- Department: History
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
What kind of a place was Tudor England? We explore many aspects of sixteenth-century English society, from its governing institutions (monarchy, court and Parliament) to its understanding of faith and salvation, its attitudes towards women, and the moments when ordinary people broke through conventional social barriers to protest their own rights. Two themes recur through the module: the role of magnificence and propaganda in justifying royal rule to the people, and the importance of religious faith in defining personal and even national identity. Sixteenth century England could be a turbulent place, afflicted by riots and rebellions, threatened by invasion and facing upheaval in its social and economic structures. Yet culture also flourished, to the point that this has been remembered as a golden age of architecture, painting and music. This module combines a focus on individual Tudor reigns (Henry VII to Elizabeth) with thematic studies of riot and rebellion, court and Parliament, and English colonisation in Ireland and America. We end by considering new perspectives in the field, focusing on the black presence in Tudor England in particular.
Occurrence | Teaching period |
---|---|
A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
The aims of this module are:
Students who complete this module successfully will:
Students will attend a 1-hour briefing in week 1. Students will then attend a 1-hour plenary/lecture and a 2-hour seminar in weeks 2-4, 6-8 and 10-11 of semester 1. Weeks 5 & 9 are Reading and Writing Weeks (RAW) during which there are no seminars. Students prepare for and participate in eight 1-hour plenaries/lectures and eight 2-hour seminars in all.
Seminar topics are subject to variation, but are likely to include the following:
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
None
For formative assessment, students will complete a referenced 1200 to 1500-word essay relating to the themes and issues of the module. This will be submitted in either the Week 5 or Week 9 RAW week (on the day of the weekly seminar).
For summative assessment, students will complete an Assessed Essay (2000 words, footnoted). This will comprise 100% of the overall module mark.
Summative assessments will be due in the assessment period.
Task | % of module mark |
---|---|
Essay/coursework | 100 |
Following their formative assessment task, students will typically receive written feedback that will include comments and a mark within 10 working days of submission.
Work will be returned to students in their seminars and may be supplemented by the tutor giving some 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 the summative assessment task, 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.
For term 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: