Module description
The era 1500-1800 saw the limits of the world redefined. Expanded global contacts and imperial enterprises transformed the human experience. Regimes of empire, state and religion developed the power to interrogate and discipline; people resisted and negotiated.
Drawing on our expertise in the history of Britain, continental Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, the module will explore and interrogate major themes such as transatlantic slavery, sex and gender, the development of the modern state, and enlightenments, alongside focused case studies. Students attend a weekly lecture and a seminar which focuses on discussion of particular readings and questions, supported by a weekly pre-recorded video; as with all our courses, students are expected to read around three academic articles (provided online) or similar a week in preparation. Some primary sources will also be used. Formative assessment involves an essay and a creative assignment; the final summative assessment is an exam.
The course is structured around four themes: migration, trade and empire; states, power and religion; lives; and knowledge and culture. Within these, students will study topics including the European Reformations and the French Revolution; monarchical authority and republics; witchcraft; racial slavery and the making of ‘race’; environmental transformation; literacy and print; the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution. Our global framing means that, for example, you will consider Japanese military law and Nigerian queenship alongside Machiavelli’s The Prince; material culture through Chinese knowledge and European marketplaces; oceanic and land empires across Europe, Africa and Asia. You will also have the opportunity to engage with primary sources in focused case studies.
Assessment details
Summative Assessment
1 x 3 hour Examination
Formative Assessment
1 x Essay
1 x Creative Assignment