Gender in Early Modern Britain - Semester 1 - HIS00131H

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Module summary

The early modern period saw the spread of anxiety over gender roles. Religious change, intellectual and scientific developments, and the experience of civil war in Britain caused people to question social and political norms, which were often deeply rooted in patriarchal gender ideology. The spread of literacy and of print culture allowed people to develop a better sense of their place in the world – and to challenge that place. This meant that the early modern period was a time of change for both men and women. This module will explore ideas about gender in Britain during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, mapping this change and considering how (/if) it affected people across the social spectrum.

Semester 1 will begin by examining the gender norms that were in place in the period, considering the basis for the perceived differences between men and women and thinking about what masculinity and femininity meant in this context. It will then move on to look at the role that gender played in religion, war and politics. We will use a variety of primary sources through, drawing on printed writings, letters, and images from the period. Semester 2 will consider historiographical theories such as queer theory, early modern race, and ideas about self-representation. We will continue to use a broad range of sources, including autobiographies, ballads, and satires, introducing students to the many possibilities for studying early modern gender, and question ideas of change over time; whether gender looks the same at the end of the early modern period as it did at the beginning.

Related modules

Students taking this module must also take the second part in Semester 2.

Module will run

Occurrence	Teaching period
A	Semester 1 2024-25

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

• To introduce students to in depth study of a specific historical topic using primary and secondary material;
• To enable students to explore the topic through discussion and writing; and
• To enable students to evaluate and analyse primary sources.

Module learning outcomes

Students who complete this module successfully will:

• Grasp key themes, issues and debates relevant to the topic being studied;
• Have acquired knowledge and understanding about that topic;
• Be able to comment on and analyse original sources;
• Be able to relate the primary and secondary material to one another; and
• Have acquired skills and confidence in close reading and discussion of texts and debates.

Module content

Students will attend a 1-hour briefing in week 1 and a 3-hour seminar in weeks 2-4, 6-8 and 10-11 of semester 1. Weeks 5 & 9 are Reading and Writing Weeks (RAW). Students prepare for and participate in eight three-hour seminars in all.
 
Seminar topics are subject to variation, but are likely to include the following:

1. Gender Anxiety? Early Modern Men and Women
2. Conduct Literature and the Ideals of Gender
3. Education: Creating Men and Women
4. Radical Religion and Domestic Devotion
5. War I: Men and Violence
6. War II: The War at Home
7. The Political Sphere I: Kings and Queens    
8. The Political Sphere II: Public Opinion and Participation

Indicative assessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

For formative assessment, students will be given the opportunity to produce text commentaries in seminar, including a written commentary.
 
For the summative assessment students build a portfolio of two parts, to be submitted together:
a)     Two text commentaries of 500-750 words; and
b)     One 1,500-word essay which reflects on the significance of the chosen texts in light of scholarship and sources from across the module. 
The commentaries comprise 50% and the essay 50% of the overall mark for this module. Summative assessments will be due in the assessment period.

Indicative reassessment

Task	% of module mark
Essay/coursework	100.0

Module feedback

Formative work will be live marked in seminar and supplemented by the tutor giving oral feedback to the whole group. 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 summative assessment tasks, students will receive their provisional mark and written feedback within 25 working days of the submission deadline. The tutor will then be available during student hours for follow-up guidance if required. For more information, see the Statement of Assessment.

Indicative reading

For semester time reading, please refer to the module VLE site. Before the course starts, we encourage you to look at the following items of preliminary reading:

• Ania Loomba and Melissa E. Sanchez (eds.), Rethinking Feminism in Early Modern Studies: Gender, Race and Sexuality (London: Routledge, 2016).
• Anthony Fletcher, Gender, Sex and Subordination in England, 1500-1800 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995).
• Cristina Malcolmson and Mihoko Suzuki (eds.), Debating Gender in Early Modern England, 1500-1700 (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002).