes information on the proportion of the course delivered by each method and
details where a particular method relates to a particular element of the course.
Whilst it is not possible to specify a precise weekly commitment that the programme requires, its
structure and content are predicted on the broad assumption that a part-time student will have some 20
hours a week available for the pursuit of their studies and a full-time student some 40 hours. Thus, in
undertaking all elements of the programme, students’ self-managed, independent study will greatly
outweigh the amount of contact-time they have with tutors in formal teaching sessions.
Core Course: This element is delivered in weekly teaching sessions throughout the year of 2 to 3 hours
each, including lectures and seminars (in groups of 12 students maximum), plus individual pre-essay
and post-essay tutorials for each written assignment, and pre-seminar tutorial for presenters. This totals
70 hours of lectures and seminars and 9 hours of individual tutorials, or 79 hours of direct contact time.
Option Line (MA and Pg Dip only): This element is delivered according to the teaching and assessment
pattern of the particular units chosen, but would normally total between 23–33 hours contact time.
Research Methods (MA only) : shared with other MAs in the Humanities postgraduate programme, this
element consists of a series of ten lectures, seminars and workshop discussions of 1.5 – 3 hours
duration, totalling approx. 20 hours. These include sessions introducing key methods that define and
characterize research across a range of cognate disciplines in the humanities (cultural studies, literary
textual analysis, philosophical analysis, critical theory, historical investigation, aesthetics, etc.); practical
sessions on research design and implementation; and opportunities for students to present their
research proposals for collective critical evaluation. Students also have a total of 3 hours of individual
tutorial guidance supporting their independent study towards the formulation of their proposals and their
draft introductory chapters for their dissertations. The total contact time for this element is thus circa 23
hours.
Research Project (MA only): This element is delivered through individual supervision, arranged at the
mutual convenience of student and tutor, in support of students’ independent study. Supervisory
sessions would normally be bunched at both ends of the research period for preparation and clarification
on the one hand, and comments on draft chapters, on the other, though this is not prescriptive. Students’
requirements for supervision vary by student and by project, and provision is made for such assistance
as dictated by need while constrained within reasonable parameters. A mean average of 10 hours
contact throughout the project per student might be expected, though this should be considered neither a
maximum nor a minimum.
Bibliographical Research (Pg Dip only): This element is delivered through individual tutorials totalling up
to 6 hours, arranged at the mutual convenience of student and tutor, in support of students’ independent
study.
Thus, the programme will be delivered through lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials. As a
Masters course, considerable emphasis is placed on student presentations and the development of
individual students’ research. Basic teaching methods are as follows:
Element 1, Core Course: The element will be delivered through a combination of lectures, student-led
seminars focused on presentations, and/or workshops, supported by students’ independent reading and
preparation, and/or research in relevant libraries, collections and archives.
Element 2, Option Line: This element will be delivered according to the teaching methods adopted on
the particular units chosen.
For MA only
Element 3, Research Methods: This element will be delivered through a series of lectures and seminars,
Page 7 of 20
workshops and individual tutorials designed to support students’ independent work in planning a viable
research project.
Element 4, Research Project: This element will be delivered through individual tutorial supervision in
support of students’ independent research.
For PgDip only
Element 3, Bibliographical Research: will be delivered through individual tutorials in support of students’
independent research.
ASSESSMENT
Assessment methods
This section sets out the summative assessment methods on the course and includes details on where
to find further information on the criteria used in assessing coursework. It also provides an assessment
matrix which reflects the variety of modes of assessment, and the volume of assessment in the course.
Assessment is by essay, and: for MA, research proposal, draft chapter and dissertation or practicebased equivalent; for Pg Dip bibliographical essay.
The requirements in terms of assessed work for each element, the proportional contribution of each
assessed piece of student work to the Final Award (its weighting), and attached credits are given below:
For MA:
Element 1: Three essays, 1st & 2nd 3,000 words, 3rd 4–5,000 words, 60 credits, equally averaged total,
37.5% weighting.
Element 2: Two 3,000 word essays, one per option unit, 40 credits, one only submitted for Final Award,
12.5% weighting.
Element 3: Task 1, a 3,000 word research proposal; Task 2, a 4,000 word draft introductory chapter of
dissertation, 20 credits, Task 1 comprising 35% and Task 2 comprising 65% of total, 12.5% weighting.
Element 4: Dissertation of 20,000 words (including references but not bibliography); or its practise-based
equivalent, normally comprising either artefact or cultural product and 10,000 word essay (assessed
separately for equally averaged total), or more substantial creative outcome and 5,000 word reflective
critical commentary (assessed together), 60 credits, 37.5% weighting.
For PgDip:
Element 1: Three essays, 1st & 2nd 3,000 words, 3rd 4–5,000 words, 60 credits, equally averaged total,
50% weighting.
Element 2: One 3,000 word essay, 20 credits, 16.666% weighting.
Element 3: One 8,000 word bibliographical essay, 40 credits, 33.333% weighting.
For PgCert:
Three essays, 1st & 2nd 3,000 words, 3rd 4–5,000 words, 60 credits, equally averaged total, 100%
weighting.
For students from other MAs who take an Option unit derived from one of the Core Courses on the MA
Cultural History, Memory and Identity, assessment is by one 3,000 word essay with 20 credits attached.
Details of assessment criteria and marking scale can be found in the Course Handbook.
SUPPORT AND INFORMATION
Institutional/ University
All students benefit from:
University induction week
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Student Handbook: the University and you
Course Handbook
Extensive library facilities and electronic access to scholarly material
including JSTOR
Computer pool rooms
E-mail address
Welfare service
Personal tutor for advice and guidance
Course-specific
Additional support, specifically
where courses have nontraditional patterns of delivery
(e.g. distance learning and
work-based learning) include:
In addition, students on this course benefit from:
Please refer to information held in studentcentral.
Guidance on information retrieval;
Collection of past research projects;
The University’s collections (Screen Archive South-East; Design Archives);
the QueenSpark archive housed in the School of Humanities at Pavilion
Parade; and local libraries, archives and collections in Brighton and Hove,
and Sussex;
Graduate/College ‘Politics, Philosophy, Aesthetics’ seminar series with up to
10 visiting speakers and University of Brighton researchers per year;
Research seminar series held monthly with visiting speakers and University
of Brighton researchers, annual symposium and occasional dayschools and
conferences organised by the University’s Centre for Research in Memory,
Narrative and Histories;
Annual conference and occasional seminars, dayschools etc organised by
the University’s Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics;
A regular (normally fortnightly) open seminar with visiting speakers and
University of Brighton researchers organised by the University’s Philosophy
Society;
The ‘Iota’ (Image, Object, Text, Analysis) Design History research seminar
series with several visiting speakers per year;
The Literature research seminar seminar series with several visiting speakers
and University of Brighton researchers per year;
The activities of the College's Arts Practice and Performance Research
Institute (APPRI);
School-based student counsellor.
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PART 3: COURSE SPECIFIC REGULATIONS
COURSE STRUCTURE
This section includes an outline of the structure of the programme, including stages of study and
progression points. Course Leaders may choose to include a structure diagram here.
The postgraduate programme in Cultural History, Memory and Identity (CHMI) encompasses a Masters
(MA) degree of that name together with opportunities to study for the intermediate awards of
Postgraduate Certificate (PgCert) and Postgraduate Diploma (PgDip). The programme as a whole is
concerned with the cultural practices and media of ‘history-making’; with the cultural representation and
interpretation of ‘history’ and 'memory'; and with the role of constructions of ‘the past’ in cultures and
societies, and in the formation of identities. In ethos the Cultural History, Memory & Identity programme
develops a connexion between critical understanding and analysis of the origins, forms and effects of
cultural constructions of history and memory, and a practical, ‘hands-on’ emphasis upon the skills and
methods involved in the making of new historical accounts and representations. Emphasising the close
relation between academic study and broader cultural interest in the past and its significance in everyday
life, the programme enables investigation of a wide range of cultural forms and practices, including oral
history, life-story work and auto/biography, drama and performance, architecture and the built
environment, material artefacts, monuments, exhibitions, museums, written histories, imaginative
literature, archival collections of documents and other material, visual arts, photography, film and video,
television, digital media, commemoration, and heritage. The CHMI programme is grounded in current
interdisciplinary methodologies informed by cultural and critical theory, and draws on the course team’s
specific areas of expertise within cultural, social and political history, cultural studies, literary studies, film
and visual studies, and the history of ideas. Teaching is undertaken by active researchers including
internationally recognised scholars, within a humanities research grouping which contributed to the
University of Brighton's top 4* grade in the art and design area in the last Research Assessment
Exercise in 2008. Students on the Cultural History, Memory and Identity programme benefit from its
close relationship to the University's Centre for Research in Memory, Narrative and Histories
<http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/mnh>
The three pathways
The general concerns of the Masters programme as a whole are developed in relation to three
pathways, each of which explores a particular field of enquiry with its own distinctive thematic and
methodological focus. MA students enrol on one of these pathways, one or more of which are offered
each year (at the discretion of the Course Leader). The pathways also provide the basis for the PgCert
and PgDip awards. MA students enroll on one of these pathways. Availability of pathways may vary
each year at the discretion of the Course Leader.
Cultural Memory explores distinctive approaches to questions of history-making, historical
consciousness and the cultural significance of ‘the past’ developed in the recently emerged,
interdisciplinary field of ‘memory studies’. It focuses on the social, cultural and political processes that
produce ‘a sense of the past’ for particular societies and social groups; and the inter-relation between
these collective, ‘public’ dimensions of remembering and forgetting, and the domain of ‘personal’
memory. It develops a critical investigation of the key concepts and theories that define ‘cultural
memory’ as a new object of study, and of the key themes and issues entailed: the representation of the
past, and of the past-present relationship, in diverse cultural practices and forms (oral, textual, visual and
digital); the role of cultural memories in the formation of beliefs, ideologies and identities; conflict over
the significance of the past; the relation between memory and politics; the relation between cultural and
psychological dimensions of memory; memory and place; cultural memories and historical truth; and the
ethics of remembering and forgetting. These general, critical concerns are brought to bear in the study
of cultural memories in particular socio-historical contexts, and of specific practices and representations
of memory in diverse sites, forms and media. The pathway begins by introducing the field of ‘memory
studies’, and key concepts, theories and methods in the study of cultural memory. It does so
thematically by focusing upon studies and debates mainly concerned with the cultural memory of war;
the importance of cultural memory to national identities; and cultural memory and racial or ethnic
oppression and persecution. On this foundation, the pathway continues by developing more detailed
investigation of two particular case studies: the memory of the Holocaust, and the relation between
cultural memory, the contested past and conflict transformation in the Irish Troubles.
Making Histories: Public History and Heritage provides an advanced introduction to key concepts,
debates and critical frameworks within the fields of public history making and heritage studies in relation
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to the construction, representation and consumption of histories, cultures and identities. These analytical
approaches are focused, examined, and applied in relation to three case studies that explore the variety
of forms through which history is represented at a public or social level taking into account local,
community, national and transnational contexts. Case studies focus on public history and heritage of the
city of Brighton, the public history and memory of transatlantic slavery and the slave trade in a variety of
Atlantic contexts, and the history of Second World War in Britain as these appear in sites of public
history and heritage. Students will critically examine a variety of sites through which public history and
heritage are produced and consumed, including, museums, memorials, tourist sites and popular culture.
Key debates to be considered will include: the development and appeal of ‘dark tourism’, the complex
relationship between memory and history, and the ways in which ‘minority’ histories have been variously
included and marginalised within the construction of public histories and heritage.
‘Race’, Nation and Ethnicity focuses on the relation between the historical processes that have
produced modern ‘imagined communities’ of ‘race’, nation and ethnicity (as these intersect with other
factors, including class, gender and locality); and the cultural processes and forms in which these
formations and identities have been represented. It investigates how collective experiences, myths and
memories are drawn upon in narratives that construct the histories, identities and destinies of ‘racial’,
national and ethnic groups, which in turn underpin those groups’ ideological and political claims. The
pathway begins by examining the historical formation and cultural representation of British national
identity in relation to racial and ethnic others, with a particular emphasis on histories of migration and
empire. It introduces key theoretical paradigms that underpin historical accounts of the significance of
migration and empire for cultural constructions of Britishness, and develops methods for the critical
investigation of practices of history-making in terms of ideology, cultural representation and identityformation across various sites and forms, visual and linguistic. History-making and identity-formation are
also analysed in relation to imaginative geographies of nation and diaspora; involving cultural
perceptions, significances, images and memories pertaining to places of origin, of belonging, of
journeying and of settlement. Case studies are likely to focus on the British ‘island story’ and its critique
and transformation; Islam and the Middle East in British cultural imagination; and Jewish migrant cultures
in Britain. This work provides a foundation for more detailed investigation of these themes in particular
historical contexts, such as the ‘Atlanticist’ diasporic cultures resulting from European slavery and
colonialism in the Caribbean; and in particular forms of representation, such as the colonial and
postcolonial novel in English. There is also scope for primary research into the local areas of Brighton
and Hove and Sussex using local archives and collections, and the resources of local communities.
The structure of the MA
Each pathway comprises four component elements that together constitute the MA degree, as follows:
Element 1: Core Course
Each pathway has its own compulsory, year–long Core Course, namely:
Cultural Memory
Making Histories: Public History and Heritage
Histories and Cultures of ‘Race’, Nation and Ethnicity
Each Core Course begins, in Term 1, with an introduction to the field of enquiry, the themes, issues and
questions that characterize the pathway, and the theories and methods deployed in their investigation;
thereby providing the basis for detailed investigation, in Terms 2 and 3, of two case studies focused on
specific critical issues, cultural practices, forms of representation, and/or historical contexts. The case
studies for each pathway are:
Cultural Memory
Holocaust Memory
Cultural Memory in the Irish Troubles: Peace–Making and the Conflicted Past
Making Histories: Public History and Heritage
Public History, Heritage and Transatlantic Slavery
The Second World War in Britain: History, Public History and the Heritage Industry
‘Race’, Nation and Ethnicity
The Making of the Black Atlantic: Transformations of History, Representation and Identity
Memory and Identity in Postcolonial Cultures: Fictions and Histories
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The introductions to the concerns of the three pathways in Term 1, and the six case studies developed in
Terms 2 and 3, are all offered as Option units for other MAs on the Humanities postgraduate programme
and the wider College postgraduate scheme (though not all will be available in any one year).
Element 2: Option Line
For this element, students choose two Option units from those available and deemed academically
appropriate by the Course Leader in relation to their own academic development, interests and
capabilities. Normally students will identify an Option Line drawn from one of the other MAs in the
Humanities postgraduate programme or one other pathway of the MA Cultural History, Memory and
Identity. Alternatively, students may design their Option Line selected from the full range of Options units
available across the Humanities postgraduate programme and the wider College of Arts and Humanities
postgraduate option scheme, subject to an academic rationale being made and agreed by the Course
Leader, who will advise on timetabling arrangements, assessment, and how to take advantage of the
flexibility afforded by the structure of the Cultural History, Memory and Identity MA to achieve a balanced
workload.
Element 3: Research Methods
This prepares students to undertake and complete an extended research project. Students are
introduced to relevant research methods in cultural studies, historical inquiry, literary (textual) analysis,
philosophical inquiry, and critical theory; and are guided towards the formulation of a research proposal
with clear aims, methodology and sources, and a rationale for their intended treatment of the topic
chosen, situated in relation to the field of study. Students normally begin Research Methods at the start
of Semester One. For students following an alternative pattern of study, the timetable and
arrangements for this unit must be agreed with the Course Leader.
Element 4: Research Project
The culmination of the MA degree experience, the Research Project enables students to develop
individual research and presentational skills by investigating in depth a critical debate, or a body of
cultural meaning, or an historical context, relevant to the broad concerns of the MA. Research normally
leads to the production of a 20,000 word dissertation (including references but not bibliography). The use
of alternative modes of presentation in practice–based projects centred on the creation of an artefact or
cultural product – for example, a film or video, an exhibition, a CD-Rom – is also possible, subject to
agreement with the supervisor and the Course Leader about the components submitted for assessment,
their parameters and their weighting within the final mark awarded. This will normally involve either
submission of an artefact or cultural product accompanied by a 10,000 word analytical essay, each given
equal weighting; or submission of a more substantial creative outcome accompanied by a 5,000 word
critical commentary, offering critical self-reflection on the production and content of the artifact or other
item presented, to be assessed together. Overlength written submissions will be penalised.
The structure of the Pg Cert and Pg Dip
The three pathways of the MA also provide the basis for the Pg Cert and Pg Dip awards in Cultural
Memory; Making Histories: Public History and Heritage; and Histories and Cultures of ‘Race’, Nation and
Ethnicity.
The PG Cert awards have a single element which corresponds to the Core Course from one of the MA’s
three pathways. This takes nine months of study.
The Pg Dip awards are constituted by three elements:
Element One: Core Course
This corresponds to the Core Course from one of the MA’s three pathways.
Element 2: Option Line
Pg Dip students choose one Option unit from those available and deemed academically appropriate by
the Course Leader in relation to their own academic development, interests and capabilities. Normally
students will take an Option unit from one of the other MAs in the Humanities postgraduate programme
or another pathway of the MA Cultural History, Memory and Identity. Alternatively, students may choose
from the full range of Options units available across the Humanities postgraduate programme and the
wider College of Arts and Humanities postgraduate option scheme, subject to an academic rationale
Page 12 of 20
being made and agreed by the Course Leader, who will advise on timetabling arrangements,
assessment, and how to take advantage of the flexibility afforded by the structure of the Cultural History,
Memory and Identity MA to achieve a balanced workload.
Element 3: Bibliographical Research
PgDip students undertake bibliographical research into a particular topic within a field of scholarship
either studied on or otherwise pertinent to their course. This involves identification of key thinkers, and/or
ideas, and/or debates within the relevant scholarly literature, and the development of a critical
perspective on, and evaluation of, this material, presented in the form of a 8,000 word bibliographical
essay.
The PgDip takes between twelve and eighteen months of study.
Students who begin studying for a Pg Cert may apply to transfer onto a Pg Dip or to join the MA in
Cultural History, Memory and Identity. Similarly, Pg Dip students may apply to join the MA, replacing
Bibliographical Research with the Research Methods unit in preparation for undertaking the Research
Project.
Modules
Status:
M = Mandatory (modules which must be taken and passed to be eligible for the award)
C = Compulsory (modules which must be taken to be eligible for the award)
O = Optional (optional modules)
A = Additional (modules which must be taken to be eligible for an award accredited by a professional,
statutory or regulatory body, including any non-credit bearing modules)
Level8
Module
code
Status
Module title
Credit
7
HCM22
C on
Cultural
Memory
pathway
Cultural Memory
60
7
HCM23
C on
Making
Histories:
Public
History
and
Heritage
pathway
Making Histories: Public History and Heritage
60
7
HCM24
C on
‘Race’,
Nation
and
Ethnicity
pathway
Histories and Cultures of ‘Race’, Nation and Ethnicity
60
7
HCM03
A
O
Cultural Memory: Concepts, Theories and Methods
20
7
HCM19
A
O
Public History, Heritage and the Representation of
Brighton and Hove
20
7
HCM18
A
O
Constructions of Britishness:
Histories, Cultures, Identities
20
7
HCM04
A
O
Cultural Memory in the Irish Troubles: Peace–Making
and the Conflicted Past
20
7
HCM06
O
Holocaust Memory
20
8
All modules have learning outcomes commensurate with the FHEQ levels 0, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. List the level which
corresponds with the learning outcomes of each module.
Page 13 of 20
A
7
HCM05
A
O
Public History, Heritage and Transatlantic Slavery
20
7
HCM12
A
O
The Second World War in Britain: History, Public History
and the Heritage Industry
20
7
HCM17
A
O
The Making of the Black Atlantic: Transformations of
History, Representation and Identity
20
7
HCM08
A
O
Memory and Identity in Postcolonial Cultures: Fictions
and Histories
20
7
HCM15
C for
MA
Research Methods
20
7
HCM16
C for
MA
Research Project
60
7
HCM20
C for
PgDip
Bibliographical Research
40
Status:
M = Mandatory (modules which must be taken and passed to be eligible for the award)
C = Compulsory (modules which must be taken to be eligible for the award)
O = Optional (optional modules)
A = Additional (modules which must be taken to be eligible for an award accredited by a professional,
statutory or regulatory body, including any non-credit bearing modules)
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AWARD AND CLASSIFICATION
Award type
Award* Title
Level
Eligibility for award
Total credits9
Minimum credits10
Classification of award
Ratio of marks11:
Class of award
Cultural History, Memory &
Identity (Cultural Memory);
Cultural History, Memory &
Identity (Making Histories:
Public History and Heritage);
Cultural History, Memory &
Identity (‘Race’ Nation and
Ethnicity)
7
Total credit 180
Minimum credit at level of Level 7 marks
award Select
Postgraduate degree
Cultural Memory;
Making Histories: Public
History and Heritage;
Histories and Cultures of
‘Race’, Nation and Ethnicity
7
Total credit 120
Minimum credit at level of Level 7 marks
award Select
Postgraduate (taught) degree
Intermediate Pg Cert Cultural Memory;
Making Histories: Public
History and Heritage;
Histories and Cultures of
‘Race’, Nation and Ethnicity
7
Total credit 60
Minimum credit at level of Level 7 marks
award Select
Postgraduate (taught) degree
Select
Select Total credit Select
Minimum credit at level of Select
award Select
Select
Select
Select Total credit Select
Minimum credit at level of Select
award Select
Select
Final
MA
Intermediate Pg Dip
*Foundation degrees only
Progression routes from award:
9
Total number of credits required to be eligible for the award.
Minimum number of credits required, at level of award, to be eligible for the award.
11
Algorithm used to determine the classification of the final award (all marks are credit-weighted). For a Masters degree, the mark for the final element (e.g, dissertation) must be in the corresponding
class of award.
10
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Award classifications
Mark/ band %
Foundation degree
Honours degree
Postgraduate12 degree (excludes
PGCE and BM BS)
70% - 100%
Distinction
First (1)
Distinction
60% - 69.99%
Merit
Upper second (2:1)
Merit
Lower second (2:2)
Pass
50% - 59.99%
40% - 49.99%
12
Pass
Third (3)
Refers to taught provision: PG Cert, PG Dip, Masters.
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EXAMINATION AND ASSESSMENT REGULATIONS
Please refer to the Course Approval and Review Handbook when completing this section.
The examination and assessment regulations for the course should be in accordance with the
University’s General Examination and Assessment Regulations for Taught Courses (available
from staffcentral or studentcentral).
Specific regulations
which materially affect
assessment,
progression and award
on the course
e.g. Where referrals or repeat
of modules are not permitted
in line with the University’s
General Examination and
Assessment Regulations for
Taught Courses.
The course regulations are in accordance with the University’s General
Examination and Assessment Regulations (GEAR). Copies of this document
are available from staffcentral or studentcentral.
In addition, the following course-specific regulations apply:
All work for assessment must be submitted in hard copy in addition to esubmission.
MA
In order to achieve the award of Master of Arts in Cultural History, Memory &
Identity (Making Histories: Public History and Heritage), or
Cultural History, Memory & Identity (Cultural Memory), or Cultural History,
Memory & Identity (‘Race’ Nation and Ethnicity), a student must normally: (i)
have completed successfully sufficient elements of study to gain 180 credits
necessary for an MA; (ii) have completed successfully the relevant Core
Course for that particular pathway and a Research Project on a topic agreed
by the Course Leader to fall within the scope of that same pathway; (iii) have
achieved an overall average, weighted mark of at least 50% in his or her
coursework (Elements 1,2 and 3); and (iv) have achieved an overall mark of
at least 50% in his or her Research Project. Those who achieve an overall
average, weighted mark of 70% or more, and who achieve a mark of 70% or
more for their Research Project will qualify for the award of an MA in Cultural
History, Memory and Identity ‘with Distinction’. Those who achieve an overall
average, weighted mark of 60% or more, and who achieve a mark of 60% or
more for their Research Project will qualify for the award of an MA in Cultural
History, Memory and Identity ‘with Merit’.
‘Successful completion’ is understood as at least 70% attendance at both
lectures and seminars, and the submission of the appropriate assessed work
in the requisite form. ‘Completion’ requires submission of work of the
requisite standard for a postgraduate qualification but not necessarily a pass
mark for any particular unit. Students will normally have the opportunity for
unsatisfactory coursework to be referred in one component of assessment in
Element 1, and one component of assessment in Elements 2 and 3 taken
together.
The progress stage for full-time MA students will occur in July, by which time
all mandatory, assessable work for Elements 1-3 will normally have been
completed. The progress stage for part-time MA students will take place in
January of the year in which they intend to submit their Research Project, by
which time all mandatory, assessable work for Elements 1-3 will normally
have been completed. Students who have failed to complete satisfactorily
one of these elements may be permitted to progress and complete the
outstanding element satisfactorily.
In the case of a student who has failed to meet the minimum requirements for
progression on the MA, in addition to the possible actions identified in the
Academic Framework, the Progress Board may also in exceptional cases
recommend that a student complete the programme for a Postgraduate
Diploma where the evidence is that they are unlikely to be able to meet the
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level of attainment required for an MA but have demonstrated the potential for
completion at Diploma level.
A student who has not succeeded in achieving the level required for the
award of a pass mark in her/his Research Project, but who has succeeded in
meeting the coursework requirements and achieved an average, weighted
overall mark of at least 50% may be offered a Postgraduate Diploma
(according to the pathway followed), or, at the discretion of the Examination
Board, be invited to resubmit and pass the Research Project within three
months. Those who resubmit and pass their Research Project will be
awarded an MA.
Having completed their coursework, students may choose not to engage in
research for a Research Project and, should they have submitted all their
coursework, and achieved an average, weighted overall mark of at least 50%,
may be offered a Postgraduate Diploma (according to the pathway followed).
In order that weaker performance in assessments submitted at the earliest
stage does not jeopardize the achievement of a higher standard in the final
award attained through a student's development in later stages of the course,
students will be permitted to resubmit the assessment for Term 1 of Element
1 (i.e. the first essay submitted) and also the draft introductory chapter for
Research Methods, in the light of formative feedback, for a new face-value
mark.
PgDip
In order to achieve the award of Postgraduate Diploma in Making Histories:
Public History and Heritage or Cultural Memory, or Histories and Cultures of
‘Race’ Nation and Ethnicity (based on one of the three pathways of the MA),
a student must normally (i) have completed successfully sufficient elements
of study to gain 120 credits necessary for a PgDip; (ii) have completed
successfully the relevant Core Course and a Bibliographical Research unit on
a topic agreed by the Course Leader to fall within the scope of the degree;
(iii) have achieved an overall average, weighted mark of at least 50% in
assessed coursework. Students achieving an overall average, weighted
mark of 70% or over will be awarded a PgDip with Distinction. Those who
achieve an overall average, weighted mark of 60% or more will qualify for the
award of a PgDip ‘with Merit’. The criteria for ‘successful completion’ are as
for the MA.
Students will normally have the opportunity for unsatisfactory coursework to
be referred in one component of assessment in Element 1, and one
component of assessment in Elements 2 and 3 taken together. A student who
has not succeeded in achieving the level required for the award of a Diploma
but who has succeeded in achieving an overall average mark of at least 50%
for Element 1 may be offered a Postgraduate Certificate.
In order that weaker performance in assessments submitted at the earliest
stage does not jeopardize the achievement of a higher standard in the final
award attained through a student's development in later stages of the course,
students will be permitted to resubmit the assessment for Element 1 (the first
essay submitted) in the light of formative feedback, for a new face-value
mark.
PgCert
In order to achieve the award of Postgraduate Certificate in Making Histories:
Public History and Heritage or Cultural Memory, or Histories and Cultures of
‘Race’ Nation and Ethnicity (based on one of the three pathways of the MA),
a student must normally (i) have completed successfully sufficient elements
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of study to gain 60 credits necessary for a PgCert; (ii) have completed
successfully the relevant Core Course; and (iii) have achieved an overall
average, weighted mark of at least 50% in assessed coursework. Students
achieving an overall average, weighted mark of 70% or over will be awarded
a PgCert with Distinction. Those who achieve an overall average, weighted
mark of 60% or more will qualify for the award of a PgCert ‘with Merit’. The
criteria for ‘successful completion’ are as for the MA.
Students will normally have the opportunity for unsatisfactory coursework to
be referred in one component of assessment in Element 1.
In order that weaker performance in assessments submitted at the earliest
stage does not jeopardize the achievement of a higher standard in the final
award attained through a student's development in later stages of the course,
students will be permitted to resubmit the assessment for Element 1 (the first
essay submitted) in the light of formative feedback, for a new face-value
mark.
University regulations regarding the number of assessment attempts
potentially available to students specify that, following a first attempt, a
maximum of two further re-assessments attempts are potentially available. All
re-assessment attempts remain at the discretion of Examination Boards.
Failure in any assessed unit of the programme may be compensated by a
student's performance on other parts of the degree, at the discretion of the
Examination Board. The decision of the Examination Board will be final in
determining the nature of any award that is made. The Board reserves the
right to condone failure in line with the University's general regulations.
Exceptions required by
PSRB
These require the approval of
the Chair of the Academic
Board
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