HIS-30153 - Module Specification
School of Humanities
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2024/25

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2024/25

This module is a social history of eleventh-century Europe. This was a time of tremendous religious, social, economic, political and intellectual transformation, indeed a time, according to many historians, when European civilisation -as we know it- was created.

Through the study of a wide range of primary sources in translation, we will address a variety of key areas of social change in eleventh-century Europe and you will develop the ability to evaluate critically the analyses of transformation (and continuity) offered both by contemporaries and modern scholars. Primary sources revealing the exercise of power by the landed elite will be considered in the context of radical changes in family structure such as the institution of primogeniture, the changing position of women and the `crisis¿ of masculinity. A crucial question arising from these sources is the extent to which we can see the impact of the changes among the elite on the people. Using sources describing the Peace of God, the persecution of heretics and the apocalyptic year 1000, we will assess the claim that the `crowd enters European history¿ during this period.

To introduce students to the events, sources and modern historiographical debates of one of the most important periods in the formation of Western European culture - the eleventh century - a time when according to some modern historians European civilization as we know it today was created.

Intended Learning Outcomes

explain and recognise the social, religious, political and economic changes in the eleventh century, a period recognised as vital in the formation of European culture: 1,2
evaluate and critically assess secondary sources and historiographical debates, and to use them appropriately in the development of historical analysis: 1,2
evaluate and critically assess a range of different kinds of primary sources and to use them appropriately in the development of historical analysis: 1,2

Study hours

150 hours: 12 x two-hour seminars, 12 x one-hour workshops, 50 hours seminar preparation, 30 hours extended document commentary preparation, 34 hours preparation for and completion of 28-hour take-home examination.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment