University home > Unit and programme catalogues in 2014/15 > Programme catalogue > Faculty of Arts > Department of Philosophy > Philosophy and Russian (BA) > Specification
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Programme code | 1PHIL006U |
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Programme type | Joint Honours (UG) |
Programme director(s) |
Anthony Everett (Philosophy)
Claire Shaw (Russian) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
School/department | Department of Philosophy |
Second School/department | Department of Russian |
Teaching institution | University of Bristol |
Awarding institution | University of Bristol |
Relevant QAA subject benchmark groups |
Languages, Cultures and Societies (2023) (benchmark statement)
Philosophy (2019) (benchmark statement) |
Mode of study | Full Time |
Programme length | 4 years (full time) |
Philosophy:
This programme is designed to offer students a thorough understanding of Philosophy as it is practised in the analytic tradition. The wide ranging and flexible curriculum provides a programme of study which has progressive intellectual challenges and consolidates previous experience at each new level.
The mandatory units at level C provide all students with (a) a basic knowledge of some fundamental problems of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and political philosophy (b) a basic competence in logic and the analysis of arguments and (c) the skills of reading and writing required in analytic philosophy. At levels I and H students choose from a wide range of options, taught by specialists in the areas of their own research, some text-based and others topic-based, ranging from ethics and political philosophy to philosophy of physics. Students are also expected to write a number of final essays which give them the opportunity both to explore areas in more depth and detail and to develop their own research skills.
Students successfully completing the programme will be fully competent to continue with postgraduate study, but the programme also provides training in a wide range of transferable skills which serve as the foundation for many types of career.
Russian:
The programme offers students the opportunity to study Russian language in the context of courses exploring aspects of Russia's rich and varied culture from the 18th century to the present day. The programme covers the following aspects of Slavonic Studies: Russian language; Russian literature and culture; elements of Russian history; and, optionally, Czech language and literature. Students are introduced to a linguistic and cultural tradition, spanning some of Europe's most important writers, literary developments and ideological trends, against the unique background of Russia's often turbulent socio-political circumstances. As a relatively rare skill, fluency in the Russian language, together with detailed knowledge and appreciation of Russian culture and customs, is in demand among a wide range of employers.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Acquisition of knowledge and understanding through lectures, seminars and tutorials (1,2,3,4,5). Directed reading with a strong emphasis on primary materials (1,3,4,5). Regular problem classes (2). Tutorials and seminars to encourage student participation and advance understanding of difficult materials (1,3,4,5). Formative feedback on assessment is given through individual tutorials (for most units) and written comments. (1,2,3,4,5). |
Methods of Assessment | |
Coursework essays, testing understanding of a single topic in detail (1,3,4,5). Exams, testing breadth of knowledge of different subjects (1,2,4,5). Class tests and exercises in logic (2). An extended essay, testing the ability of students to research a subject of their own choice in detail (3,4,5). Coursework essays, logic exercises, and level C exams are formative; Level I and H exams and Extended essays are summative. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Lectures provide knowledge, enhance understanding, and serve to exemplify the characteristic virtues of analytic philosophy. Seminars and group tutorials aid understanding, and provide forums in which students can discuss philosophical issues with each other and with tutors. Problem classes in logic help students develop their analytical and argumentative skills. Coursework essays give students the opportunity to read widely and reflect carefully on the material covered in lectures and seminars. The extended essay gives level H students the opportunity for more intensive and independent research into chosen topics in Philosophy. |
Methods of Assessment | |
Essay writing tests the students' ability to read widely, analyse information and present reasoned arguments (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,13). Examinations test the students' ability to assimilate information, assess and present arguments, and criticise difficult material in a concise and lucid manner (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,12,13). Essay tutorials assist the students' ability to respond appropriately to criticism, to articulate and modify positions and arguments, and to develop a number of intellectual virtues (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13). The presentation and group discussion of seminar papers develop the students' skills in communication and virtues in intellectual debate (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13). Problem classes test the students' ability in logic (3,5,6,7). The extended Essay tests the students' ability to pursue an independent line of research, and to present the fruits of that research in a professional manner (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,13). |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Seminars and tutorials are used to develop oral communication by requiring students to engage in class discussions and to give short presentations to initiate discussion, including defending their interpretations and arguments in debate with other students and staff (1,2, 4, 5, 8, 10) Research and written communication skills are developed through feedback on essays (2,3, 6, 8, 10). Students are given guidance in the use of electronic resources, and are informed of opportunities for C&IT training (6,7). Writing essays (especially Extended essays) for set deadlines encourages self-motivation and self-reliance, as well as independence of thought (1,6, 8, 10). |
Methods of Assessment | |
Examinations test the ability of the students to provide crisp and lucid presentations of difficult ideas and arguments. (3.9.10) Essays (especially Extended essays) test the ability of students to research their materials and to present ideas and arguments in a lucid and professional manner (1,2,3,6,7,8,10). |
Embedded within the curriculum |
To follow |
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Co-curricular opportunities |
To follow |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
Year 1 of the programme has been designed to lay the foundations, both in terms of subject-specific knowledge and skills and in terms of more general abilities, which will allow students to fulfil the programme's aims and objectives. By the end of the year, students should have a basic knowledge of some central areas of the subject (metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and political philosophy) and some crucial philosophical skills, including competence in formal logic and familiarity with the aims and methods of analytic philosophy. They should also be developing their skills in essay-writing and in discussing philosophical issues in tutorials. |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
Students further develop their skills and knowledge by choosing from a menu of options. These options are more demanding than level C units both in terms of the difficulty of the materials studied and of the amount of independent critical thinking required of the students. By the end of the year they should be capable of reading difficult and technical material (eg modern journal articles), grasping their arguments, and debating them in seminars with their peers. The two mandatory units, 'Realism' and 'Normativity', provide all level I students with basic knowledge and skills for more advanced level H units. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
Students further develop their skills and knowledge by choosing from a range of advanced options, taught by specialists in the areas of their own research. By the end of the year they should be capable of thinking critically and working independently. Students' capacity for intensive and independent research is further tested by the system of Extended essays. |
Level M/7 - Masters |
For the MSci Mathematics and Philosophy programme - all students take the 'History and Philosophy of Mathematics' unit from the PHS M.A. programme. Two finals essays (or a 20-credit project) further test their capacity for independent study. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Knowledge and understanding are acquired through: lectures, seminars, tutorials, intensive language classes, directed reading, regular written coursework and practical language work (supported by the facilities of the Multimedia Centre), and a compulsory period of residence in the country or countries where the language is spoken. |
Methods of Assessment | |
For non-linguistic elements of the programme: Essays (of varying lengths) and essay-writing exercises, testing understanding of a single topic in detail (2, 3, 5, 6) Class tests (seen and unseen), testing ability to interpret Russian literary or cultural texts (1, 2, 3, 5) Exams, testing breadth of knowledge of different subjects (2, 3, 5, 6) At levels I and H, assessment is mainly summative. Language is informally assessed through regular (weekly/fortnightly) coursework assignments; formally by examination at the end of each year (grammar and comprehension tests, translations, essays, oral presentations and aural comprehension, as appropriate to level) (1, 4). Only Level H language examinations contribute to the final degree. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Intellectual skills are developed through seminars, class discussions, oral presentations and essay writing, as well as by the independent reading and preparation these exercises necessitate. Units are structured in such a way that the skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation of literature are developed progressively through the course. |
Methods of Assessment | |
A variety of assessment methods are used as per individual unit aims and objectives.Essay-writing, class tests and examinations assess students' ability to analyse information and present reasoned arguments. Language is formally assessed by translations, essays, oral presentations and aural comprehension exercises. |
Programme Intended Learning Outcomes | Learning and Teaching Methods |
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Seminars and tutorials are used to develop oral communication by requiring students to engage in class discussions and to give short presentations to initiate discussion, including defending their interpretations in debate with other students and staff. These oral skill are further developed in the language classes (1, 3, 4, 5). Research and written communication skills are developed through feedback on essays (2, 8). Students are given guidance on independent learning, which is required in all language and non-language units (1, 7, 10, 11). Students are given guidance on the use of electronic resources, informed of opportunities for C&IT training, and required to maintain electronic communication during Year Abroad (6, 9) |
Methods of Assessment | |
Research and IT skills are assessed through coursework, including the year-abroad dissertation. (2, 6, 9) Written skills are assessed through coursework essays; examinations; and class tests which also require the ability to process an understanding of foreign-language sources (written and/or aural) (2, 10). Oral skills are assessed in some final-year seminar presentations, and at all levels in foreign-language oral examinations (3, 4, 5) Students are expected to manage their work effectively, and are penalised for late submission. |
Statement of expectations from the students at each level of the programme as it/they develop year on year.
Level C/4 - Certificate |
Year 1 of the course has been designed to lay the foundations, in terms both of subject-specific knowledge and skills and of more general skills and abilities, to lay the foundations which will allow students to fulfil the programme's aims and objectives. Separate core units in language provide intensive initial instruction for ab initio students, and consolidate and develop the existing language skills of qualified entrants. Non-linguistic units introduce some of the main themes and key concepts of classical Russian history, culture and literature. The expectation is that students' work may require considerable direction from members of staff at this stage |
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Level I/5 - Intermediate |
In Year 2 students are expected to be able to demonstrate an increased range and detail of knowledge in relevant areas of the discipline. Continuing development of linguistic skills places increased emphasis on independent learning, and linguistic analysis of Russian texts and/or documents is introduced into non-linguistic units followed by all students. The main but not exclusive focus of non-linguistic units is the 'classical' period of 19th-century Russian culture. Several units may be selected from a list of options; all are treated in greater depth and specificit than before. Students will be expected in consequence to develop their analytical skills, their ability to formulate ideas and to present them cogently. They will be encouraged in group work skills through active participation in seminars. |
Level H/6 - Honours |
Year 4. Linguistic skills acquired over the previous three years are refined though an increased use of 'creative' (essay-writing; oral presentation) and 'mediation' (translation) skills. Students also continue to expand their knowledge of the subject-area through the study of a varied range of optional units closely linked to staff research interests. Non-linguistic units now typically combine substantial breadth with analytical depth, and more sophisticated conceptual and methodological approaches are encouraged. Students will be expected to develop further their ability to gather and assimilate challengingly complex information, to synthesise their findings in an appropriate way, and to engage in searching analysis of target-language texts. There is an increased emphasis on independent learning. |
The intended learning outcome mapping document shows which mandatory units contribute towards each programme intended learning outcome.
For information on the admissions requirements for this programme please see details in the undergraduate prospectus at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/prospectus/undergraduate/ or contact the relevant academic department.
Workload Statement
In common with the rest of the University, units in the Faculty of Arts
adhere to the credit framework which sets out that 20 credits normally
equates to some 200 hours of student input. Some of this time will be spent
in class, with the remainder divided between preparation for classes and
preparation for, and completion of, the assessment tasks. Some of this
activity may occur within the University’s online learning environment,
Blackboard, which you may use to prepare wikis, to interact with other
students, to download tutorials or to receive feedback.
Assessment Statement
Please select the following link for a statement about assessment. This is University of Bristol access only.
https://www.bris.ac.uk/arts/current/under/assessment.html
Philosophy:
An exchange scheme exists with the university of Maryland, allowing one or two Bristol students to spend the whole of their second year in Maryland. This is primarily designed for Single Honours Philosophers, but is sometimes possible for J.S. students after proper consultation & negotiation with J.S. partner departments.
Russian:
In addition to its Joint Honours Russian programmes with a second language, the Department also offers single honours programmes in Russian, and Joint Programmes in Russian combined with History of Art or Philosophy or Politics.The Department has its own direct links with the following institutions for placement of students during their Year Abroad: Kuban State University, Krasnodar; The Alexandr Nevskii Orthodox School, Moscow; The Herzen University, St Petersburg; Vladimir State Pedagogical University; Voronezh State University; Republican Medical College, Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The Philosophy department webpage and the undergraduate handbook.
Mandatory Unit Language is must pass. For further information and a definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Introduction to Philosophy A | PHIL10005 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Introduction to Philosophy B | PHIL10006 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-2 | |
Introduction to Formal Logic | PHIL10014 | 10 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Introduction to Russian History and Culture | RUSS10033 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Russian Language (ab initio) | RUSS10001 | 40 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Students with A Level Russian must take the following units (instead of the 2 units above): | |||||
Russian Language (for qualified entrants) | RUSS10036 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Introduction to Russian History and Culture | RUSS10033 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
One of the following: | |||||
Czech Language 1 | RUSS10015 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Introduction to Russian Literature | RUSS10037 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
10 credit points from: | |||||
Philosophical Texts 1: Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion | PHIL10003 | 10 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophical Text 3: Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics | PHIL10008 | 10 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Introduction to the Philosophy of Science | PHIL10015 | 10 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophical Texts: Plato | PHIL10024 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Texts in Modern Political Philosophy | PHIL10027 | 10 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Paradoxes | PHIL10028 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Critical Reasoning | PHIL10030 | 10 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Certificate of Higher Education | 120 |
Mandatory Unit Language is must pass. For further information and a definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Realism and Normativity | PHIL20046 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-1 | |
Russian Language 2 | RUSS20008 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Students must choose at least one but no more than two units from the following list: | |||||
The New Soviet Man and His 'Others': Politics and Identity in Soviet Russia, 1917-1945 | RUSS20010 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
‘Hedgehogs and Foxes’: The Nineteenth-Century Russian Novel 2019 | RUSS20013 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Russian Thought 1825-1881 | RUSS20048 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Intermediate Czech Language | RUSS20043 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Russian Orthodox Culture | RUSS20044 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Laughter Through Tears: The Comic Tradition in Russian Literature | RUSS20049 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
40 credit points from: | |||||
Epistemology | PHIL20009 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophy of Mind | PHIL20010 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Ethics | PHIL20011 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Political Philosophy | PHIL20012 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Language | PHIL20017 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Natural and Social Science | PHIL20037 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Mathematics | PHIL20039 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Logic 2 | PHIL20036 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Ancient Philosophy | PHIL20040 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Death, dying and disease | PHIL20049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophy of Religion | PHIL20052 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Students may choose up to one unit from the following list: | |||||
Political Systems of Modern Europe | MODL20008 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Memory and History in the Twentieth Century | MODL20010 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Introduction to Linguistics | MODL23013 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
World Cinemas: from national to transnational | MODL23016 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Woman and Nation | MODL23017 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Gender in Post-Socialist Central and Eastern Europe | MODL20011 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Students may choose up to one unit from the following list: | |||||
Catalan Language (Elementary) | MODL23014 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Czech Language (Elementary) | MODL23015 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Diploma of Higher Education | 120 |
Mandatory Year Abroad is must pass. For further information and a definition of must pass units please see the Glossary of Terms
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Year Abroad (Joint Honours) | RUSS29003 | 120 | Mandatory | AYEAR | |
120 |
Unit Name | Unit Code | Credit Points | Status | ||
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Russian Language 3 | RUSS30001 | 20 | Mandatory | TB-4 | |
Students must choose at least one but no more than two units from the following list: | |||||
Gender in Twentieth- and Twenty-First Century Russia | RUSS30062 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Dostoevsky | RUSS30063 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Writing Revolution: Russian Literature, 1910-1940 | RUSS30068 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Russia in the 1990s: A Decade of Chaos? | RUSS30065 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Advanced Czech Language | RUSS30070 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Students may choose up to two unit from the following list: | |||||
Communism in Europe | MODL30001 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Independent Study 1 | MODL30005 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Translating in a Professional Context | MODL30010 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Teaching Modern Languages as a Foreign Language | MODL30013 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Sociolinguistic Anthropology: Language, Culture, and Society | MODL30016 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Reimagining Odysseus | MODL30019 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Italian City: Medieval and Early Modern Cultures | MODL30020 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
This unit is only available to students studying Programmes of French German or Spanish: | |||||
Liaison Interpreting | MODL30006 | 20 | Optional | TB-1,TB-2 | |
Students may choose MODL30011 if they took MODL23014 in their second year of study and students may choose MODL30012 if they took MODL23015 in their second year of study: | |||||
Catalan Language (follow-on) | MODL30011 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
Czech Language (follow-on) | MODL30012 | 20 | Optional | TB-4 | |
60 credit points should be chosen from the following list, with no more than 40 credits from (a), (b), or (c). | |||||
20 credit points may be chosen from: | |||||
First Extended Essay | PHIL30107 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Second Extended Essay | PHIL30108 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
(a) Philosophy of Science, Mathematics and Logic. Choose no more than 40 credits from: | |||||
Philosophy of Science | PHIL30049 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophical Issues of Physical Sciences | PHIL30052 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Biology | PHIL30063 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
The Philosophy and History of Medicine | PHIL30082 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy of Natural and Social Science | PHIL30086 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
(b) Epistemology, Metaphysics, Mind, Language, History of Philosophy. Choose no more than 40 credits from: | |||||
Philosophy of Psychology | PHIL30077 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophy of Perception | PHIL30119 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
(c) Value Theory (Ethics, Political Philosophy, Aesthetics). Choose no more than 40 credits from: | |||||
Ethics and Literature | PHIL30094 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Philosophy and the Environment | PHIL30112 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Death, dying and disease | PHIL30115 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
The Ethics of Migration and Citizenship | PHIL30118 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Global Justice and Climate Change | PHIL30120 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Texts in Modern European Philosophy 2 | PHIL30116 | 20 | Optional | TB-2 | |
Themes in Modern European Philosophy 2 | PHIL30117 | 20 | Optional | TB-1 | |
Philosophy and Russian (BA) | 120 |
Unit Pass Mark for Undergraduate Programmes:
For details on the weightings for classifying undergraduate degrees, please see the Agreed Weightings, by Faculty, to be applied for the Purposes of Calculating the Final Programme Mark and Degree Classification in Undergraduate Programmes.
For detailed rules on progression please see the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes and the relevant faculty handbook.
Please refer to the specific progression/award requirements for programmes with a preliminary year of study, the Gateway programmes and International Foundation programmes.
All undergraduate degree programmes allow the opportunity for a student to exit from a programme with a Diploma or Certificate of Higher Education.
Integrated Master's degrees may also allow the opportunity for a student to exit from the programme with an equivalent Bachelor's degree where a student has achieved 360 credit points, of which 90 must be at level 6, and has successfully met any additional criteria as described in the programme specification.
The opportunities for a student to exit from one of the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry with an Award is outlined in the relevant Programme Regulations (which are available as an annex in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes).
An Ordinary degree can be awarded if a student has successfully completed at least 300 credits with a minimum of 60 credits at Level 6.
The pass mark for the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine and Dentistry is 50 out of 100. The classification of a degree in the professional programmes in Veterinary Science, Medicine, and Dentistry is provided in the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided.
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