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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2019/2020

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Centre for Open Learning : History, Classics and Archaeology

Undergraduate Course: Introduction to Modern European History (LLLE07045)

Course Outline
SchoolCentre for Open Learning CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryAn introduction to the history of Europe from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. Explore four key periods in modern European history, focusing on pivotal events such as the Reformation, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. This course will enable students to discuss conflicting historical theories, analyse historical texts and develop the skills required to study history.
Course description During the modern era, Europe experienced great transformation which set it on a divergent trajectory that of the rest of the world. This course charts the momentous developments that led to the making of the modern state. Starting with the reformation we will explore the rise of absolutism, the age of revolutions and the triumph of nationalism. Throughout these topics due consideration will be given to the longer term trends that link this period together, tracing developments in European societies with particular attention to issues of religion, the increasing role of technology and the political transformations.

The course will include lectures, seminar discussion, practical exercises and one-to-one discussion of the course and formative assessment to feedforward to the final assessment. Students will be introduced to a range of contemporary sources which will be discussed in class. The main themes from the historical literature will be drawn out, enabling students to develop their critical analysis skills.

Content of Course

1. Introduction: the making of modern Europe

2. The long road to the reformation

3. The evolution of the reformation

4. 30 years war and Europe after the peace of Westphalia

5. The making of absolutism

6. Colonial empires

7. The French revolution and the Napoleonic wars

8. The industrial revolution

9. The rise of Nationalism

10. The making of modern Europe
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2019/20, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  16
Course Start Lifelong Learning - Session 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 20, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 78 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) The assessment (2,000-word essay worth 100% of the final mark) will be due after the end of the taught course. The formative assessment (essay plan) will be due mid-way through the course.
Feedback Students will receive written feedback for their formative assessment (essay plan), submitted mid-way through the course. They may discuss this with the tutor; students may contact the tutor for an informal discussion of progress at any time in the term. Students will receive written feedback on their coursework and will have the opportunity to discuss that feedback further with the Course Organiser by appointment.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. demonstrate, by way of coursework as required, an ability to evaluate, critically discuss and interpret primary sources
  2. demonstrate, by way of coursework as required, an ability to discuss and make use of conflicting historical arguments
  3. demonstrate, by way of coursework as required, an understanding of the political development of modern Europe including state formation and relationships between states
Reading List
Essential
Cameron, E., ed., 2001. Early Modern Europe: an Oxford history. Oxford: OUP.
Gildea, R., 1987. Barricades and Borders: Europe 1800-1914. Oxford: OUP.
Hobsbawn, E. J., 1973. The Age of Revolution: Europe, 1789-1848. London: Cardinal.
Marshall, P., 2009. The Reformation: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: OUP.
Munck T., 1989. Seventeenth Century Europe: state conflict and the social order in Europe, 1598-1700. Basingstoke: Palgrave.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Written and oral analytical skills.
Handling a range of historical sources.
Confidence in contributing to group discussion.
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Sally Crumplin
Tel:
Email: Sally.Crumplin@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMs Kameliya Skerleva
Tel: (0131 6)51 1855
Email: Kameliya.Skerleva@ed.ac.uk
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