Assessment will be 100% by a portfolio of work. The portfolio will include at least one academic essay or an equivalent piece of writing, and also some on-going and formative work such as contributions to a discussion forum, or virtual presentations to the group.
[Learning Outcomes 1-3]

Normally, this module will be an extended research workshop on a topic of current research interest to the tutor. However, it could also be made up of two or even three shorter workshops built around different topics (for example, the work of a visiting speaker). In the latter case, the make-up of the portfolio assessment would need to be different, or order to ensure that the assessment represents more fully the range of content on the module.

As an example, the module could concern itself with the early work of Karl Marx, and its relationship to the Young Hegelians, leading up to the 20th anniversary of Marx's birth in 2018. The module would commence with an overview of the Hegelian ideas of dialectic, production, freedom and the relation between civil society and the state. It would then read a selection of Young Hegelians, with a particular focus on Feuerbach, and the idea of criticism and the inversion of the Hegelian dialectic. The remainder of the module would read through the work of Marx from 1843-45, specifically focusing on Douglas Burnham and Peter Lamb's current work on the concepts of alienation and its relation to theological criticism.

The module will in many cases and in many respects be on a conventional DL model: weekly reading, notes and tasks, plus discussion forums and other formative/ on-going assessments, leading ultimately to a medium length research essay. However, because it is a module designed to allow students an opportunity to engage with and contribute to new research work, it is likely that the emphasis will move from delivering known information and knowledge, to delivering speculative or open-ended ideas. Thus, the emphasis will be more on students engaging as participants within a research process. For that reason, it is likely that the portfolio in most cases will put less emphasis on a academically competent end-product, and more on the process itself.

Balibar, Etienne (2014). The Philosophy of Marx. Trans. C. Turner. Verso.
Holt, Justin. (2012). Marx's Philosophy of Nature, Action and Society. Cambridge.
Leopold, David (2010). The Young Karl Marx. Cambridge.
Tabak, Mehmet. (2012) Dialectics of Human Nature in Marx's Philosophy. Palgrave.
Wendling, Amy (2013). Karl Marx on Technology and Alienation. Palgrave.

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