Module HIST3973: The Disappearance of Claudine Rouge: Murder, Mystery and Microhistory in Eighteenth-Century France

Department: History

HIST3973: The Disappearance of Claudine Rouge: Murder, Mystery and Microhistory in Eighteenth-Century France

Prerequisites

• • A pass mark in at least TWO level two modules in History.

Corequisites

• • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• • None.

Aims

• To introduce students to Causes Célèbres, how they developed and how they have been written.
• To introduce students to microhistory and, by training students as budding microhistorians themselves, to give them a sense of the rich variety of approaches deployed by micro historians.
• To develop advanced knowledge about issues of social identity and social control in early modern France.
• To give students an understanding of the relationship between law and medicine in early modern French culture.

Content

• We will begin this module by examining recent developments in approaches to the social and cultural history of early modern France, including the Annales school histoire des mentalités, historical anthropology and particularly the theory and methodology of microhistory. Students then examine a number of high profile legal cases in sixteenth- to eighteenth-century France which have generated microhistorical studies and informed debates about the nature and usefulness of this approach to the writing of social and cultural history. These cases include the ‘Return of Martin Guerre’ which explores notions of identity, imposture, sexuality and collective memory. This case was the subject of an historical film in 1982, with a screenplay by Natalie Zemon Davis. Her reconstruction of the case and reflection on microhistory sparked controversy amongst historians about the role of narrative and reflexivity in historical writing and the nature of historical evidence.
• The next part of the course will focus in greater detail on the actual process of reconstructing a Cause Célèbre for microhistorical analysis, encouraging students to think about what kinds of documents could be used and how. We will do this by looking at a range of primary sources relating to the case of the disappearance and probable murder of Claudine Rouge in Lyon in 1767. This case has yet to form the basis of a microhistory. By examining it together in seminars, from a variety of different angles, using the available primary sources, students will work towards understanding why it became such a high-profile case and what a micro-historical approach to it can tell us about the wider context. Students will discover how the case tells us about neighbourhood conflicts, intraprofessional rivalries between surgeons and physicians, and the relationship of Lyon, as France’s second city, with the capital Paris. These scandals played a role in wider criticism of the ancien régime judiciary and the role of the medico-legal expert. Causes Célèbres such as these reveal much about the functioning of law and society. They encourage us to reflect on the stories early modern people narrated about such cases, at various points in their life-span as Causes Célèbres, and how we, as historians, by taking a microhistorical approach to them, are also part of that story-telling process.

Learning Outcomes

• Students will have a subject specific knowledge relating to the approaches and methods used by historians of the social and cultural history of early modern France.
• Students will have precise knowledge of what makes a Cause Célèbre and the different kinds of documents which historians might use to reconstruct them.
• Students will have a wider understanding of how historians use Causes Célèbres as sources for microhistory.

• Subject specific skills for this module can be viewed at:
• http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/ModuleProformaMap/;
• In addition students will be able to marshal an argument in written form, drawing on an appreciation of propaganda as an historical source.

• Key skills for this module can be viewed at:
• http://www.dur.ac.uk/History/ugrads/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:
• 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;
• tutorials either individually or in groups to discuss topics arising from prepared work, allowing students the opportunity to reflect upon their personal learning with the tutor.
• Assessment:
• Unseen 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;
• Assessment of Primary Source Handling Students are assessed on their understanding of original primary sources, usually in print, their character varying according to the nature of the subject, and the students' ability to bring that knowledge to bear on 'cutting edge'research-based monographs and articles. Students are given the opportunity to discuss and articulate an understanding of changing interpretations and approaches to historical problems, drawing evidence from a body of primary source materials. Students are required to demonstrate skills associated with the evaluation of a variety of primary source materials, using documentary analysis for a critical assessment of existing historical interpretations.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One formative essay of not more than 2500 words (not including footnotes and bibliography), submitted in Term 1. This will be returned with written comments and a standard departmental feedback sheet. Coursework essays are formative as well as summative. They are to be submitted in two copies, of which one will be returned with written comments and a standard departmental feedback sheet. Preparation to participate in seminars and tutorials. At least one oral presentation in each term, and at least two practice gobbets in each term.

■ 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