Module Information

The Stuart period is one of the most hotly debated areas in British historiography and one where the innovations in types and approaches to history have been most keenly felt. This module shows how these developments have impacted on and enriched our view of Stuart England. The emphasis is upon offering a wide-ranging but integrated perspective on the period, and doing so through examining the interplay of structures and events, and continuity and change. It will also introduce students to the multi-faceted and problematic character of early modern history that has emerged in recent decades.

This period was one when war and political crisis created deep fissures in England and on occasions turned the established order upside down. The module will explore the causes, manifestations, and impact of this turbulence. It will also investigate economic growth, the contours of everyday social life, and the multifarious patterns of culture and thought that jockeyed to shape people's minds. The module is divided into four sections. The first examines the basic features of environment and society - population, climate and the seasons, family and sexual life, landscape, localism, and the economy. The second and third sections tackle politics and personality. Partly this is done through a series of case-studies of leaders and major events (the Civil War, the Interregnum, the Restoration, the 1688 Revolution, and the Rage of Party), partly through a study of broader political institutions and factors (the monarchy, parliament and the electorate, war, and the British polity). The final section focuses on the culture of the period; radical thought and movements, magic, witchcraft, literacy, religion, and popular cultures.