Module HIST1591: SOCIETY AND CULTURE IN EARLY MODERN FRANCE

Department: History

HIST1591: SOCIETY AND CULTURE IN EARLY MODERN FRANCE

Prerequisites

• Normally an A or B grade in A-Level History, or an acceptable equivalent (e.g. in terms of Scottish Highers or lB)

Corequisites

• None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None.

Aims

• To introduce students to the ways in which historians have sought to understand social and cultural history in the early modern period.
• To give students the opportunity to think about the lives and experiences of different people living in an historical period.

Content

• This module will look at various aspects of early modern French society and culture. A thematic rather than chronological approach will be taken, although attention will be paid to questions of change and continuity between c.1450 and 1789. The module will be divided into three parts: life cycles, order and disorder, and courtliness and civility, covering topics ranging from birth, crime and punishment, to fashion and beauty. The module will address the lives and experiences of ordinary and extraordinary people in early modern France and students will be encouraged to consider the usefulness of themes such as identity and social construction as tools for understanding past societies and their socio-cultural frameworks.

Learning Outcomes

• A knowledge and understanding of key themes in the social and cultural history of early modern France.
• An appreciation of current historiographical debates regarding certain social and cultural factors that shaped the history of early modern France.
• The contextualisation of social and cultural movements within the wider sphere of the religious and political upheavals in early modern France.

• 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 at: 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:
• 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.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

One or more short assignments submitted in writing or delivered orally in a seminar group context.

■ 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