General provisions

The course is a self-contained course and a programme course within the Master's Programme in in Early Modern Studies. Northern Europe 1450-1850.

Entry requirements

Admission to a Master programme within the faculty of arts or a bachelor’s degree, equivalent to a Swedish degree of at least 180 credits (i.e. three years of full-time studies), in history studies. Proficiency in English.

Learning outcomes

A student who successfully completed the course will be able to:

• overview and summarise the current state of research on social difference and social hierarchies of the early modern age,
• describe, compare, and apply different theoretical perspectives and approaches used in the research,
• define research tasks that increase our historical knowledge, and analyse the topic and present the analysis in a concise and understandable way,
• know the different types of primary source material and draw conclusions from this.

Content

The societies of the early modern age were fundamentally unequal. Laws and institutions, as well as human practices, upheld the differences and the separation between people. This course aims at a deeper understanding of the nature and organisation of the societies of estates in early modern Europe, of the visual culture in which difference and belonging was manifested, and the conflicts and tensions that could arise between groups and competing conceptions of the social world. Phenomena such as religion, globalisation, and modernisation are addressed as factors for continuity and change. You will work with central theoretical perspectives on early modern societies as well as concrete primary sources in connection to the themes of the course.

Instruction

The course will consist of a number of seminars and/or tutorials focusing on specific themes and questions and an external seminar on primary sources at a museum/archive. Seminar discussions will be based on mandatory literature list and primary sources. To achieve the learning outcomes, students are assumed to take active part in the seminar discussions partly by prepared contributions regarding literature and sources, partly by constructive responses to the ongoing discussion.

Assessment

Assessment will be based upon performing seminar assignments and writing and presenting a paper. Grades will be given in accordance with the Swedish grading system. The following grades will be used: Pass with distinction (VG), Pass (G) and Failed (U).