Module description
The modules offered in each academic year are subject to change in line with staff availability and student demand: there is no guarantee every module will run. Module descriptions and information may vary between years.
The early modern period has often been described as an age of religious war. The Protestant and Catholic Reformations precipitated religious divisions that also carried political, social, economic, and cultural significance. These divisions could, and often did, result in violence. This was directed against people, with massacres and other violent tactics used by both Catholics and Protestants. However, violence was not directed solely at people: iconoclasm unleashed destruction on images, statues and stained glass, and the struggles over sacred space raised profound questions about history and belonging, and the relationship between the living and the dead. The course examines Britain and Ireland, continent Europe, and several non-European contexts. This module examines several key aspects of religious conflict:
- It will ask what exactly was ‘religious’ about these conflicts, and explores the intersection of political, economic and social issues, and questions the label ‘religious violence’;
- The multiple different forms of religious violence, from iconoclasm to massacre to mockery, will be considered in a variety of contexts;
- Responses to conflict will be examined, ranging from the supernatural and providential discourses, to the critical importance of martyrdom in creating and validating religious communities;
- The impact of Europe's religious conflicts on non-European contexts, especially the 'New World' of the Americas, will be explored;
- Narratives of tolerance and intolerance, and the 'rise of toleration' towards the end of the early modern period, will be explored and questioned.
Assessment details
1 x 3,500 words essay (100%)
Educational aims & objectives
This module provides an advanced understanding of religious violence and conflict in Europe, between c. 1500 and 1700. Particular aims of the course include:
- Engaging students with the issue of religion and violence, and how religion can both fuel and restrain violence;
- Considering the British and European contexts of religious conflict in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and investigating why it has been argued as a period of especially intense religious strife;
- Examining responses to conflict by both state and non-state actors.
The approach will involve the use of primary sources as much as possible. In the process students will develop:
- A sophisticated understanding of early modern religious violence;
- An understanding of comparative approaches, through examining both Britain and Europe, and the historiography and methodologies surrounding such approaches;
- An understanding of historiographical arguments concerning early modern religious violence, including its intersections with political and social factors, and the impact of theological and social science theories on writing its history;
- Critical analysis of historical debates, and an appreciation of the complexity of historical debates;
- Coherent and fluent critical writing, and effective engagement with oral discussion.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module students will be able to demonstrate intellectual and practical skills appropriate to a Level 7 module, and in particular will be able to:
- Demonstrate an advanced understanding of early modern religious violence, and associated concepts including tolerance, persecution and martyrdom;
- Consider and critically evaluate the different approaches taken by historians and other practitioners of other disciplines, including theology, social science and literature, to the study of religious conflict in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries;
- Understand the particular methodological challenges and sensitivities involved in researching and writing about early modern religion and conflict, including but not limited to questions of geographical diversity, confessional allegiance, and chronological development;
- Formulate their own arguments and questions about the issues and debates raised in the module.