Studying at York
Approaches to Early Modern History - HIS00029M
Module summary
This core module explores the history of Britain, Europe and the world, 1500-1800. It introduces students to key problems and debates in the existing scholarship, and to a range of methodological approaches taken by historians. The module allows students to read material from across geographical boundaries on topics such as crime and punishment, and religious and supernatural beliefs. Students will explore the full range of primary sources available to historians produced by, and representing, early modern individuals from across the social spectrum, including popular song, art and material culture, alongside court records and other written sources in both print and manuscript. Finally, students will be encouraged to consider how this era has been periodised by scholars of differing traditions.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Autumn Term 2022-23 |
Module aims
The module aims to:
- Examine key themes in the historiography of the early modern period
- Consider Britain as part of Europe and the impact on European identity of exposure to those differing cultures found on Europe’s frontiers and overseas
- Develop skills of source analysis and interpretation
- Assess a range of primary source material
- Develop students’ powers of historical argument
Module learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course students should:
- Be familiar with recent and classic debates in early modern history;
- Have broad knowledge of the range of documentary and other sources available to early modern historians, and how they have been interpreted;
- Be aware of how and why the history of this era has been periodized;
- Have sharpened their skills of critical analysis and presentation;
- Have begun the process of identifying a dissertation research topic.
Module content
Teaching Programme:
Students will attend eight weekly two-hour seminars in weeks 2-9.
Seminars may include:
Week 1 Briefing session
Week 2 Writing the Reformation
Week 3 Globalization
Week 4 Credit and the Social Order
Week 5 The Supernatural
Week 6 Crime and the Law
Week 7 Material Culture and Dress
Week 8 Magic and Science
Week 9 Representing Power
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Students will complete a 2,000 word essay for formative assessment, due in week 6, for which they will receive an individual tutorial.
Students taking the module as a core module will submit a 4,000 word assessed essay in week 10 of the autumn term. For those taking the module as an option module, a 4,000 word assessed essay will be due in week 2 of the spring term.
For further details about assessed work, students should refer to the Statement of Assessment for Taught Postgraduate Programmes.
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
Following their formative assessment task, students will receive written feedback consisting of comments and a mark within 10 working days of submission. They will also receive verbal feedback at an individual tutorial. All students are encouraged, if they wish, to discuss the feedback on their formative work during their tutor’s student hours. For more information, see the Statement on Feedback.
For the summative assessment task, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 20 working days of the submission deadline. Supervisors are available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For more information, see the Statement of Assessment for Taught Postgraduate Programmes.
Indicative reading
For term time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the module starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading:
Wiesner-Hanks, Merry. What is Early Modern History? London: Polity, 2021.
MacCulloch, Diarmaid. Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490-1700. London: Allen Lane, 2003.
Roper, Lyndal. Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft, Sexuality and Religion in Early Modern Europe. London: Routledge, 1994.
Brook, Timothy. Vermeer's Hat: the Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World. London: Profile, 2008.