HR107-4-AU-CO:
Early Modern Europe in the World, 1450-1750
2026/27
Philosophical, Historical, and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Undergraduate: Level 4
Current
Thursday 08 October 2026
Friday 18 December 2026
15
11 June 2026
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
BA R000 European Studies (Including Year Abroad),
BA R001 European Studies,
BA R002 European Studies (Including Placement Year),
BA R008 European Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BA R9R1 European Studies with French,
BA R9R8 European Studies with French (Including Foundation Year),
BA R9R2 European Studies with German,
BA V100 History,
BA V101 History (Including Year Abroad),
BA V102 History (Including Foundation Year),
BA V103 History (Including Placement Year),
MHISV199 History,
MHISZV98 History (Including Placement Year),
MHISZV99 History (Including Year Abroad)
This module focuses on the time that historians call `the early modern period`, a span of around 300 years, which is often depicted as the watershed between the `medieval` and `the modern`. This period saw momentous changes such as the Reformation which divided European religion, new contact between Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and the birth of colonialism. You will find some elements of this period strikingly different, while in other aspects, you will find it surprisingly familiar.
The overarching questions that we will seek to answer are:
- What was changing in early modern Europe (in terms of politics, religion, the economy, culture) and why?
- How was Europe being shaped by its changing relationship within a global context?
- How did different individuals, social groups, or particular communities and regions experience these changes?
- To what degree did continuity as opposed to change play an important role in shaping the early modern world?
The aims of this module are:
- To introduce the broad chronology and key themes of the history of the early modern period, as a foundation for modules in subsequent years of study.
- To explain how historians make sense of the past by constructing arguments for their interpretations, and how to identify these arguments when reading secondary sources.
- To introduce the diversity of ways in which historians can interpret the past.
- To familiarise students with some early modern primary sources, and how they can be analysed.
By the end of the module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Study the history of people and communities whose lives were very different from our own experiences.
- Read academic historical writing with a focus on identifying and analysing interpretation and argument.
- Analyse early modern primary sources.
Indicative syllabus:
Europe in 1450
‘States’ and ‘state-building’
Demography and the economy
The Reformations and Religious change
Cultural change
Iberian Empires (15th-16thc)
The Ottoman Empire
Gender and Family
The Crisis of the 17th century
Northern European Empires (17th-18thc)
This module will be delivered via:
- One 50-minute lecture per week.
- One 50-minute seminar per week.
Lectures will provide essential context for the theme/topic, which will be explored in more detail in seminars. Students are expected to do the essential seminar reading in advance and to be prepared to discuss the readings in seminars.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Formative essay (1000 words) |
|
0% |
| Coursework |
Essay (2000 words) |
|
95% |
| Practical |
Seminar participation |
|
5% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Alison Rowlands, email: alisonc@essex.ac.uk.
History UG Administrators: hrugadmin@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
No external examiner information available for this module.
Available via Moodle
No lecture recording information available for this module.
* Please note: due to differing publication schedules, items marked with an asterisk (*) base their information upon the previous academic year.
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