2025-26, Term 2: Renaissance Europe
RS200 & RS300 ~ Renaissance Science: Medicine, Alchemy, and Politics
This module (formally 'Foundations and Forms') will provide a general introduction to the main coordinates of Renaissance (1400-1700) culture and will make connections with the preceding medieval period. Students will have access to a series of lectures, each analysing broad themes and specific aspects of the history and evolution of Renaissance medical, political, and scientific thought. The course will begin with three lectures connected to alchemy and medieval thought and will examine the continuity and development of diagnostics and prognostication. Subsequent lectures will explore the places where sciences were refined and disseminated followed by an exploration of Renaissance political sciences through the lens of Machiavelli and other famous authors of the period. The course will conclude with the eventful history of the London Company of Barber-Surgeons and its role in shaping surgical and medical practices in early modern England. Students will have the opportunity to read widely and engage with a diverse range of scholarly approaches representing different geographic areas. Through this series of lectures focusing on broad themes of Renaissance Sciences, students will be encouraged to challenge popular images of the 'long dark ages' and the 'reactionary' Renaissance to critically examine how historical perspectives may show continuity even to the present day. The module will present the opportunity to critically engage with primary source materials and provide a sound knowledge foundation in key concepts and events.
Module convenor: Dr Erin Connelly.
To register your interest in either (or both) modules, please complete the short form HERE.
All classes will take place on Monday afternoons, 4-6pm, in room FAB 1.06.
Module codes are: RS200-15 (intermediate year students) and RS300-15 (final year students)
Assessment method is 100% essay. Yr 2 students-1 x 3500-word essay chosen from a list of given titles; Yr 3 students-1 x 4000–4500 word essay, on a freely chosen topic determined in consultation with the module convenors and/or tutors.
Weekly syllabus
Introduction to module [Erin Connelly]Link opens in a new window
Link to full reading list via Warwick library HERE (forthcoming)
20 point marking scale/criteria
Essay questions: available on moodle
Essay deadline: Tuesday 28th April 2026 (noon)
Word limits:
RS200 (second year students) 3,500
RS300 (final year students) 4000-4,500