BA Liberal Arts with International Study / Course details

Methods and methodological concerns are at the heart of all research: the questions that we ask can impact the answers that we find. As such, it’s particularly important to develop a critical understanding of methodologies, both when evaluating others’ research, as well as developing your own.

This course trains you to think critically about methodologies across the arts and humanities, partially in differentiation to scientific methodologies. The course complements SALC10411 History of Humanities by going into more detail on the methodologies and perspectives that are encountered in different intellectual and social contexts.

You will have a chance to reflect on how you might apply different methodologies to your own interdisciplinary, challenge-led research that you will develop throughout your Liberal Arts degree programme (and beyond). What sources and datasets will you use, how will you bring together ideas from different disciplines, and how will you consider the impacts and implications of your research? The course helps you to think about the role and value of the humanities as represented through its methods, and this is an important foundation for Liberal Arts study. You will be able to make connections across ideas while raising appropriate critiques of them, which are skills that will be continually emphasised throughout your programme.

• To highlight the importance of methods and methodologies in research;
• To deepen an understanding of differences and similarities across arts, humanities, and science-based research as introduced by SALC10411;
• To equip students to raise appropriate critical questions of others’ use of methods;
• To train students to begin to think reflexively about the use of methods in developing their own challenge-led, interdisciplinary research throughout the Liberal Arts programme.

At the successful completion of this course unit students should:

• Be able to explain critically some of the implications of methodological tools, particularly in terms of objectivity, subjectivity, validity, and reliability
• Be able to explain how different methodologies involve asking different questions and have diverse strengths
• Be able to identify and critique different methodological perspectives in the research of others
• Have enhanced their familiarity with some of the principles of research design in terms of methodology.

At the successful completion of this course unit students should:

• Have developed their ability to articulate complex subjects clearly
• Have developed their ability to create a structured argument
• Have developed their skills of critical response another’s argument
• Have enhanced their familiarity with some of the principles of research design in terms of methodology.heir familiarity with some of the principles of research design in terms of methodology.

At the successful completion of this course unit students should:

• Have enhanced their ability to locate relevant information through digital and other sources
• Be able to locate and use library and museum descriptions of texts, material objects or visual objects
• Have developed their confidence in using the resources of museums and libraries for arts-based research
• Have enhanced their ability to differentiate the reliability of web-based sources.

At the successful completion of this course unit students should have enhanced:

• group-working skills

• independent research skills

• Reflexive skills.