Module PHL1007 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL1007: Philosophical Reading 1
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
In this module you will learn and practise the most important basic skill for philosophy students, namely to read a philosophical text. Close reading is crucial for philosophical analysis, understanding and interpretation.
Because of the nature of this module, its syllabus varies from year to year, depending on the text(s) selected.
This year (2015/16) it will be Plato’s Republic.
This will be a foundation module for the SH degree programme in Philosophy, and for the modular degree pathway in philosophy. It will also be available to students from other schools and departments as an optional course in philosophy. This course will familiarise the student with the fundamental techniques required to read, understand, criticize, a philosophical text. It will proceed by in-depth reading and analysis of one or more philosophical texts. Given the introductory nature of this module, we will focus on texts that require no specific background philosophical knowledge and combine high philosophical quality with historical relevance and clarity of presentation.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
---|---|
Module-Specific Skills | 1. engage in in-depth analysis of a text, and reasoning about abstract matters |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 2. analyse arguments, understand the historical and social context of production of a philosophical text, criticise it, and write well-argued essays. |
Personal and Key Skills | 3. construct and evaluate arguments, to formulate and express ideas at different levels of abstraction, to assess and criticise the views of others. |
Module Content
Syllabus Plan
Because of the nature of this module, its syllabus varies from year to year, depending on the text(s) selected.
This year (2016/17) it will be Plato’s Republic.
Learning and Teaching
This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
---|---|---|
27 | 123 | 0 |
...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
---|---|---|
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 22 hours | 11 x two hour seminars |
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | 5 hours | Two essay writing workshops and a revision session |
Guided independent study | 123 hours | Independent study |
Online Resources
This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).
ELE - http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/
How this Module is Assessed
In the tables below, you will see reference to 'ILO's. An ILO is an Intended Learning Outcome - see Aims and Learning Outcomes for details of the ILOs for this module.
Formative Assessment
A formative assessment is designed to give you feedback on your understanding of the module content but it will not count towards your mark for the module.
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|
Seminar presentation or discussion summary | 5 minutes | 1-3 | Oral feedback |
Summative Assessment
A summative assessment counts towards your mark for the module. The table below tells you what percentage of your mark will come from which type of assessment.
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
---|---|---|
30 | 70 | 0 |
...and this table provides further details on the summative assessments for this module.
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
---|---|---|---|---|
Essay | 30 | 1,500 words | 1-3 | Written feedback |
Examination | 70 | 1.5 hours | 1-3 | Written feedback |
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 | ||||
0 |
Re-assessment
Re-assessment takes place when the summative assessment has not been completed by the original deadline, and the student has been allowed to refer or defer it to a later date (this only happens following certain criteria and is always subject to exam board approval). For obvious reasons, re-assessments cannot be the same as the original assessment and so these alternatives are set. In cases where the form of assessment is the same, the content will nevertheless be different.
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
---|---|---|---|
Essay | Essay 1,500 words | 1-3 | August/September reassessment period |
Examination | Examination (1.5 hours) | 1-3 | August/September reassessment period |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
You can use any edition that contains the full text. Recommended edition: Plato’s Republic, Trans. Desmond Lee with Intro by Melissa Lane, Penguin Classic (2007).