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HIS-30134 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

For academic year: 2022/23 Last Updated: 14 February 2023

HIS-30134 - The Making of Middle Britain: A Northumbrian Nativity
Coordinator: Andrew Sargent Tel: +44 1782 7 33199
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2022/23

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2022/23

During the seventh, eighth and ninth centuries Britain was dominated by two rival kingdoms: Northumbria and Mercia. Their eventful histories encompassed the trials and tribulations of their royal dynasties, but the people of these kingdoms witnessed much more than an elite soap opera. This period witnessed the ascendency of a new aristocracy, with both secular and religious faces, which would re-shape the landscape of early medieval Britain and become a dynamic part of a broader northwest-European culture. Students will study Bede¿s Ecclesiastical History and other contemporary works, and will analyse the formation of the literate culture in which they were created. The hybridity of Northumbria¿s historic landscape, its suspension between Irish, British, Anglian and Frankish realms, will form an important theme, and the growth of Northumbrian hegemony will be analysed as part of the expansion and consolidation of a new Anglian identity in Middle Britain.

Aims
The module aims to deconstruct the narrative of Northumbrian conversion, expansion and development in the seventh and early eighth centuries provided by Bede's Ecclesiastical History, and to make problematic the religious and ethnic teleology that overshadows the historiography of this period. Students will reflect critically on the nature of the literate culture that produced Bede and others like him. They will explore other approaches and forms of evidence in seeking to re-evaluate the development of the kingdom and its Anglian identity, focusing in particular on ideas concerning cultural hybridity and the effects of population mobility.

Intended Learning Outcomes

1,2
1,2
1,2
1,2
1,2
1,2

Study hours

24 hours - seminars
50 hours - preparation for seminars (reading and preparing presentations)
26 hours - research and preparation of commentary
50 hours - preparation for final assignment

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Commentary weighted 40%
1700-word commentary on a choice of gobbets supplied by the tutor.
An extended commentary on one gobbet (document extract or other kind of primary source) from a choice of circa eight.

2: Essay weighted 60%
Two short essay questions, c.1,200 words each.
Students will answer two short essay questions chosen from a list of around eight, c.1,200 words each.

Please note that for the 2022/23 Academic Year programmes may be adapted to operate in accordance with a flexible, digital approach. This means that there may be some changes made to how modules are delivered and assessed. The latest information will be provided to you by your School in module handbooks. We endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes and details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/student-terms-and-conditions/

Last Updated: 14 February 2023