Module manager: Dr John Wright
Email: j.wright3@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 2 (Jan to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2026/27
FOAH5000M Engaging the Modern City
This module is not approved as an Elective
This module aims to connect you to the city and wider region of Leeds through a research-based engagement with a local organisation. It will develop your applied research, employability and teamworking skills as you work in interdisciplinary project teams with other students. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
Drawing on current debates and dilemmas within the sector alongside your experience as a post-graduate student, you will engage directly with the needs of the modern city of Leeds. You will work with a Leeds-based organisation, who have agreed to be partners on this module. They may come from community, culture or the third sector. You will work with this partner organisation to define what their needs are. Together with the partner your group will negotiate a response to a ‘project brief’, and then work together to adapt this brief to fit your group’s research skills and interests.
On successful completion of the module students will be able to:
1. Design and undertake interdisciplinary, collaborative research that is relevant to aspects of regional culture, policy, society and economy.
2. Critically engage with the civic and cultural identity of the region, and the factors that influence it.
3. As part of a public-facing research team, develop and deliver a project brief in an ethical and professional way.
4. Utilise communication skills, including interpersonal, digital and presentation skills.
5. Reflect on your practice and how it relates to personal and team development.
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 6 | 0.5 | 3 |
| Lecture | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 277 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 23 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 300 | ||
Each group will also have supervision contact time with a member of the module teaching team. Lecture/seminars are important points for formative feedback, with time to discuss progress on each assessment and the student groups overall projects. The first piece of coursework, while summative, is worth 35% of the overall module mark, this allows you to formatively practice reflective and interpersonal skills prior to the second submission.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Assignment | 35 |
| Coursework | Assignment | 65 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
The exact form of each assessment point will be outlined on the assessment brief. In most cases, resits will take the same type of task, though in some cases we may need to change this (e.g. from a group to individual submission). Please note that, due to the nature of the module, in some cases it may only be possible to resit the module by retaking it, including teaching, at the next opportunity.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 02/03/2026
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