HIS-30087 - 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

The English civil wars, the execution of King Charles I, the abolition of the monarchy and house of lords, and the establishment of the first (and currently last) republic in England constitute the most revolutionary period in English history. To contemporaries they were the world turned upside down. They retain their hold today over the popular and scholarly imaginations and can still bitterly divide amateur and professional historians. Many issues of the period - such as the nature of the relationship between England, Scotland, and Ireland, the character of the political process, or what to do about the monarchy or house of lords - find echoes today. This module will seek to explore and analyse the character and events of the 'English revolution' from the the end of the first civil war and the surrender of the king to the Scots, through the regicide and establishment of the first English republic, to the establishment of the Protectorate in 1653, which some saw as the destruction of the changes they had fought for in the previous decade. Topics to be covered will include the development of newspapers in the period, the execution of the king, radical political ideas and the Levellers, political crisis and the failure to find a settlement, and the growth of radical religious ideas.
This module may be linked to the module HIS-30086, The English Civil War, c.1640-46. It may also be linked to the dissertation in History: there is a wealth of source material for a dissertation on the political, social, cultural, military or local history of mid seventeenth-century England available at Keele, including access to every book published in Britain in the period through Early English Books Online.
Students interested in some introductory reading should start with one of the many histories of England in the 1640s and 1650s. Among the best is Austin Woolrych, Britain in Revolution 1625-1660 (2004).

To analyse the political, social, religious, cultural and military history of England from the end of the first civil war, 1646, through the execution of the king and establishment of the English republic, to the collapse of the Rump Parliament and the rule of a Lord Protector, 1653; to enable students to analyse some of the sources used and debates produced by historians in exploring the period.

Intended Learning Outcomes

explain the history of England between c.1646 and c.1653, particularly political, religious, social and cultural change: 1,2
evaluate and critically assess a range of primary sources and use them appropriately in the development of historical analysis: 1,2
compare contemporary responses to the political crises of the period: 1,2
analyse debates about the nature of the English revolution in the period: 1,2

Study hours

150 hours: 20 hours of seminars; 50 hours of seminar preparation; 40 hours researching and writing the source assessment; 40 hours revising for and completing the exam.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment