Exploring the Past
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Exploring the Past has been developed to help you realise your ambition to study for a degree in history, ancient history, archaeology or religion. It allows you to study within a timescale, framework and environment designed specifically to cater for the needs of busy adult learners.
Exploring the Past is made up of six exciting and innovative 10-credit modules in archaeology, religious studies and history (ancient, medieval and modern). Not only is each module fascinating in its own right, but the pathway will also prepare you for Higher Education by giving you the skills and experience you need to study for degrees in these subjects at Cardiff University. The pathway is a collaboration between the Centre for Lifelong Learning (LEARN) and the School of History, Archaeology and Religion (SHARE) at Cardiff University. It combines LEARN’s vast experience of progressing and supporting adult learners with SHARE’s exciting teaching and research expertise. Exploring the Past modules are taught by people with both expert subject knowledge and the ability to equip you with the skills you need to study successfully in Higher Education.
An exciting alternative to ‘A’ Level and Access qualifications
Unlike A Levels and Access routes, the Exploring the Past Pathway is taught in the evenings and at weekends so you can fit it around other commitments like work and family. It is also assessed in similar ways to first year undergraduate modules and will provide you with firsthand experience of studying at degree level in a vibrant Higher Education environment. Even better, you don’t need any prior qualifications to get started.
A clear pathway onto a degree
All students who successfully complete the Exploring the Past Pathway will automatically qualify for an interview onto either a full-time or part-time degree scheme in history, ancient history, archaeology or religion. If you are then accepted onto a degree you will be eligible for ‘advanced standing’ of 60 credits. This means that credits from Exploring the Past can contribute directly towards the first year of your degree.
Get more information about the structure of the Exploring the Past Pathway.
An affordable way into university study
Exploring the Past offers a route into university that is not only flexible, open and inclusive, but also affordable. Concessionary rates are offered for certain groups, plus if you are on DWP benefits or claiming working tax credits you may be eligible a fee waiver or our bursary scheme.
To receive further information about the Exploring the Past Pathway, please contact Dr Richard Marsden, the Exploring the Past Co-ordinator, by phoning (029) 2087 5610 or emailing Marsdenr@cf.ac.uk. You can also follow us on Facebook.
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Group 1 Core Courses
Exploring Religion: Past & Present
Through a series of stimulating case-studies on world religions throughout the ages, this course considers the study of religion from a variety of perspectives including historical, anthropological, textual, and psychological. In so doing it will equip you with study skills necessary for studying religion in an academic context.
Exploring the Past: Archaeology
Archaeologists do much more than dig. This course offers an introduction to archaeological methods and interpretation on a case-study basis. It covers topics such as how sites are discovered and excavated, how long is the archaeological past actually is, and who do we really study it for? It then introduces some of the techniques that allow a reconstruction of life in the past.
Exploring the Past: History
Where do our national identities come from? Why do we feel Welsh or Scottish or Irish or English? This course will seek to answer these questions through a stimulating series of case studies on identity in the British Isles. At the same time it will introduce you to some of the skills that you need to get the most from historical study.
Group 2 Optional Courses
Ancient Empires
The ancient world is defined by its empires. This course will consider some of the great empires of the ancient world, from Assyria to Rome. It will seek to identify the causes and methods of imperial expansion, and the ideological justifications for imperial rule.
Art, Archaeology and Culture in Ancient Greece
This course explores the art and archaeology of Greece from the Bronze Age to the end of the Classical period. It deals with sculpture, architecture, painted pottery and wall painting, and places these artistic developments in their social, political and historical context.
Bringing the Past to Life? History, Historians and Television
Who are history TV programmes for? What can studying history documentaries tell us about the way that historians and TV producers approach their craft? This summer school will explore the styles and techniques that the makers of historical documentaries employ to ‘reconstruct’ the past.
Celtic Folklore in Britain and Ireland
Celtic folklore often conjures up visions of mystical spirits and ancient worlds. This course aims to look beyond such romantic notions and consider the varied range of folklore in Britain and Ireland. It will examine how people in the past viewed their world and how folklore has been adapted in modern life.
Magic in the Ancient World
In many societies of the ancient world magic was seen as absolutely real and played an important role in how people lived. This course will explore magical practices and theories in ancient Near Eastern, Greek and Roman cultures. Using literary and historical texts as well as visual and material artefacts and evidence, this course will examine a wide range of magical practices and techniques including amulets, drugs and incantations, curse tablets, sacrifice, divination, shape-changing and necromancy.
Past Perspectives of Disability
Is the concept of disability a modern one? Were there many disabled people in the past? How was disability viewed by past cultures - with sympathy, hostility, indifference? Using early modern England (c. 1500-1800) as a case study this course will attempt to address some of these questions.
The Archaeology of Death and Burial
Death is a universal human experience, but the variety of responses is staggering. How can we make sense of this diversity? And what can this tell us about past societies? This summer school introduces the study of funerary archaeology and uses both archaeological and anthropological techniques to answer these questions.
