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2023/24 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

HIST3388 Teaching & Learning in Early Modern England: Skill, Knowledge, and Education

40 creditsClass Size: 16

Module manager: Dr John Gallagher
Email: J.Gallagher1@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2023/24

This module is not approved as a discovery module

Module summary

Today, we know that education can have a transformative impact on individual lives. But what and how did people learn in the past, and what can the history of education tell us about one of the most exciting and vibrant periods of British history? This module explores the social and cultural history of early modern England through the history of education and skill. The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw enormous changes in the educational culture of early modern England. The seismic changes of the Renaissance and the Reformation made themselves felt in schools and universities, while the rise of print meant that literacy became a coveted skill for many across the social spectrum. In homes, schools, and public spaces, education shaped individual lives, societal debates, and cultural change. This period witnessed an ‘educational revolution’. Fencing-schools run by immigrant swordsmen jostled for space with private academies teaching writing and accounting to apprentices or trainee merchants. Would-be learners could choose between private tuition in singing, dancing, or languages; new academies teaching cooking and needlework; and coffee-house lectures in experimental science. At the same time, England witnessed an explosion of printed how-to books and instructional literature, feeding a desire of for knowledge and skills among an increasingly literate public. Education was central to the great questions and changes of the early modern period: in this module, we will explore the relationship between education and religion, gender, labour, state formation, social hierarchies, and social mobility. In hands-on seminar sessions, we’ll visit the Brotherton Library Special Collections, Leeds Museums, and the Royal Armouries. We’ll be working closely with early modern texts, from manuscript household recipe books and printed how-to guides to travellers’ manuscripts and seventeenth-century playing cards. We’ll handle early modern textiles, clothing, objects, and weaponry. Students will also have the chance to put early modern skills into practice – ever wanted to learn the handwriting of Shakespeare’s era, bake a cake from a seventeenth-century manuscript, or try your hand at early modern needlework? Through studying practices and experiences of education and training – from first steps in literacy to the apprenticeships of boys and girls, and from household education in cooking and crafts to educational travel and the Grand Tour – you will consider new ways of thinking about the social and cultural history of early modern England.

Objectives

The objectives of this module are:
- to develop an in-depth knowledge of the place of education in the social and cultural history of early modern England.
- to explore the relationship between histories of education and social, political, and cultural change.
- to work closely and carefully with primary materials (print, manuscript, and objects).
- to develop an understanding of the historiography of education, training, and skill, as well as understanding how they fit into broader narratives of social and cultural history in early modern England.
- to develop skills of arguing orally and in writing alongside other transferable and subject-specific skills.

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students will be able to
1. demonstrate a grasp of the history of education, knowledge, and skill in early modern England
2. relate developments in the history of education to wider historical changes in the period
3. with printed books and manuscripts from the early modern period
4. consult special collections in libraries and archives
5. use electronic resources including Early English Books Online, the English Broadside Ballad Archive, the Map of Early Modern London, and the Burney Collection of 17th- and 18th-Century Newspapers
6. present arguments orally, in writing, and in poster form.

Skills outcomes
- independent research skills
- use of online resources
- skill in handling and using primary sources in archives & museums
- oral presentation skills
- writing skills
- research skills

Syllabus

We’ll study a variety of topics which can include childhood education (literacy, reading and writing), religious education, gender and education, schools and universities, cookery and medicine, household education, education and social mobility, apprenticeship and craft education, military education, manners and behaviour, educational travel (the Grand Tour), and early modern science.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Workshop	4	1.00	4.00
Seminar	22	2.00	44.00
Private study hours			352.00
Total Contact hours			48.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			400.00

Private study

Students will be expected to read primary source extracts and secondary literature in advance of the seminars, as well as pursuing independent reading and research to prepare for class discussion, presentations, and assessments. They will be encouraged to use online resources like Early English Books Online, the Burney Collection of 17th- and 18th-Century Newspapers, and online museum and archive collections to prepare for classroom discussion and revision purposes. Students will research and write a 4,000-word essay and prepare a portfolio demonstrating their skills in research, writing, and argument. The break down by hours is as follows:
- Reading to prepare for seminars (120 hours)
- Further self-directed reading (66 hours)
- Preparing and researching essay, including formative elements (80 hours)
- Preparing and researching the portfolio, including formative elements (80 hours)
- Reflection on feedback 6 hours.

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Formative feedback will be offered on an essay plan delivered orally or in writing in one-on-one meetings towards the end of semester 1. Meetings to discuss portfolio plans will be held in semester 2.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Portfolio	To include a source commentary, a literature review, and a blog post/review reporting on an independent archive/collection visit	50.00
Essay	4000 words	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 28/04/2023 14:41:12

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