HI 304 Reformation in the Age of Exploration

Arts & Letters-History.   Two Reformations, one Protestant the other Catholic, a host of explorers, often behaving badly when viewed through our 21st century lens, and the daily life of ordinary people in the early modern age occupy our study this semester. More than just the reforms of Martin Luther and the travails of Christopher Columbus, this course looks critical and analytically, and at times even with great humor, at the people, events, ideas, values, cultures, and perspectives of this turbulent and fascinating time in history. We will consider carefully topics including the body and the spirit, sex and gender, the plight of the poor, and of course witchcraft. . We will venture beyond the confines of Europe in an attempt ascertain what might be learned about both the "discovered" and the "discoverer" from a wide array of travel narratives. We will consider the use of maps as both ideological statements and navigational tools, and we will conduct our own search for the elusive Prester John. Monopods, Atlantic Flying Fish, and a Ninety-Five Theses are sure to remind us that we are not in the Renaissance anymore. Cross listed with HI 206 - students may not get credit for one course if they have taken the other.

Students enrolled in this course at the 300-level will have the following additional requirements: a research project that
is both a written paper and a presentation to the class, in which they will, using appropriate primary and secondary
sources, develop a new interpretation of some aspect of the age. In addition, 300-level students will have one
additional text to read, will be required to attend six sessions during which we will discuss the additional reading,
progress on the research paper, and peer review drafts of one another's work.

 

Credits

3

Distribution

HIS

Offered

At the Discretion of the Dept