Aims and Objectives

This module focuses on the practices and representations of violence in continental Europe and the British Isles between c. 1450 and c. 1750. It introduces you to the methodological and theoretical issues involved in researching and writing on violence. Topics include verbal and visual representations, justice, armies and navies, interpersonal violence, ritual group violence, popular protest, and organised crime. The module exposes you to a wide range of evidence. Sources include letters, diaries, broadsheets, pamphlets, chronicles, histories, songs, plays, stories, engravings, paintings, and film as well as legislation and court records. The module draws on insights from neighbouring disciplines including anthropology, film studies, gender studies, history of art, law, literary criticism, neuroscience, politics, sociology and social theory.