AD3047 - Public Humanities: Academic Research in the Wider World

What will I learn on this module?

This module showcases the wider applications of Humanities research outside of the academic sector, ensuring that students are aware of the potential uses and value of their university degree from the outset. It achieves this by exploring just some of the many ways in which Humanities academics work with external groups and organisations in the wider world beyond universities. In turn the module encourages students to reflect on the ways in which their degree offers a wide set of skills and approaches to learning that can be deployed in an enormous range of settings including: human resources; local councils; police, the NHS, the legal sector; government work and policy; cultural and heritage institutions; environmental agencies; the charitable and NGO sector; schools and education. Whilst teaching students about the potential relevance and application of their degree in the widest sense, the module also helps students to refine their individual research interests and strengths by reflecting on, and developing, their own specific interests and skills whilst also working collaboratively on a bigger team project. The module therefore prepares Humanities students for future undergraduate study and graduate careers by making clear the role of universities as outward-facing institutions, and providing an opportunity for students to explore future professional interests within a supported environment.

How will I learn on this module?

From week one, students will be assigned a group and will be encouraged to work as a team throughout the module. The final assignment (worth 100%) will be undertaken as a group project.

The seminar tutor will attend all sessions, providing consistency and support throughout the learning experience of the module.

The module will comprise of an introductory week, followed by a series of case study weeks in which Humanities academic staff will each lead on a case study (lecture + workshop) detailing the ways in which they work with external companies, groups and institutions. The case study sessions will provide first-hand examples that get students thinking about how Humanities research connects with a huge range of wider concerns and initiatives beyond academic life. Each lecture will be followed by a Q&A session, chaired by the seminar tutor and in which students will be encouraged to formulate relevant questions to help broaden and grow their own interests and approaches to collaborative project work. The students will then undertake a workshop task, set by that week’s lecturer and supported by the seminar leader.

The final weeks of teaching will be dedicated to supporting students through the group assessment project. Detailed guidance and support will be provided for the assessment, and students will start workshopping their ideas in the class time of these final weeks, receiving feedback and support from their peers and seminar tutor.

How will I be supported academically on this module?

You will be supported by a seminar tutor who attends all workshops and ensures join up across the individual topics taught each week. Lectures will be accompanied by workshops allowing students to explore and test their ideas, and assignments will be supported through in-class learning, presentations (to pitch assignment ideas and receive feedback) and time in class to work on assignments in a supported manner. Students will also be encouraged to work in groups, fostering a sense of peer support and team collaboration.

What will I be expected to read on this module?

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

What will I be expected to achieve?

Knowledge & Understanding:
• Understand how traditional academic research informs, and is applied in, the wider world

• Ability to identify specific beneficiaries for research and its applications beyond academia

• Awareness of the varied ways in which we can measure and evaluate the value and impact of expert knowledge in the wider world

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• Ability to identify connectivity between academic study and wider world

• Demonstrate an ability to develop and extend existing research, showing how it can be further applied to wider concerns and challenges

• Pitching and presenting ideas in oral and written professional contexts

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• Collaborative team work
• Development of individual curiosity and interests
• Resilience to respond to new challenges
• Careers awareness about the wide range of employment options open to Humanities graduates
• Cultural awareness of the importance of Humanities subjects for the UK workplace and society

How will I be assessed?

Students will work in groups to develop and write a simulated project proposal that connects outside groups with existing Humanities research.

This will be assessed through:

1. Group pitch (formative): Project Proposal
2. Group project (summative), worth 100%, of Portfolio of work to include:
(a) ‘Project Proposal’ template adhering to word counts for each section (2,500 words)
(a) Reflective personal statement assessing individual input and experience of group work (500 words).

Pre-requisite(s)

N/A

Co-requisite(s)

N/A

Module abstract

This module explores the public role of Humanities research and considers its uses in the wider world, outside of universities. Over the course of a semester, it explores a number of different case studies in which academics reveal how their own research engages with external groups and organisations, using this to reflect on the particular challenges and approaches this entails. Students draw on this teaching to undertake an assessed group project in which they design an outward-facing research project that is connected to existing Humanities research. This will give students a better sense of the importance and relevance of their own studies to diverse groups and professional sectors, and to consider how their degree is preparing them for a wide range of exciting careers beyond university.

Course info

UCAS Code L8L9

Credits 20

Level of Study Undergraduate

Mode of Study 1 year Full Time followed by a further 3 years Full Time or 4 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad

Department Humanities

Location City Campus, Northumbria University

City Newcastle

Start September 2025

Fee Information

Module Information

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.  

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

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