Module SOC3046 for 2018/9
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
SOC3046: The Holocaust and Society
This module descriptor refers to the 2018/9 academic year.
Module Aims
This is an interdisciplinary course, and not as such a history of the Holocaust. It combines historical and social scientific inquiry with philosophical reflection on the nature and significance of the Holocaust and (possibly) kindred events, processes and institutions. Reflecting its interdisciplinary ethos, the module is delivered simultaneously to social science students and philosophy students taking PHL3046 - because historical and social scientific explanation and understanding of the Holocaust and kindred phenomena inherently raises questions of a philosophical nature. In this module you will therefore draw on theories, methodologies and concepts from sociology, social psychology, historical explanation and moral philosophy. Issues to be explored include: questions on what kind of event the Holocaust was, what kind of knowledge and understanding it affords, and its relationship to other events and practices of a putatively similar kind; different approaches to explaining the causes, conditions and essential features of the Holocaust; the nature of evil and the moral character of perpetrators and other participants; the relationship between the Holocaust and modernity; reflection on human nature, civilisation, social organisation and social progress; questions on perpetrator motivation and action, moral responsibility and blame.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
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Module-Specific Skills | 1. Think social scientifically about the nature, origins and causes of the Holocaust. 2. Reflect critically on the significance and import of the Holocaust for wider conceptions of the social organisation and ethical life of modern societies. 3. Examine critically and assess some of the leading philosophical, social scientific and interpretative attempts to account for socially organised evil- and wrong-doing in modern societies. |
Discipline-Specific Skills | 4. Apply and evaluate a range of social scientific and historical explanations and theories of the Holocaust and to identify and reflect on the puzzling and disturbing issues that they generate 5. Reflect on the core social scientific and historical disciplines as explanatory and interpretive endeavours and assess their success and limitations in making sense of the Holocaust and other kindred events, processes and institutions |
Personal and Key Skills | 6. Reflect on, and examine critically, taken-for-granted moral and cultural beliefs and values 7. Analyse and communicate, clearly and directly, a range of social scientific, theoretical, explanatory, epistemological, ontological, and normative issues arising from study of the Holocaust and other kindred events, processes and institutions 8. Work independently, within a limited time frame, and without access to external sources, to complete a specified task. |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Peer marking and assessment exercise to show students practically good and bad practice and operative practical marking criteria | Seminar based exercise; no coursework | 1-6 | In class |
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 |
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50 | 50 | 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 |
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Essay | 50 | 1,800 words | 1-7 | Written feedback |
Examination | 50 | 1.5 hours | 1-8 | Written feedback |
0 | ||||
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 |
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Essay | Essay (1,800 words) | 1-7 | August/September assessment period |
Examination | Examination (1.5 hours) | 1-8 | August/September assessment period |