HIS-10031 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2020/21

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2020/21

'Princes and Peoples' is concerned with the early modern period, a time of dramatic change for all people in Europe and a time of unremitting hardship and struggle for many. Between the late fifteenth and the late seventeenth centuries, European rulers tried to strengthen their authority, often involving an increase in military power. These attempts provoked internal resistance and revolt, as well as frequent foreign wars. Expansion in trade and rising population brought rich opportunities for some social groups, as well as increased poverty for others. The fragmentation of religious unity through the challenge of the Protestant Reformation to the medieval Catholic church inaugurated a century or more of religious conflict within communities and between states. The religious map of Europe had changed fundamentally by the end of the seventeenth century, as medieval Christendom fragmented into a range of different affiliations, whether to a revitalised Catholicism or one of many Protestant churches.
As well as analysing the aims and successes of the powerful, this module also examines the ways in which poorer individuals and families made a living and sought to improve their existence. These centuries are the period of the witch-craze and one lecture explores the claims of witches and the fears of their persecutors. We also study the 'discovery' of the New World as Europeans reached the Caribbean and the Americas, a process which had a significant impact on the imagination and social life of the people of the 'old' world, as well as a traumatic effect on indigenous peoples of the 'new' world.
Five main themes are addressed: in 'Power' we discuss the nature of monarchical authority, developments in warfare, and resistance to government; 'Economy' includes consideration of population change and the growth of towns; 'Religion' focuses on the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, and responses to religious division; 'Life at the margins' explores the experiences of poor and marginal groups, including a study of witchcraft; and 'Europe and the Wider World' looks at the encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples in the Caribbean and the Americas.
This module is taught by leading scholars of early modern Europe, and is delivered via weekly lectures and weekly, small-group seminars. There are rich online resources available to support this module, including those connected to the course set-books.
No previous knowledge of early modern Europe is assumed and the module will appeal to all students interested in how historical developments can cast light on current problems and dilemmas, as well as being a vital module for students taking principal history.
Students may find the following works helpful as introductions to the period and themes of the module, and throughout the study of this module:
Merry Wiesner Hanks, Early Modern Europe (Cambridge, 2005; 2013)
B. Kümin, The European World, 1500-1800 (London, 2018)
Richard Bonney, The European Dynastic States, 1494-1660, (Oxford, 1991)
Euan Cameron, ed, Early Modern Europe (Oxford, 2001).

This module introduces first-year students from any discipline to the study of the most significant developments in European history from the late fifteenth century to the late seventeenth century (i.e. from about the 1490s, when Columbus first landed in the New World, to the end of the seventeenth century, when Isaac Newton was publishing his ideas about gravity). It covers political, economic, religious and social themes, and considers Europe within a wider world context. It aims to advance students' historical knowledge and understanding by enabling participants on the module to comprehend sympathetically a society and culture very different to today, because people's ideas and motivations were based on beliefs and knowledge that might seem quite alien to us in the twenty-first century.

Intended Learning Outcomes

recognise and explain the most significant political, economic, social and religious developments in European history of the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, and to discuss sympathetically a society and culture distinct from their own: 1,2
assess critically different historical explanations: 1,2
develop and demonstrate general skills in time-management, reading effectively, note-taking from lectures and reading material, oral presentation and debate, essay writing and exam revision: 1,2
assess the balance between change and continuity in early modern European history, and to relate detailed evidence and case studies to more general issues: 1,2

Study hours

10 one-hour lectures; 10 one-hour seminar classes; 40 hours seminar preparation; 40 hours essay preparation; 30 hours lecture consolidation; 20 hours exam revision and cmpletion.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment