Admission requirements
This course is part of the (Res)MA History Programme. Students from within the specialization the course belongs to have right of way. It is not accessible for BA students.
Description
The Politics of Gender in Premodern Europe
In medieval and early modern Europe, both men and women wielded political power in various ways. In this seminar we will explore political power from two different angles: the history of gender and the history of political culture. We will look at the prescriptive models surrounding gender and political power as well as political practices. In what way did codes of conduct for male and female rulers differ, and how were these differences legitimized? What role did “masculinity” and “femininity” play in political discourse? Did male and female rulers differ in the way they exercised power or in the political choices they made? Did these rulers themselves emphasize their own gender identity? How were they portrayed by their contemporaries, both in written sources as well as in visual art and material culture? And how should one go about answering these kinds of questions? The focus on medieval and early modern rulers in Europe, their colonial dependencies and beyond gives us the opportunity to make an informed comparison of the intersection between gender and political culture throughout different times and places. Students will write a research paper based on primary sources dealing with the history of gender and political culture in dialogue with historiography.
The course will start with an entry test. Information about the entry test will be communicated through Brightspace one week before the first meeting at the latest.
Course objectives
General learning objectives
The student has acquired:
The ability to independently identify and select literature, using traditional and modern techniques;
The ability to independently identify and select sources, using traditional and modern techniques;
The ability to analyse and evaluate a corpus of sources with a view to addressing a particular historical problem;
The ability to analyse and evaluate literature with a view to addressing a particular historical problem;
The ability to independently formulate a clear and well-argued research question, taking into account the theory and method of the field and to reduce this question to accessible and manageable sub-questions;
The ability to independently set up and carry out an original research project that can make a contribution to existing scholarly debates;
The ability to give a clear and well-founded oral and written report on research results in correct English, when required, or Dutch, meeting the criteria of the discipline;
The ability to participate in current debates in the specialisation;
The ability to provide constructive feedback to and formulate criticism of the work of others and the ability to evaluate the value of such criticism and feedback on one’s own work and incorporate it;
(ResMA only:) The ability to participate in a discussion of the theoretical foundations of the discipline.
Learning objectives, pertaining to the specialisation
The student has acquired:
thorough knowledge and comprehension of the specialisation as well as of the historiography of the specialisation Europe 1000-1800, with a particular focus on the broader processes of political, social and cultural identity formation between about 1000-1800; awareness of problems of periodisation and impact of ‘national’ historiographical traditions on the field:
thorough knowledge and comprehension of the theoretical, conceptual and methodological aspects of the specialisation Europe 1000-1800, with a particular focus on the ability to analyse and evaluate primary sources from the period, if necessary with the aid of modern translations; ability to make use of relevant methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis to interpret sources in their textual and historical context.
Learning objectives, pertaining to this Research Seminar
The student:
will gain insight in the scholarship on gender and political culture in premodern Europe;
will learn how to combine approaches in gender history and the history of political culture in the development of an original research project;
will get acquainted with the primary evidence to study the politics of gender in premodern Europe;
(ResMA only) will explore either or both diachronic and synchronic comparisons.
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar (compulsory attendance)
This means that students must attend every session of the course. If a student is not able to attend, he is required to notify the lecturer beforehand. The teacher will determine if and how the missed session can be compensated by an additional assignment. If specific restrictions apply to a particular course, the lecturer will notify the students at the beginning of the semester. If a student does not comply with the aforementioned requirements, the student will be excluded from the seminar.
Assessment method
Assessment
- Written paper (6500-7500 words, based on research in primary sources, excluding title page, table of contents, footnotes and bibliography)
measured learning objectives: 1-8, 12, 14-16
- Entry test
measured learning objectives: 4, 7, 8, 10-13
- Proposal
measured learning objectives: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 14
- Assignments and participation:
measured learning objectives: 4, 7-14
Weighing
Written paper: 60%
Entry test: 10%
Proposal: 10%
Assignments and participation: 20%
The final grade for the course is established by determining the weighted average with the additional requirement that the written paper must always be sufficient.
Deadlines
Assignments and written papers should be handed in within the deadline as provided in the relevant course outline on Brightspace.
Resit
Should the overall mark be unsatisfactory, the paper is to be revised after consultation with the instructor.
Inspection and feedback
How and when a review of the written paper will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the results, a review of the written paper will have to be organised.
Reading list
Readings will be made available on Brightspace.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For course related questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga.
Remarks
Information about the entry test will be communicated one week before the first meeting at the latest.