Studying at York
Rebellion and Revolution: Britain, 1637-1653 - Semester 1 - HIS00156H
- Department: History
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: H
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
Module summary
Rioting, iconoclasm, mass petitioning, and the ‘invention of news’; families, friends, and neighbours divided; the trial and execution of King Charles I by his own people; the establishment of this country’s only republic, the conquest of Scotland and Ireland by an English army, and the rise to power of an obscure Fenlands gentleman called Oliver Cromwell. The civil wars are one of the most exciting periods in Britain’s history. These years were revolutionary: this course invites you to ask why. The ‘British civil wars’ have gone by other names – ‘the English civil wars’ is the most recognisable – but whatever we call them, they continue to fascinate because they were so hotly debated not only by elites, but also by ordinary people. These wars were fought with words as well as weapons.
Making use of a huge volume of controversial print material, the course will help you get to grips with the novel ways in which the written word was used to mobilize opinion. The civil wars were undoubtedly an exhilarating experience for many people, allowing men and women to experiment with new religious practices and engage with politics in new ways. We also need to acknowledge that, for many others, the wars were experienced and remembered as a time of profound anxiety, hardship, fear, brutality, and loss. The course concludes by considering the ambiguous and contested legacy of a ‘world turned upside down’. Wars that had generated new ideas about ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom’ ended with regicide and conquest.
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:
- Unrevolutionary England? Debating ‘the causes of the English civil war’
- Riot and rebellion in Scotland, 1637-1641
- ‘A most disloyal and detestable conspiracy’: The Irish Rebellion, 1641
- Print, puritans and petitions: sources session
- Taking and changing sides: England divided, 1642-46
- Women and war
- World Turn’d Upside Down 1: Gendering politics
- World Turn’d Upside Down 2: Violence and social disorder
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
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 |
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:
- Michael Braddick, God’s Fury, England’s Fire: A New History of the English Civil Wars (London: Allen Lane, 2008).
- Ann Hughes, Gender and the English Revolution (London: Routledge, 2012).
- Diane Purkiss, The English Civil War: A People’s History (London: HarperCollins, 2006).