TUDOR STUART BRITAIN
History 433, Salisbury University, Spring 2007
MW 5.30-6.45, Devilbiss 109
Professor: Kristen Walton
Office Hours: W 2.15-5.15 and by appointment
Office Location: 386 Holloway Hall
Phone: x36502
E-mail:
Course Description and Objectives:
This class will cover various aspects of life and politics in Tudor Stuart Britain.
According to the Tudors, the late fifteenth century was an era of crisis and conflict. Instability reigned and only the strong rule of the Tudor King Henry VII saved England from an age of horrors. Though the Tudor interpretation of the Wars of the Roses is not truly accurate, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, England transformed extensively. From 1485 until 1707 with the Union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland, England became Britain, a medieval kingdom became a modern nation. In this class, we will look at the various aspects of Tudor and Stuart life that helped to affect this change. The early modern period is fascinating to study as it was a time of movement and culture: from the Reformation to the Glorious Revolution, from Shakespeare to witches, from the end of the British monarchy to its restoration, we will watch as Britain evolved into the strong nation it became in the 18th century.
The class is set up as a reading and discussion seminar. As a result, you will be expected to be prepared to discuss the reading each week. You will be expected not only to complete the assigned reading for the week, but also to contemplate the questions on the bibliography and, when possible, to peruse outside readings as well. In this class, we will not be looking simply for facts, but instead will look at various trends both in the history of the country and in the field of history. We will analyze the historiography of the period to learn how to critically analyze events and hopefully be able to peel away layers in order to discover the truth. History is not simply facts, but also interpretation. We will learn to look at others’ interpretations in order to clarify our own.
Course Requirements:
Each student will be required to give a class presentation during the semester. The presentations will entail a brief (c. 15 minute) overview of the question you have chosen to answer. These presentations will be due with your short (4-6pp) essays (in other words, your short essays will be on the topic of your presentation). You can read from your paper OR present a summary of your findings for the presentation. You will need to submit a copy of the paper at the time of the presentation to your class partner for the quarter who will give your revisions. Your final copy of the paper is due 2 weeks after your presentation.
In addition, the final project for the semester will be a 12-15 page research paper of an aspect of Tudor Stuart Britain. Your Papers must follow the guidelines of Kate Turabian’s Chicago Manual of Style. You will be graded on the presentations, paper revisions/reviews, two papers, the final paper and your weekly attendance and participation in the class. On occasion, the participation grade may include in-class reaction papers to the assigned reading
Assessments:
Presentations 10% (5% each)
Paper Reviews 10% (5% each)
Paper 1 (4-6pp): 15%
Paper 2 (4-6pp): 15%
Final Paper (12-15pp): 35%
Class Participation: 15%
Participation means active, not passive “citizenship” in the class. Class attendance will count toward the participation grade. More than three absences during the semester will result in your grade lowering by a full grade (ie. An “A” will become a “B" and each additional absence after 3 will continue to lower your grade). You will note that class participation is 15% of your grade.
Writing Across the Curriculum
Learning to write is one of the most important skills you can learn at college. As a result, this course, in conjunction with Writing Across the Curriculum, will require writing from each and every one of you in the forms of papers, essay exams (there will be NO multiple choice exams), and class notes and periodic exercises. Please utilize my office hours if you have any questions about the class.
There are many sources available for your use via the internet, the library here on campus or the library at College Park, via interlibrary loan. The Library can help you if you need assistance ordering a book from a different library. I may periodically send out emails to you with websites including primary source or other interesting material. I may include this as REQUIRED reading for the course, so make certain you check your email regularly.
The most significant tip I have: do not turn in the first drafts of your papers. That means you need to outline your ideas, write them down, and revise (and revise) them. A first draft is not a final draft. I will be looking for well-written papers with solid content. Conveying ideas in a precise manner is one of the most important aspects of history and other fields. You must cite the sources you use – including e-texts and web-based information, as well as traditional forms of published information. I will be looking for well-written papers with solid content. Do not turn in the first draft of a paper as your final draft. I will be happy to look over papers handed in at least a week before the due date if you have concerns about the work. Conveying ideas in a precise manner is one of the most important aspects of history and other fields.
Needless to say, all of the work you do in this class must be your own. You must cite the sources you use – including e-texts and web-based information, as well as traditional forms of published information. Remember you must cite not only direct quotations, but also another person’s ideas, even if you have rewritten those ideas in your own words. Plagiarism is WRONG and will result in an automatic “0” or F on the assignment and a possible failing of the course. The maximum penalty at the university for plagiarism is a possible expulsion from the entire USM system, so for your own sakes, DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. Please see me if you have any questions.
For your papers, I require you to use either footnotes or endnotes and follow the form denoted by Kate Turabian in the Chicago Manual of Style. In addition, I expect all of your papers and essays to have a Thesis statement and a solid argument. Your long research paper will require the use of at least 3 library secondary sources. You will be required to turn in a topic with a thesis statement and a bibliography in advance of the due date of the paper. If you do not turn in your topic for pre-approval, your grade will automatically be deducted by at least one grade.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
The best learning environment is one based on mutual respect and trust. However, the desire to achieve a good or passing grade without doing the necessary work may tempt some students to engage in acts of "academic dishonesty," including the following:
(1) Plagiarism: presenting as one's own work, whether word for word or in paraphrase, the words or ideas of a website or another author. All sources of information used must be properly cited.
(2) Cheating on exams, tests, and quizzes, including copying from others, the wrongful giving or receiving of unauthorized exam material, and the use of illegitimate sources of information (e.g., "cheat sheets");
(3) Unsanctioned collaboration with other individuals in the completion of course assignments, including examinations;
(4) Falsifying data and use of fraudulent methods in laboratory, field work, and computer work;
(5) Falsifying excuses for non-attendance or completion of assignments.
While some students may try to rationalize or justify these acts as expedient, they are wrong and there are no mitigating circumstances to excuse them. Individuals who engage in academic dishonesty damage the learning environment and their own integrity and character. If you are unclear about what constitutes academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, please ask: ignorance is no excuse. Discovery of academic dishonesty results in stiff penalties for the offender, including a failing grade for the assignment in question and possibly a grade of F for the course. The Student Affairs Office keeps records of plagiarism cases, and multiple offenses could bring a penalty of expulsion from the entire USM system. The university catalogue and student handbook provide further details.
Required Readings:
Bucholz & Key, Early Modern England
Key & Bucholz, Sources and Debates in English History
T. More, Utopia
J. Wormald, Mary Queen of Scots
D. Cressy, Agnes Bowker’s Cat
C. Hill, The World Turned Upside Down
SYLLABUS
Week One, 1/29-1/31: Introduction and Background: The People of Britain
Reading: Bucholz, Introduction; Key, Chapter One
Discussion: General Overview. The People of Britain and Background to the Tudor Stuarts
Week Two, 2/5-2/7: The Wars of the Roses & Henry VII: a Tudor or Yorkist Revolution?
Reading: Key, Chapter Two
Gillingham article, handed out in class.
Titulus Regius: http://www.r3.org/bookcase/texts/tit_reg.html
Discussion: The Wars of the Roses and Henry VII : Chaos or Stability?
Weeks Three and Four, 2/12 – 2/21: The Henry VIII: A Diplomatic King? Or a Religious
Revolutionary?
Reading: Bucholz, Chapters 1-3 (to page 97); Key Chapter 3 (to page 64)
More Utopia (Read for 2/14)
Discussion: Wolsey, The Reformation, Was the reformation from above or below? Did Henry ever stop being a Catholic? The personal life of Henry VIII and its role in Reformation. Henry VIII and Thomas More: Man for All Seasons?
*NO CLASS Monday February 12…Work on Papers…
Week Five, 2/26 – 2/28: The Mid-Tudor Age (the little tudors)
Reading: Bucholz, Chapter 3 (pp. 97-end), Key, Chapter 3 (page 64-end)
Writings of EVI: http://englishhistory.net/tudor/ed1.html
Execution of Somerset: http://englishhistory.net/tudor/somerset.html
Mary Tudor: http://englishhistory.net/tudor/marydesc.html
Discussion: Was there a Mid-Tudor Crisis? Somerset and Scotland, The Return of Catholicism
Week Six, 3/5 – 3/7: Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots & Women’s Rule
Reading: Wormald, entire book
Execution of Mary: http://englishhistory.net/tudor/exmary.html
Readings on Women’s Rule to be handed out in class/ noted in class
Discussion: Scottish Background. Mary and her role in England and Scotland and on the international Scene, The English Succession and its effect.
Week Seven, 3/12-3/14: Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen
Reading: Bucholz, Chapters 4 & 5; Key, Chapter 4
Cressy, Chpts 1 and 2
Discussion: Religion, Politics in Elizabethan England
*** Due Tuesday 3/12: Long Paper Topic and Bibliography (with a minimum 5 secondary LIBRARY sources and 1 Primary Source)
Week Eight, NO CLASS! SPRING BREAK – Enjoy!
Week Nine, 3/26-3/28: Women in Britain and Economic and Social History
Reading: Bucholz, Chapter 6; Key, Chapter 5
Cressy, Chpts 3-11
Malleus Maleficarum: http://www.malleusmaleficarum.org/mmtoc.html (skim)
Elizabethan Court life: http://www.britannia.com/history/docs/hentzner.html
Discussion: The Renaissance, Witchcraft, enclosure, and the People of England
Weeks Ten & Eleven, 4/2-4/11: James I, Charles I, Parliament & No Parliament
Reading: Bucholz, Chapter 7; Key, Chapter 6
Discussion: Absolutism and the king? James’ Religious settlement. Favorites at the Court. Why did Charles get rid of Parliament? What were the constitutional issues at stake? What were the effects of the personal rule?
Week Twelve, 4/16-4/18: Multiple Kingdoms, The Causes of the Civil War and the New Model Army
Reading: Bucholz, Chapter 8 (to page 250); Key, Chapter7
Cressy, chpt 12
Discussion: Causes of the War; the New Model Army – was it new?
Weeks Thirteen and Fourteen, 4/23-5/2: King Oliver I? The World Turned Upside Down to the Restoration
Reading: Bucholz, Chapter 8 (250-end), Key Chapter 7
Hill, entire book
Cressy, chpts. 13-15
Discussion: Religion and controversy, The English Republic, Was the world turned upside down? The Commonwealth and early Restoration
Week Fifteen, 5/7 – 5/9: The Restoration Continues: Charles II and James II
Reading: Bucholz, Chapter 9; Key Chapter 8
1679 Habeas: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1679habeascorp.html
The Plague 1665: http://www.adelpha.com/~davidco/History/Bubonic1.htm
Discussion: Reasons for Restoration. Exclusion crisis. Why did Charles succeed while James failed? The Plague and the Fire
Week Sixteen, 5/14: William and Mary – The Glorious Revolution, and the Union of 1707
Readings: Bucholz, Chapter 10 & conclusion; Key Chapter 9
Decl of Right: http://history.hanover.edu/early/decright.htm
Locke: http://campus.northpark.edu/history/classes//Sources/Locke-2ndTreatise.html
Union: http://www.forscotland.com/aou.html (a pro-Scots web-site)
Lectures: Reasons for the Revolution, Ireland and multiple kingdoms. The union of 1707
· Final Paper due Monday 14 May
**** One Class in Week 15 or 16 will be cancelled and held instead in the evening (which evening will be decided in class) at Dr. Walton’s House for dinner.
* Information on this syllabus is subject to change with notice in class from the professor