Module HIST32A1: Europe Reformed 1400-1600?

Department: History

HIST32A1: Europe Reformed 1400-1600?

Prerequisites

• A passmark in at least ONE level 2 module in History

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• • This module explores the historical significance of the phenomena described as ‘the middle ages’, ‘the Renaissance’ and ‘the Reformation’. • There will be an exploration of the rupture perceived by historians between the medieval and early modern periods and an evaluation of the reality of the transformation. • The module will explore difference aspects of historical change including religious, social, political and cultural change in the context of this transformation.

Content

• At the end of the middle ages ‘first contact’ was made with what came to be known as the ‘New World’. Historians’ work on this period, though, suggests many different kinds of ‘new world’ were emerging in Europe itself. Jacob Burckhardt, writing in the mid-nineteenth century, argued that the cultural changes in Italian towns known as the ‘renaissance’ propelled Europe out of the ‘Middle Ages’ and into ‘modernity’. In England, new forms of administration and government introduced by Yorkist and Tudor kings have been described by some historians as the ‘new monarchy’. The new financial pressures felt by these and other rulers across Europe, combined with the ideas of religious reformers, produced the Reformation, often represented as a cataclysmic break with the ‘old world’ and beginning of the ‘new’. This module will seek to explore these different kinds of ‘new world’, encompassing new forms of political life, new forms of social relations, and religious and cultural change. It will examine what historians have said about them and why, and permit students to engage in debates over what, if anything, really changed.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge and understanding of what constituted ‘the middle ages’, ‘the Renaissance’ and ‘the Reformation’ in late medieval and early modern Europe; • Awareness of the key transformations which represent the end of the middle ages in Europe; • A critical appreciation of how historians have understood the interaction of political life, social relations and religious change during this period.

• Subject specific skills for this module can be viewed at: http://www.dur.ac.uk/history.internal/local/ModuleProformaMap/

• • Key skills for this module can be viewed http://www.dur.ac.uk/history.internal/local/ModuleProformaMap/

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• • Student learning is facilitated by a combination of the following teaching methods: • lectures to set the foundations for further study and to provide the basis for the acquisition of subject specific knowledge. Lectures provide a broad framework which defines individual module content, introducing students to themes, debates and interpretations. In this environment, students are given the opportunity to develop skills in listening, selective note-taking and reflection;
• seminars to allow students to present and critically reflect upon the acquired subject-specific knowledge, methodologies and theories, and to identify and debate a range of issues and differing opinions. The seminar is the forum in which students are given the opportunity to communicate ideas, jointly exploring themes and arguments. Seminars are structured to develop understanding and designed to maximise student participation related to prior independent preparation. Seminars give students the opportunity to develop oral communication skills, encourage critical and tolerant approaches to reasoned argument and historical discussion, build the students’ ability to marshal historical evidence, and facilitate the development of the ability to summarise historical arguments, think in a rapidly changing environment and communicate in a persuasive and articulate manner, whilst recognising the value of working with others and, occasionally, towards shared goals.
• Assessment:
• Examinations test students' ability to work under pressure under timed conditions, to prepare for examinations and direct their own programme of revision and learning, and develop key time management skills. The unseen examination gives students the opportunity to develop relevant life skills such as the ability to produce coherent, reasoned and supported arguments under pressure. Students will be examined on subject specific knowledge;
• Summative essays remain a central component of assessment in history, due to the integrative high-order skills they develop. Essays allow students the opportunity to recognise, represent and critically reflect upon ideas, concepts and problems; students can demonstrate awareness of, and the ability to use and evaluate, a diverse range of resources and identify, represent and debate a range of subject-specific issues and opinions. Through the essay, students can synthesise information, adopt critical appraisals and develop reasoned argument based on individual research; they should be able to communicate ideas in writing, with clarity and coherence; and to show the ability to integrate and critically assess material from a wide range of sources.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One or more short assignments submitted in writing or delivered orally and discussed either 1:1 or in a group context â–  Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University