University of Essex

HR922-7-SP-CO:
Gender in Early Modern Europe c.1500- c.1800

The details

Year: 2023/24

Department: Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)

Campus: Colchester Campus

Term: Spring

Level: Postgraduate: Level 7

Status: Current

Start date: Monday 15 January 2024

End date: Friday 22 March 2024

Credits: 20

Last updated: 22 September 2023

Requisites for this module

Pre-requisites: (none)

Co-requisites: (none)

Pre and / or co-requisites: (none)

Prohibited modules: (none)

Key module (requisite for): (none)

Key module for

(none)

Module description

This module will examine how gender was constructed and regulated through a variety of mechanisms and contexts (the family; laws; work practices; religion; medical and other discourses) and how individuals at different social levels experienced, and expressed, being gendered in various parts of Europe, c.1450-c.1750.

The module will explore these issues by looking at gender in relation to the following themes: bodies and sexuality; politics and power; space and its uses; violence and war; religion and religious change; material culture and consumption; work and work practices; witchcraft and magic; marriage and families; and self-fashioning and ego-documents.

Module aims

The aims of this module are:

To familiarise students with historiographical debates about gender and identity in early modern Europe.

To develop students`skills of historical analysis and writing, to enable them to work with confidence at postgraduate level.

To develop students` critical analysis skills through high level historical discussion in seminars (by means of general participation and specific student-led presentations).

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

Analyse in writing a body of historical literature pertaining to a specific theme relating to gender and identity in early modern Europe.

Evaluate and debate critically the quality and significance of major secondary works pertaining to gender and identity in early modern Europe.

Module information

This module will explore the following issues:

In what ways did early modern people fashion their identities and affirm their sense of themselves, and what happened if this self-fashioning was at odds with prevailing (and changing) gender norms?

How much did gender matter, relative to other factors (socio-economic and marital status, race, religion) which shaped early modern lives?

The following overview readings are helpful on the general background of gender in early modern Europe, especially if you are unfamiliar with the early modern period:

Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks, Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge University Press, 4th edition, 2019).

Cissie Fairchilds, Women in Early Modern Europe 1500-1700 (Pearson/Longman, 2007).

Allyson Poksa, Jane Couchman and Katherine McIver (eds), The Ashgate Research Companion to Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe (Ashgate, 2013).

Learning and teaching methods

This module will be delivered via:

One 2-hour seminar per week.

Bibliography

Wiesner, M.E. (2019) Women and gender in early modern Europe. 4th ed. New York: Cambridge University Press. Available at: https://app.kortext.com/Shibboleth.sso/Login?entityID=https://idp0.essex.ac.uk/shibboleth&target=https://app.kortext.com/borrow/336212.
Poska, A.M., Couchman, J. and McIver, K.A. (2013) The Ashgate research companion to women and gender in early modern Europe. Farnham: Ashgate. Available at: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=507599.
Ray, B. (ed.) (no date) Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project. The University of Virginia. Available at: https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/home.html.
The Cornell University Witchcraft Collection (no date). Cornell University Library. Available at: https://rmc.library.cornell.edu/witchcraftcoll/.
Defining Gender (no date). AM. Available at: https://www-gender-amdigital-co-uk.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/?sessionId=&sessionENC=or5DRyh%2fxco2ESEUSbUEp5ii0QGvbB0RG5wl9qW5Gw2Z%2bORhnb7%2bPCLWlIa8BHU6ZRhm0YwlDwl8pi26D1drrSsX3d3KNVANeHfDfEn2v%2bo%3d&returnURL=https%3a%2f%2fwww.gender.amdigital.co.uk%2f&JWTtoken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJ0eXAiOiJFeHQiLCJkYXRhIjp7IldlYnNpdGVLZXkiOiJkZWZpbmluZ2dlbmRlciIsIk9yZ2FuaXNhdGlvbklkIjoiNDU0IiwiT3JnYW5pc2F0aW9uTmFtZSI6IlVuaXZlcnNpdHkgb2YgRXNzZXgiLCJBY2Nlc3NUeXBlIjoiRnVsbCIsIldlYnNpdGVJZCI6IjE3In0sImV4cCI6MTcwNTQxMDU2OSwib2lkIjo0NTR9.oczDfEjl9qcoEIqmcGlSNJKUqLr37L2tgWxL-mmuVhs.
Archives of Sexuality and Gender (no date). Gale. Available at: https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=AHSI&sw=w&u=essex&v=2.1&pg=BasicSearch&it=static&sid=bookmark-AHSI.
Early Modern History - Library & Cultural Services (no date). University of Essex. Available at: https://library.essex.ac.uk/history/earlymodern.
Crawford, P. and Gowing, L. (2000) Women’s worlds in seventeenth-century England. London: Routledge. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com//books/e/9780203978542.
Aughterson, K. (1995b) Renaissance woman: a sourcebook?: constructions of femininity in England. London: Routledge. Available at: https://search-ebscohost-com.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=97163&site=ehost-live&authtype=sso&custid=s9814295.
Graham, E. (1989) Her own life: autobiographical writings by seventeenth century Englishwomen. London: Routledge. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/detail.action?docID=167772.
Hunt, M.R. (2018) ‘Relations of Domination and Subordination in Early Modern Europe and the Middle East’, Gender & History, 30(2), pp. 366–376. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0424.12367.
Alexandra Shepard (1500) ‘From Anxious Patriarchs to Refined Gentlemen? Manhood in Britain, circa 1500–1700’, Journal of British Studies, 44, pp. 281–295. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/427128?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=From+anxious+patriarchs&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DFrom%2Banxious%2Bpatriarchs&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A841720304cdf9f8d6cf5d40fc95e5868&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
Fulbrook, M. and Rublack, U. (2010) ‘In Relation: The “Social Self” and Ego-Documents’, German History, 28(3), pp. 263–272. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/gerhis/ghq065.
Roper, L. (2010) ‘“To his Most Learned and Dearest Friend”: Reading Luther’s Letters’, German History, 28(3), pp. 283–295. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/gerhis/ghq063.
Alison Rowlands (2019) ‘Identity, Memory, Self-fashioning:Narratives of Non-confession in the Witch Trial of Margaretha Horn, 1652?’, Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft, 14(3). Available at: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/750129.
Cathy McClive (no date) ‘Masculinity on Trial: Penises, Hermaphrodites and the Uncertain Male Body in Early Modern France’, History Workshop Journal, (68), pp. 45–68. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/40646164.
Ulinka Rublack (no date) ‘Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Female Body in Early Modern Germany’, Past & Present, (150), pp. 84–110. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/651238?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=pregnancy%2C+childbirth+and+the+female+body&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dpregnancy%252C%2Bchildbirth%2Band%2Bthe%2Bfemale%2Bbody&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Add6195b9f9e37387624940ebbb3e0545&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.
Kent, E.J. (2011) ‘Raiding the Patriarch’s Toolbox: Reading Masculine Governance in Cases of Male Witchcraft, 1592-1692’, in Governing Masculinities in the Early Modern Period: Regulating Selves and Others. Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing, pp. 173–188.
Sheilagh Ogilvie (2004) ‘How Does Social Capital Affect Women? Guilds and Communities in Early Modern Germany’, The American Historical Review, 109, pp. 325–359. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/530335?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=How+does+social+capital+affect+women&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DHow%2Bdoes%2Bsocial%2Bcapital%2Baffect%2Bwomen&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A0de619f3bef83cf7ae8e847f33cda39c&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's reading list.

Assessment items, weightings and deadlines

Coursework / exam	Description	Deadline	Coursework weighting
Coursework	Critical reading exercise (1,000 words)		10%
Coursework	Essay (4,000 words)		90%

Exam format definitions

Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary, for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.

Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.

Overall assessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Reassessment

Coursework	Exam
100%	0%

Module supervisor and teaching staff

Supervisor: Prof Alison Rowlands, email: alisonc@essex.ac.uk.

Teaching staff: Professor Alison Rowlands

Contact details: PHAIS Postgraduate Queries: phaispg@essex.ac.uk

Availability

Available to incoming Essex Abroad / Exchange students: Yes

Available to Outside Option: Yes

Available to Audit: No

External examiner

Name: Prof Rohan McWilliam

Institution: Anglia Ruskin University

Academic role: professor of Modern Hritish History

Resources

Teaching materials: Available via Moodle

Lecture recording: Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.

Further information

Department website: Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)

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Module Directory

HR922-7-SP-CO:Gender in Early Modern Europe c.1500- c.1800