Unit name | Introduction to Early Modern History |
---|---|
Unit code | HIST13012 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | C/4 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Jones |
Open unit status | Open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This outline is designed to introduce students to some key movements and concepts in early modern European history. This was a period of fundamental change, when the shape and structure of the major European states and the lives of their peoples were radically transformed. In the fifteenth century the majority of western Europeans were Catholic Christians who were ruled by a personal monarchy and inhabited rural areas increasingly destabilised by demographic crises. By the end of the sixteenth century, populations had rebounded, the western Church had split, government had become more centralised and Europe had developed trading networks that encompassed the globe. These changes, which were accompanied by the great cultural developments brought about by the Renaissance and the printing press, make this one of the most enduringly fascinating periods in Europe’s history.
Aims:
2 x 1hr lectures weekly over 10 weeks plus 1 x 1hr seminar weekly over 10 weeks.
1 x 2000 word essay (formative), 1 x 2 hour exam (100%).
Richard Bonney, The European Dynastic States, 1494-1660 (Oxford, 1991)
Jerry Brotton, The Renaissance: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford, 2006)
Euan Cameron, The Sixteenth Century (Oxford, 2006)
Patrick Collinson, The Reformation (London, 2005)
John Guy, Tudor England (Oxford, 1988)
Beat Kümin (ed.), The European World: An Introduction to Early Modern History (London, 2009).
Robin W. Winks & Lee Palmer Wandel, Europe in a Wider World, 1350-1650 (Oxford, 2003)