Undergraduate Course: Popular Culture and Belief in Britain, 1560-1640 (ECSH10017)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course explores the social and cultural history of Britain in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It investigates the values, attitudes and mentalities of the men, women and children who made up the majority of the population in England, Scotland and Wales. It is concerned to analyse the causes and consequences of the momentous developments that defined this era, such as the Reformation, the emergence of a popular press, and the rise of the Shakespearean stage. It probes the nature of beliefs about the natural and supernatural world that led to faith in 'cunning folk' and fear of witches. |
| Course description |
The course aims to interrogate and evaluate the nature of belief systems and mental frameworks in Britain during the period between the Reformations and the Civil War. The topics covered include: oral traditions and vernacular culture; education and literacy; cheap print; leisure and recreation; the theatre; medical beliefs and practices; popular religion; and witchcraft. The course fills an important place in the History honours curriculum by providing an overview of popular culture in early modern Britain. It utilises a range of primary source material and draws upon the rich historiography produced in this important and exciting field over the last generation.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | A pass or passes in 40 credits of first level historical courses or equivalent and a pass or passes in 40 credits of second level historical courses or equivalent.
Before enrolling students on this course, PTs are asked to contact the History Honours Admission Secretary to ensure that a place is available (Tel: 503767). |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students must have 3 History courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Enrolments for this course are managed by the CAHSS Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department. All enquiries to enrol must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces.
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| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, command of the body of knowledge considered in the course;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to read, analyse and reflect critically upon relevant scholarship;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, an ability to understand, evaluate and utilise a variety of primary source material;
- demonstrate, by way of coursework and examination as required, the ability to develop and sustain scholarly arguments in oral and written form, by formulating appropriate questions and utilising relevant evidence;
- demonstrate independence of mind and initiative; intellectual integrity and maturity; an ability to evaluate the work of others, including peers.
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Reading List
Fox, A., Oral and Literate Culture in England 1500-1700 (2000)
Gurr, A., The Shakespearean Stage, 1574-1642 (3rd edn., 1992)
Harris, T. (ed.), Popular Culture in England, c.1500-1850 (1995)
Hutton, R., The Rise and Fall of Merry England (1994)
Raymond, J (ed.), The Oxford History of Popular Print Culture: Volume 1 (2011)
Reay, B. (ed.), Popular Culture in Seventeenth-Century England (1985)
Sharpe, J. A, Early Modern England: A Social History, 1550-1760 (2nd edn. 1997)
Thomas, K., Religion and the Decline of Magic (1971)
Thomas, K., Man and the Natural World (1983)
Todd, M., The Culture of Protestantism in Early Modern Scotland (2002)
Whyte, I. D., Scotland Before the Industrial Revolution (1995)
Wrightson, K., English Society, 1580-1680 (1982)
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Additional Class Delivery Information |
Sessions run 2.00pm-3.30pm, not standard University teaching period. |
| Keywords | Popular Culture |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Adam Fox
Tel: (0131 6)50 3835
Email: Adam.Fox@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Lorna Berridge
Tel:
Email: Lorna.Berridge@ed.ac.uk |
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