HST6054 Language and Society in Early Modern England

Module summary

This course invites students to think about what words meant in early modern England - not merely to social and intellectual elites (though they are certainly part of the mix) but also ordinary men and women. In so doing it encourages reflection about the implications of these meanings - and their changes and continuities over time - for social attitudes, relationships, and practices. These aims reflect the impact of the infamous 'linguistic turn' on early modern studies and how some of the most interesting recent work on language and meaning has been done at the intersection between literary, intellectual, and social history.