Aims and Assessment
Principal Module Aims
This course aims to:
1. Introduce students to the historiography of the body in Britain and Europe c.1500-1750.
2. Enable students to historicise the body, particularly through the analysis of relevant primary sources.
3. Encourage students to use the history of the body as a way of understanding broader aspects of early modern society and culture.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
- Demonstrate a sound knowledge of the ways in which
early modern people understood and experienced bodily events. - Select, analyse and deploy relevant primary sources for independent research and study.
- Intervene in scholarly arguments in the field, demonstrating an awareness of historiographical debates,
methods and approaches.
ASSESSMENT
Oral participation/engagement (10%)
This will be assessed across all seminars according to the seminar contribution guidelines
1x 1500-word essay (10%)
This will be a problem-focused essay of the kind you will be familiar with from second-year modules. Most of the seminar discussion questions provide a suitable basis for essay titles, but you are free to choose your own title so long as it is agreed with me in advance.
1x 3000-word source based essay (40%)
For this essay you will select and analyse a primary source or related set of primary sources and situate them within their historical and historiographical context. The focus is on critical engagement with primary material and advancing an argument regarding their value for understanding a relevant historical theme. The essay should be framed around an analytical question and offer analysis of the chosen source/s as a means to shed light on a particular historical issue, period, or debate. i.e. The important thing is to have an idea of what you think the source/s may be able to tell us, of how they ‘open up’ larger issues of interpretation of the period. Detailed instructions for this assessment can be found on the moodle or here.
1x 3000-word essay (40%)
This assignment will provide an opportunity to examine a topic in more depth and with a more defined and detailed focus. You will be expected to identify your own topic/title for this essay, but I will be available to discuss options with you individually. Some topics will lend themselves well to the use of primary sources, though this is not an absolute requirement.
Feedback on assessment
Written feedback (via Tabula) and optional individual tutorials (via Teams, in office hours or by appointment).