Course Catalogue

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This is an Honours level interdisciplinary course which introduces visiting students to the ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment and their lasting influence.

One x 1 hour lecture per week. One seminar per week.

This course is open in the first instance ONLY to visiting students from the Principia Consortium (consortium of US Liberal Arts Colleges). In the event of the course being undersubscribed, places MAY be made available to other visiting students at the discretion of Scottish Literature.

This course is available only to visiting students from the Principia Consortium. It is not at present open to home students.

Along with this course, Prinicipia students will be required to choose and undertake other University courses to satisfy their credit requirements.

2000-word essay (40%)

3000-word essay (60%)

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to: 

■ introduce students to key themes, issues and ideas of the Scottish Enlightenment with particular emphasis upon exploring their continued relevance.

■ examine the legacy of the Scottish Enlightenment in diverse areas of culture and intellectual enquiry.

■ make students aware of the current approaches being taken by scholars towards the Enlightenment and of areas of particular controversy and debate

■ enhance critical, discursive and analytical skills through completion of written assessment

■ provide a unique learning experience through excursions and site visits

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ understand key themes, ideas and issues related to the Scottish Enlightenment

■ evaluate the intellectual and cultural legacy of the Scottish Enlightenment

■ analyse the latest critical thinking on the subject, including areas of particular controversy and debate

■ display critical, discursive and analytical skills through completion of written assessment

■ demonstrate awareness of the historic and cultural dimensions of Glasgow and Scotland

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment