Unit name | Explorations in Early Modern History |
---|---|
Unit code | HISTM0089 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
Unit director | Dr. Reeks |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
None |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The period c. 1400 – c. 1700 was one of momentous change and upheaval: reformations and revolutions, scientific and geographical discovery, economic and demographic transformation, and artistic and cultural innovation. It is popular and fruitful territory for historical research and, consequently, its history is constantly being revised and rewritten.
This unit will address the most recent historiographical trends and issues in early modern history. Broad themes which can be covered each year include (but are not limited to): the Renaissance and the ‘New Learning’; the Reformation and religious transformation; The New World and ‘Atlantic History’; food, drink and recreation; social status, work and welfare; politics, warfare and ‘state formation’; gender, sex and marriage; magic and witchcraft.
This unit explores the sources, methods, theories and debates which have underpinned these revisions, drawing upon the wide-ranging expertise and current research interests of the teaching team. It therefore aims to:
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
1 x two-hour seminar per week
One 5000-word summative essay (100%) [ILOs 1-4]
J. H. Elliot, Spain, Europe and the Wider World, 1500-1800 (New Haven and London, 2009)
Ronald Hutton (ed.), Medieval or Early Modern: The Value of a Traditional Historical Division (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 2015)
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Reformation: Europe’s House Divided, 1490-1700 (London, 2004)
Lyndal Roper, Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft, Sexuality and Religion in Early Modern Europe (New York and London, 1994)
Margaret Spufford, The World of Rural Dissenters, 1520-1725 (Cambridge, 1995)
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe, 4th ed. (Cambridge, 2019)