Europe in the early modern period can be talked about in two basic and different ways. This period saw the intensification of regional and national identities, identities that by the end of the period would lead to the rise of the modern nation-state. This period also saw profound ideological changes that were discussed and debated in an international community of letters, comprised of intellectuals, scholars, clergy, and statesmen across national boundaries. The time is one of both change and stability, of both multinational community and regional particularism.
This course will focus on ideological changes, those that were discussed in the community of letters, rather than events that contributed to the formation of individual nation-states. We will focus our analysis of intellectual life in the period by looking at one central theme – the dichotomy of knowing and unknowing. How did early moderns know what they knew? How did they prove it? How did they argue? Who had access to what kind of knowledge? Was there a virtue to unknowing, such as in the cases of religious mysticism, intuition, or folly? Did ignorance have its own wisdom? This semester, we will be considering these questions as a way of understanding aspects of early modern mentalities.
Class time will consist of a mixture of lecture, discussion of primary source texts, and group activities. The goal will be to use primary source documents and insights from historians to go beyond a dry recitation of facts, in favor of a deeper understanding of people who lived in the past. We will both learn about their experiences and think about the ways in which their lives and thoughts have provided and continue to provide a framework for our own.
This course is an upper-level division course in Europe after 1500 for the History major or minor. The only prerequisite for this course is English 214. This course also counts as one of the social science electives for the European Area Studies minor. You can find out more about the requirements for European Studies here.
There is no textbook for this course. Basic information that you need in order to understand the primary source readings will be given in the Monday lectures.
Most of our primary source readings will be found on-line on our course website. On-line readings will be available in .pdf format. These can be read with the Adobe Acrobat reader, which can be downloaded for free. When the readings are posted on-line, please either print out the on-line excerpt or take detailed notes on the text. You can access the on-line readings at ilearn.sfsu.edu – log in with your ID# and pin#.
There are two required books that will be available at the SFSU bookstore. Peter Mancall’s Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery: An Anthology is a collection of excerpts from early modern travelogues, and Francois Rabelais’ Gargantua and Pantagruel is an early French novel. We will be reading longer selections from these two books, and your two essays will be based on them. You may use any edition of these two books that you like or borrow them from libraries (plan ahead, if you want to do this – “I couldn’t get the book” is not a valid excuse), but you must acquire copies of them. These readings will not be found on-line.
Peter Mancall, Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery: An Anthology, ISBN 978-0195155976
Francois Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel, M.A. Screech, trans., Penguin Classics edition, ISBN 978-0140445503
In addition to informed and enthusiastic participation in class activities, discussions, and exercises, students in the course will also complete two short essays and a group presentation to help the class review for the final. The two essays will be completed at home and handed in at the start of class on the days that they are due. If the assignments are late, they will immediately lose points and will continue to drop in score the longer they are late. The course will also feature a midterm exam in week 9 and a final exam in December, which will cover material from the entire course.
The course grade will be determined as follows:
Participation and attendance: 10%
First essay (5 pp., due week 4): 15%
Midterm (week 9): 10%
Second essay (5 pp., due week 10): 25%
Group presentation (week 15): 15%
Final exam: 25%
If you are a History major and have already completed Hist 300, you may have the option to write a primary source research paper (10 – 15 pp.) in lieu of the two essays. You will choose the topic and create your own thesis. If you choose this option, you must have your topic approved by the professor before week 5. You will hand in a thesis statement 2/27, a first draft 4/24, and the final version 5/15. The thesis statement will count 5% toward the final grade, the first draft 10%, and the final paper 25%.
If you are a graduate student, you will write a primary source research paper or secondary source historiographical essay (20 pp. +) in lieu of the two essays and midterm. You are advised to hand in a thesis statement and first draft, but they will not count toward your final grade. The research paper will count 50% toward the final grade.
Attendance is mandatory, and will be considered in your participation grade. Class participation will make up a significant percentage of your final grade for the course. You are encouraged to ask questions at any time and are expected to participate in any class activity, discussion, or exercise. An attendance sheet will be passed around at the beginning of every class. You must sign the sheet in order to be counted as present. If you need to arrive late, please make sure you sign in before you leave the room at the end of class. If you need to leave early, please tell the instructor at the beginning of class.
The classroom is a special environment in which students and faculty come together to promote learning and growth. It is essential to this learning environment that respect for the rights of others seeking to learn, respect for the professionalism of the instructor, and the general goals of academic freedom are maintained. Differences of viewpoint or concerns should be expressed in terms which are supportive of the learning process.