HIST46930: Power and the State in Early Modern Europe

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• To introduce students to the history of the early modern state and the historiographical controversies related to this history
• To encourage students to consider the nature of states and how early modern people related to the state

• This module delves into the nature of power and the state in early modern Europe. This course requires students to think about how power was expressed and performed, to ponder how early modern people interfaced with the state in their daily lives, to engage with key historiographical debates on the development of the state, and to discuss the merits of the latest historical approaches to the history of the state. Over the course of the ten seminars students will explore a wide variety of topics including princely courts, the development of the modern diplomatic system, the importance of ministers and favourites, the impact of money and finance, and early modern warfare. We will also be tackling cultural approaches to power and statecraft by examining the role of religion, gendered aspects of power, and the function of art and art patronage. The module will deal with large early modern monarchies like France and Sweden, but also early modern republics, sovereign principalities and confederations. Throughout the module, students will be asked to consider the different types of sources historians have used to scrutinise the early modern state and the various challenges they pose.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Advanced knowledge of the different ways of organising power in the early modern period and the relationship between human experience and the state.
• A sophisticated grasp of historical debates and controversies around the nature of statecraft and the development of the state.

Subject-specific Skills:

• The ability to juggle an extensive range of primary sources such as state correspondence, memoirs, political treatises, visual and material sources
• The ability to think critically about historical approaches and to contribute to historiographical debates

Key Skills:

• The ability to pose, consider and solve complex problems
• The ability to coherently organise arguments and present them clearly and fluently, whether in oral or in written form
• Intellectual integrity, the ability to exchange respectfully and productively with others, and a willingness to have one's ideas challenged

• Student learning is facilitated by a range of teaching methods.
• Seminars and group discussion require students to reflect on and discuss: their prior knowledge and experience; set reading of secondary and, where appropriate, primary readings; information provided during the session. They provide a forum in which to assess and comment critically on the findings of others, defend their conclusions in a reasoned setting, and advance their knowledge and understanding of medieval society and modern scholarly models of medieval society.
• Structured reading requires students to focus on set materials integral to the knowledge and understanding of the module. It specifically enables the acquisition of detailed knowledge and skills which will be discussed in other areas of the teaching and learning experience.
• Assessment is by means of a 5000 word essay which requires the acquisition and application of advanced knowledge and understanding of aspects of the history and historiography of feudalism in its various forms, and of relevant theoretical and comparative approaches from other disciplines. Essays require a sustained and coherent argument in defence of a hypothesis, and must be presented in a clearly written and structured form, and with appropriate apparatus.

Formative work done in preparation for and during seminars, including oral and written work as appropriate to the module. The summative coursework will have a formative element by allowing students to develop ideas and arguments for the examination.

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