Welsh, Politics and International Relations (BA)

Our aim is to support you to become an independent thinker. You’ll learn through a wide range of teaching methods including lectures, lively discussion-based seminars and workshops.

Lectures take a range of forms, but generally provide a broad structure for each subject, introduce key concepts, and convey relevant up-to-date information.

Seminars provide an opportunity to ask questions and discuss key ideas in a small group environment. This helps you to integrate the information and ideas you receive from lectures and readings and to explore issues critically and in depth. Set questions and readings form the basis for discussion by directing your attention to relevant aspects of the subject matter and to various types of sources of information. Giving presentations develops your capacity to gather, organise and synthesise relevant information and ideas and to communicate these in a logical and concise manner. Tutor-led and student-led discussion hones logical skills and gives you practice in applying different concepts, theories and methods to the subject-matter at hand. It also exposes you to different interpretations of political ideas and events. Group problem-solving will help to develop collaborative skills. Workshops are like seminars, but they tend to involve more structured activities and the involvement of more students and staff.

For Welsh, there is also an important role to be played by tutorials, workshops and language classes, especially if you’re following the second language route. You’ll have access to all course materials through our electronic learning environment.

In this supportive environment, you’ll develop your abilities to closely analyse texts and arguments, evaluate evidence, collaboratively work through problems, construct your own arguments, hone your language skills, and present your ideas clearly to others.  

Our in-person, face-to-face teaching and learning is supported and complemented by various digital tools. Each module makes extensive use of Learning Central, which is the university’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). On Learning Central, you’ll find discussion forums, pre-recorded videos, links to relevant web-based resources, multimedia materials and course materials.

How will I be supported?

Your main sources of support are your module leaders and your Personal Tutors. You will have one Personal Tutor in Welsh and one in politics and international relations, where Welsh-speaking personal tutors are also available.  Personal Tutors can advise you on academic matters, including study skills, career planning (in conjunction with the University’s careers support), and your academic progress, as well as on pastoral matters and you’ll be invited to meet with them regularly throughout your degree. They will also provide a first point of contact if you experience any difficulties.

Additionally, all teaching staff keep set office hours when you can meet with them and discuss any learning queries from the module or from your studies in general.  Your module leaders are available during teaching weeks if you have any questions about course materials or assessments.

All modules within the programme make extensive use of the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, Learning Central, where you can access discussion forums and find course materials including multimedia materials, presentations, lecture handouts, bibliographies, further links, electronic exercises, discussion groups, etc. You’ll also be able to reflect on your progress and on the skills that you will develop through a section on the University’s Central Learning site called Planning Personal Development.

Our Professional Services teams provide you with information and guidance if you have any queries. In addition, the University offers a range of support services (co-located at the University's Centre for Student Life) and events to help you plan your career, manage your emotional, mental and physical health, support you with financial issues, and provide assistance for students with disabilities.  There is also a designated member of staff in each subject to ensure that reasonable adjustments are made for students with disabilities.  Libraries, study spaces and other resource centres will all be available to you all year round.

Feedback

Assessments are not used solely for marking purposes. They are mainly used to provide advice and written feedback to help you to achieve the learning outcomes on each module and to help explain what is required to improve your work in future. This is known as formative feedback.

Formative feedback helps you to:

• Identify your strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work;
• Address problems identified with targeted strategies for improvement. This is sometimes called ‘feedforward’.

The marking dimension of assessment also has a name: summative assessment. It is summative feedback that contributes to progression and degree classification decisions. The goal of summative assessment is to indicate how well you have succeeded in meeting the intended learning outcomes of a module or programme. All feedback should link to assessment criteria that is readily available for you to consult.

Beyond comments on work submitted, oral feedback may also be given in lectures, seminars, personal tutor meetings, and other learning environments.

How will I be assessed?

The programme structure is intended to progressively develop skills of academic study and independent research. This is delivered through a carefully designed teaching programme which is supported by bespoke study skills sessions within first year provision, specific research training in the second year, and longer research essays, primary research exercises at third year.

Forms of teaching and assessment across the 3 years of the programme include a wide range of methods and approaches. These include essays, group work, written examinations, portfolios, primary document analysis, presentations, writing briefings, and learning diaries.

Your assessments are designed to cumulatively develop key skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking and reflection. These can include critical analyses of texts, essays, exams, critical reviews, presentations, group work and group discussion assessments, and reflective assessment of your own skills. In the final year, in Welsh you’ll undertake an independent research project.

Optional modules can offer a wider variety of assessments, including writing for a public audience, commenting on an artwork or a media piece, or creative assignments.

What skills will I practise and develop?

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will achieve by the end of your programme at Cardiff University and identify the knowledge and skills that you will develop. They will also help you to understand what is expected of you.

On successful completion of your Programme, you will be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding:

• Understand the structures, registers and varieties of Welsh and use them flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes, as appropriate.
• Demonstrate a critical understanding of core concepts and theories in both politics and international relations. Examples of these concepts and theories include sovereignty, power, governance, justice, human rights, and diplomacy.
• Critique the development of the Welsh language and its literature in different historical periods, from a linguistic, literary, and social context as well as an understanding of the attempts to restore and promote the language.
• Critically analyse aspects of Welsh-language culture, literature, history and society, drawing on a range of materials and approaches.  
• Analyse the evolution and functions of various political institutions across a range of settings.
• Examine how globalisation and transnational issues (e.g., climate change, migration, terrorism) influence both domestic and international political agendas.
• Demonstrate an understanding of political and policy-making processes and their impacts both within individual states and/or the international relations between states and non-state actors.

Intellectual Skills:

• Critically analyse how meanings are created through language, and the effective power of language.
• Develop independent and innovative responses to linguistic, literary, critical, cultural and creative material in writing and in speech, and for different audiences. 
• Critically evaluate texts, data, concepts, and theories relevant to the context of the Welsh language and Welsh literature, and Welsh politics using the appropriate vocabulary and terminology.
• Apply the appropriate methods of analysis to examine the political systems, ideologies, and institutions across different regions of the world.
• Interpret complex global political events and trends by synthesising diverse political, economic, and cultural perspectives.
• Assess the impact and legacy of historical events and processes on contemporary politics and international relations.
• Select political and international relations-related information and data in a critical and discerning manner, and use, manage, synthesise that information and data effectively and ethically.  

Professional Practical Skills:

• Produce a range of material using written and spoken Welsh that is appropriate for the workplace and intended to address a range of audiences.
• Effectively communicate complex information and concepts to both specialist and non-specialist audiences through a variety of formats, for example via presentations, reports, and/or policy briefs.
• Utilise relevant and effective research techniques.
• Demonstrate an awareness of the ethical considerations and challenges faced in political and international relations research and practice, such as human rights and global justice.
• Articulate and evaluate your own academic and professional skills.

Transferable/Key Skills:

• Effectively use relevant IT programmes, including Welsh medium software, to present and analyse materials.
• Develop intercultural awareness and communication skills by engaging with diverse political viewpoints and perspectives from around the world.
• Respond to problems creatively, critically and independently.
• Implement task instructions and manage workload effectively to meet deadlines.
• Deliver and act on constructive feedback.
• Demonstrate initiative, resilience, adaptability and creativity, actively reflecting on own studies and achievements.