Forms of Identity

An IATL Interdisciplinary Module

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Module Code

IL201-15 Level 5 (Intermediate)
IL301-15 Level 6 (Year 3/Finalist)

Module Convenor

Dr Heather Meyer

Email : Heather.Meyer@warwick.ac.uk

When/Where

Spring Term:

Thursday 12:00 - 14:00

Venue:

Studio 1 (Millburn House)

Assessment

Interdisciplinary Critical Response (40%)
Student Devised Assessment (60%)

What is the module about?

Forms of Identity investigates individual identity, national identity, biological identity, gender identity, racial and ethnic identity, (among many more). This module is considered to be ‘blended’: incorporating a series of online activities, online/face-to-face multidisciplinary peer group work, face-to-face seminars, readings, and practical exercises designed by a series of disciplinary Specialist Contributors from across the University and beyond.

This module will support you in reflecting on Identity in new and creative ways, with the heart of the module being student-led. This means that you will have the opportunity to shape your own learning in the direction that is most relevant to you, through collaborating and co-creating the weekly content, as well as through the module’s flexible assessment programme. This module will encourage you to consider the ever-increasing and developing prominence of consumer, hybrid, border, and marginal identities, and the notion that identity can shift, that it can be fragmented, and that a variety of identities can exist simultaneously.

Forms of Identity is offered by the Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL) and is available at 15 CATS to undergraduates from across the University of Warwick who are in their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of study.

*NOTE: this module consists of a weekly 2-hour session, and not 1.5 hours as stated in the video.

For more detail on this module, please see the explanatory video on this page. Please do feel free to contact the Module Convenor, Dr Heather Meyer at any time for more information.

What will the module cover?

Each week will be delivered by a Specialist Contributor representing a different disciplinary perspective on the theme of Identity. The content that is delivered will come in two formats: a pre-recorded ‘mini presentation’ for you to go through asynchronously online (through Moodle), and then later in the face-to-face session on Thursdays, which will focus on active learning & discussion. You will also be assigned to a multidisciplinary team of 5 – representing students from across the university – and you will be asked to do a small homework task together each week, designed by that week’s Specialist Contributor.

This structure gives you the opportunity to explore the content thoroughly prior to the in-person session – first on your own, and then with a small group. By the time you come to class, you’ll be ready to meet the Specialist Contributor in person, and hit the ground running!

The Thursday session will be divided into two parts:

First Half: With the Weekly Specialist Contributor

Second Half: With the Module Convenor

Weekly Schedule *

Week 1: Introduction to Identity and Interdisciplinarity

Week 2: Gender and Identity

Week 3: Race, Ethnicity and Identity

Week 4: National Identity and Migration

Week 5: Biological Identity

Week 6: Personal Identity

Week 7: Global Identity and the Climate Crisis

Week 8: Media and Identity

Week 9: Food and Identity

Week 10: Consolidation

*subject to change

How will I be assessed?

1) Interdisciplinary Critical Response (40%)

Students will write an interdisciplinary critical response to a source of their choice, as it relates to the theme of ‘identity’. The source of inspiration can be an object, an image, a video, a performance, a piece of artwork, a reading, etc. The response must incorporate relevant theories and readings they have encountered so far on the module, and must demonstrate interdisciplinary critical thinking. As it is a critical response, there is a reflective element to this piece of writing.

2) Student Devised Assessment (60%)

This is an interdisciplinary research project, demonstrated through a negotiated format. This will be the final piece of assessed work submitted by the student. (2,500 words or equivalent).

More information about assessment methods, can be found on our page: IATL Assessment Methods

What skills will I develop?

You will learn how to:

Develop an understanding of the limits of notions such as the nature of individual identity broadly, national identity, bodily identity, gender identity, ethnic identity, personal identity, organisational identity, and spiritual identity.
Make decisions concerning the importance of consumer, hybrid, border, and marginal identities, and the notion that identity can shift, that it can be fragmented, and that a variety of identities can exist simultaneously.
Explore the relationship between the mind and the body in the formation of identity.
Develop an awareness of the limits of traditionally distinct but well-established disciplines.
Develop problem-based learning skills, including interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary approaches, and the significance of critical reflection in these processes.
Develop communication skills, as you design and manage your own academic and research activity, work in a team, and collaborate with your peers.

Learning outcomes

Module catalogue link

Please select IL201-15 Level 5 (Intermediate)Link opens in a new window

IL301-15 Level 6 (Third Year / Finalist)

How to apply

Complete our online form to request your place.

Once IATL have confirmed you have been allocated a place, follow your home department's procedure to register.

Apply for this module

Institute for Advanced Teaching and Learning (IATL)