- Department: History
- Credit value: 20 credits
- Credit level: I
- Academic year of delivery: 2024-25
The early modern period saw a number of transformations in how people read. After the invention of the Gutenberg press, print became increasingly widely available across Europe, and literacy rates rose. Books were becoming familiar objects and reading was a key part of everyday life. Moreover, print became increasingly important in politics, even helping to provoke revolution in seventeenth-century England.
This module will cover themes such as gender, genre, and political change, looking at how and what people were reading in the period c.1580-1700. We will consider the place of reading in politics, religion and the home, and the ways in which people could read even if they were not literate. We will also investigate the common historiographical claim that reading and methods of reading underwent a ‘revolution’ in the early modern period, moving from intensive and active to extensive and passive reading. We will explore whether this narrative can be applied to the reading habits of non-elite groups and women, and question the ways in which scholars have approached long-term change in the history of reading.
The module will introduce students to the methods of studying reading in the past, considering how we might access a largely intangible action. We will also see how studying reading can give an insight into the political, religious and social changes of early modern England.
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: