Postgraduate Course: Myth and the History of Scholarship in Early Modern Europe (PGHC11398)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course provides an introduction to the history of scholarship from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment (c. 1520-1750), a period which arguably gave birth to the modern human sciences. It does so by
examining one particular theme: the study of pagan myth (including the
myths of Graeco-Roman antiquity, the myths of contemporary 'savages'
and 'primitives', and the myths of the ancient pagan peoples mentioned
in the Bible). This topic stands at the intersection of several areas of early modern intellectual inquiry, including classical philology,
cosmography, sacred history, antiquarianism and biblical scholarship.
Students will be encouraged to reflect on the relationship between
these disciplines and on the larger confessional and political contexts shaping early modern scholarship. Did this period witness the
beginnings of the historical and comparative study of religion? Can we
speak of a naturalisation and secularisation of myth in this period and, if so, what were its sources? This course is informed directly by the organiser's own developing programme of research in this area. |
| Course description |
1. Theories of myth: classical, patristic and medieval antecedents
2. Renaissance mythography I: the allegorical tradition
3. Renaissance mythography II: euhemerism
4. Missionaries, colonizers and ethnologists: the beginnings of comparative mythology
5. Histories of idolatry I: Selden and Phoenician mythology
6. Histories of idolatry II: Vossius to Spencer
7. Chronology and sacred history
8. From ancient theology to natural religion
9. The end of allegory? Bayle and Fontenelle
10. Myth, poetic wisdom and Vico's New Science (1725, 1744)
11. Primitive polytheism: Hume's Natural History of Religion (1757)
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2014/15, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
174 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
One essay of 3,000 words (70%)
One blog post (750-1000 words) (15%)
One 10-minute oral presentation (15%) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
- demonstrate an in-depth, detailed and critical understanding of some of the key factors, texts and arguments shaping the study of myth from c. 1520 to 1750;
- reflect on major themes in the history of scholarship and the human sciences in the early modern period, including the extent and trajectory of intellectual change from Renaissance to Enlightenment;
- independently identify and pursue research topics in this area of history;
- analyse and contextualise primary source material, including early printed editions of early modern texts;
- present an argument in a reasoned and articulate manner, in both written and verbal forms;
- arrive at original, well-supported and properly referenced conclusions in their essay.
|
Reading List
Students may benefit from reading one or more of the following in preparation for this course:
Allen, Don Cameron, Mysteriously meant: the rediscovery of pagan symbolism and allegorical interpretation in the Renaissance (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins Press, 1970).
Harrison, Peter, 'Religion' and the Religions in the English Enlightenment (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).
Manuel, Frank E., The Eighteenth Century Confronts the Gods (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1959).
Stroumsa, Guy S., A New Science: the discovery of religion in the age of reason (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2010). |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
This course will help students develop a range of transferable skills, including:
- the ability to manage one's time effectively and work to deadlines;
- the ability to gather, sift, organise and evaluate large quantities of textual evidence;
- the ability to marshal argument in both written and oral form;
- the ability to work independently and as part of a pair or larger group. |
| Keywords | Myth Scholarship Early Modern Europe |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Felicity Green
Tel: (0131 6)51 3856
Email: Felicity.Green@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Lindsay Scott
Tel: (0131 6)50 9948
Email: Lindsay.Scott@ed.ac.uk |
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© Copyright 2014 The University of Edinburgh - 12 January 2015 4:33 am
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