HST6602 Early Modernities 2023-24
30 credits, Semester one
Module leader 2023-24: Phil Withington
Listed on MA Early Modern History, MA Historical Research
Module summary
This core module involves a critical analysis of the many ways in which assumptions about the characteristics of 'pre-modern' and 'modern' cultures and societies have shaped historians' approaches to the early modern period. A series of seminars will introduce you to themes and topics in early modern history, focusing on issues of 'individuality' and 'self-hood' in the early modern period. The sources for writing early modern history will be a complementary focus of the module, which will also introduce you to the technical and methodological problems associated with the effective use and interpretation of a range of pre-modern sources.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the module, you will be able to:
Recognise and be aware of the distinctive presuppositions that underlie historical writing on the early modern period and the notion of ‘early modernity’
Recognise the contribution made by other academic disciplines to the recent study of early modern politics, culture and society
Identify and engage critically with historiographical debates about the early modern period
Elaborate and defend an intellectual position to other members of the seminar group, presenting complex scholarly arguments succinctly and accurately
Present conclusions in a fluent written form, demonstrating a mastery of bibliographical materials (including electronic resources) referencing your sources appropriately
Evaluate a range of early modern primary sources, including material culture, employing appropriate analytical techniques and theoretical approaches
Speak confidently, using technical language, when discussing early-modern sources of different types and using them to support scholarly argument
Learning and teaching methods
The module will be taught in ten, two-hour classes. You will also have individual tutorial contact with the module tutor in order to discuss your assessment for this module.
Assessment methods
Assessment type - % of final mark
Essay (4000 words) - 80%
Engagement and participation - 20%
You will complete a 4000 word essay on a topic related to one of the module's key themes. You will define your own essay topic in discussion with your tutor. You will also complete a formative assessment to provide you with feedback ahead of completing your final essay.
You will also complete an engagement and participation exercise based on the learning activities and environment for the module. This task will be set by the module leader but may include activities such as presentations, reflective seminar diaries, contributions to discussion forums or collaborative documents.
Additional learning and teaching information
Selected reading:
For your own preparation, and as an introduction into some of the themes of the module, you can read relevant sections of standard textbooks on early modern British and European history (e.g. Beat Kumin (ed.), The European World 1500-1800 (2nd edn, Routledge, 2014). In addition, for an introduction to the theme of 'selfhood', try beginning with Roy Porter (ed.), Rewriting the self: histories from the Renaissance to the present (Routledge, 1997).
We also recommend that you engage with any of the readings below, which are relevant for a number of topics in the module. Try beginning with those which are most pertinent to your own interests.
Peter Lake and Steven Pincus (eds.), The Politics of the Public Sphere in Early Modern England (Manchester, 2008)
Craig Muldrew, 'From a 'Light Cloak' to the 'Iron Cage': An Essay on Historical Changes in the Relationship between Community and Individualism' in Alex Shepard and Phil Withington (eds.), Communities in Early Modern England (Manchester, 2000), pp. 156-79.
Dorinda Outram, The Enlightenment (Cambridge, 1995)
Michael T. Ryan, ‘Assimilating New Worlds in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries’, Comparative Studies in Society and History 23.4 (October 1981), pp. 519-38
Carol Symes, 'When We Talk about Modernity', American Historical Review 116, no. 3 (2011).
Dror Wahrman, The Making of the Modern Self: Identity and Culture in Eighteenth-Century England, (Yale University Press, 2004), esp. pp. xi-xviii, 166-97, 265-321. [The chapter "The ancien régime of identity", pp.166-197 is available as an e-offprint]
Phil Withington, Society in Early Modern England. The Vernacular Origins of Some Powerful Ideas (Cambridge, Polity, 2010), especially ‘The Sociable Self’
Jonathan Wright, ‘The World’s Worst Worm: Conscience and Conformity during the English Reformation’, Sixteenth Century Journal 30/1 (Spring, 1999), pp. 113-133.