Learning in this course is based on the active and continuous participation of students in the various scheduled teaching activities. Given that this is a course taught in a face-to-face university setting, regular attendance is an essential element of the learning process. In-person sessions are not limited to the transmission of content; they are spaces for debate, shared reflection, the exchange of ideas, and the collective construction of knowledge that cannot be fully replaced by individual study.

Consequently, regular and punctual attendance is considered essential. Students who, due to their personal circumstances, prefer a non-presential learning model currently have access to institutions specifically designed for that purpose. This course, however, is fully embedded in the in-person teaching model typical of the university.

The learning activities will include:

• Attendance and active participation in classes led by the instructor.
• Reading and discussion of texts and study materials.
• Writing reviews, critical commentaries, and historical analysis exercises.
• Preparation and delivery of oral presentations.
• Participation in individual and collaborative in-class activities.
• Independent study and preparation for assessment tasks.

With the aim of encouraging effective participation and continuous engagement with the course, the instructor may carry out random attendance checks throughout the semester. Likewise, practical activities, collaborative exercises, debates, or other in-class dynamics that contribute to assessment may be scheduled and carried out during sessions without prior notice.

Continuous assessment requires compliance with established deadlines. All assignments, exercises, reviews, commentaries, or other assessed work must be submitted within the specified deadlines and, in any case, before the official end date of the semester teaching period. Once the teaching period has ended, the instructor is under no academic obligation to accept, correct, or grade late submissions, except in duly justified and documented exceptional circumstances.

Regarding in-person written examinations, attendance is mandatory. Absence will only be considered justifiable in serious and unforeseen circumstances, duly supported by official documentation. Such circumstances may include, by way of example, illness or accidents that prevent attendance, medical procedures, hospitalisations, or other sufficiently documented cases of force majeure. Simple schedule conflicts, personal travel, or other ordinary circumstances will not generally be considered valid justification.

Finally, with the aim of contributing to the improvement of teaching quality, instructors may reserve approximately fifteen minutes of a class session for students to complete institutional surveys evaluating teaching performance and the course. Participation in these surveys is strictly voluntary, although it is considered a valuable contribution to the ongoing improvement of university teaching.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment System

Continuous assessment

Continuous assessment is based on the regular monitoring of students’ learning process and combines different assessment instruments in order to evaluate both the acquisition of knowledge and the development of analytical, expressive, and participatory skills.

The final grade will be calculated based on the following components:

• Exam module: 60% of the final grade, divided into two written exams worth 30% each.
• Academic work module: 30% of the final grade. This includes written assignments, text commentaries, reviews, oral presentations, or other activities determined by the teaching staff.
• Attendance and active participation module: 10% of the final grade. This includes regular attendance in class, participation in discussions and classroom activities, involvement in tasks carried out on the virtual campus, and, where applicable, participation in field trips or complementary activities linked to the course.

Throughout the semester, at least three assessment activities will be scheduled, corresponding to at least two different types of tasks. In accordance with current regulations, no single assessment activity may account for more than 50% of the overall course grade.

Assessment activities will be distributed throughout the semester, and their dates will be communicated in advance. Teaching staff will establish specific office hours for the review and discussion of graded activities. Students have the right to review all their grades and will be informed through institutional channels (Moodle, SIA, or equivalent) about the procedures and deadlines for grade review.

Single assessment

Students opting for the single assessment mode will be evaluated as follows:

• Final exam covering the entire course: 60% of the final grade.
• Academic assignments, text commentaries, and other activities: 40% of the final grade.

All activities in this mode must be completed or submitted on the date established by the teaching staff, which will generally coincide with the last teaching day of the course.

Examinations (60%).

This assessment activity evaluates the achievement of the learning outcomes related to the critical understanding of the course contents, the capacity for analysis, interpretation and synthesis, as well as the correct application of the concepts, theories and methodologies studied.

Assignments, text commentaries, oral presentations, etc. (30%)

This assessment activity evaluates the learning outcomes related to research and information management skills, the critical analysis of sources and texts, the development of well-founded arguments, written and oral communication skills, and the autonomous application of acquired knowledge.

Attendance and Active Participation (10%)

This assessment activity evaluates the learning outcomes related to critical and reasoned participation in academic discussions, collaborative work, the ability to reflect on and discuss the course contents, and the continuous engagement with the learning process.

The same assessment method as continuous assessment will be used.

General observations

The course will be considered passed when the student achieves a final grade of 5 out of 10 or higher.

The grade “Not assessable” will be awarded to students who have not submitted assessment activities representing more than 30% of the total course grade.

Any irregularity committed in an assessment activity that may significantly alter the grade will be considered a serious breach of academic integrity. In such cases, the affected activity will be graded 0 (zero), without prejudice to any disciplinary measures the university may take. If multiple irregularities are detected across different activities within the same course, the final grade will be 0 (zero).

In all written activities, special attention will be paid to the quality of written expression. Spelling, syntactic, or lexical errors may result in a penalty of 0.1 to 0.2 points per error deducted from the activity grade. Repeated errors may be subject to a single consolidated penalty.

If exceptional circumstances prevent the in-person delivery of teaching or assessment activities, these will be adapted to the virtual resources provided by the university. Activities may be carried out through forums, video conferences, collaborative spaces, electronic submissions, or other tools available on Moodle, Teams, or equivalent platforms. Teaching staff will ensure student access to these resources and provide reasonable alternatives when necessary.

Assessment dates can’t be changed unless there’s an exceptional and well‑justified reason.

If a student has a documented chronic or acute illness, they can request to postpone the assessment, if it fits within the academic calendar. These requests must be submitted at least seven days in advance and include the required documentation. If the reason is an unexpected situation considered force majeure, the regulations allow the request to be submitted after the scheduled date, provided the documentation is delivered within three working days. This includes situations such as the birth or adoption of a child, or the death of a partner or a close relative (up to second degree). In cases of illness or other circumstances, the documentation must clearly show that the student was not in a condition to take the assessment at the scheduled time. Teaching staff may also use their discretion to consider other circumstances not explicitly listed above.

Erasmus and exchange students who request to advance an exam must present a document from their home university justifying their request.

Use of artificial intelligence

In this course, the use of artificial intelligence tools is permitted exclusively as auxiliary support for tasks such as bibliographic research, information retrieval, linguistic revision, or text translation.

The use of these tools to fully or partially generate assignments, commentaries, exercises, presentations, or any other assessable material is not permitted without explicit and transparent disclosure of their use.

Failure to disclose the use of artificial intelligence technologies will be considered a violation of academic integrity principles and will result in a grade of 0 (zero) for the relevant activity, with no possibility of resubmission, without prejudice to additional disciplinary measures in more serious cases.

Resit assessment

To be eligible for resit assessment, students must have been previously assessed in activities representing at least two-thirds of the total course grade in the continuous assessment mode. In the case of single assessment, all required activities must have been submitted.

Resit assessment will consist of a global exam covering the entire course, scheduled on the official date set by the Faculty and common to students from both assessment modes.

The maximum grade that can be obtained through the resit process is 5 out of 10 (pass).

The purpose of resit assessment is to allow students who have not met the minimum requirements during the regular assessment process to pass the course. It cannot be used as a mechanism to improve the grade of students who have already passed the course.