'World wasting itself in blood': Europe and the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST3027 | History | 3 | 40 | Full Year UK |
- Code
- HIST3027
- School
- History
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 40
- Semesters
- Full Year UK
Summary
The course considers the Thirty Years’ War at three levels: as a war of religion, a clash of interests between the imperial crown and German territorial princes, and as a human catastrophe of monumental proportions. Although its drama unfolded primarily in the territory of the Holy Roman Empire, the war drew in such diverse participants as Britain, France, Denmark, Sweden and Spain. In pursuit of self-seeking political goals, they formed unlikely alliances and created obstacles to the conflict’s resolution. The outcome of the war was to ensure the survival of Protestantism in Central Europe as well as to provide a stable political and religious status quo that lasted into the modern age. The course discusses the Thirty Years’ War by drawing on various historiographical traditions that represent the views of major international players.
Target Students
Students must have taken HIST1001 or HIST1002.
Classes
- One 3-hour seminar each week for 20 weeks
Assessment
- 30% Coursework 1: Essay (3,000 words)
- 30% Coursework 2: Gobbet analysis (3,000 words)
- 40% Coursework 3: Synoptic essay (3,500 words)
Assessed in both autumn & spring semest
Educational Aims
The purpose of the course is encouraging students to develop a detailed knowledge of the political and religious status of early modern Europe by 1600; the origins and subsequent course of the Thirty Years’ War, the role of geopolitical factors in prolonging the conflict, patterns of early modern warfare and diplomacy, the European ‘balance of power’ established after the Peace of Westphalia and its long-term significance, socio-economic effects of the Thirty Years’ War, and the conflict’s representation in art and literature from the seventeenth to the twentieth century.Learning Outcomes
a. Knowledge and understanding of:
• the complexity of the political set-up in the Holy Roman Empire, which determined the co-existence of contending religious confessions in the realm
• the chief combatants in the Thirty Years’ War
• conditions that underlay different stages of the conflict
• the Peace of Westphalia and the foundation of a new European order
• the long-lasting psychological trauma of the Thirty Years’ War and its reflection in art, contemporary literature and subsequent fiction writing
b. Intellectual skills:
• to think critically and imaginatively about the interplay of religion and politics in seventeenth-century Europe
• to develop an awareness of the range of principal primary and secondary sources for the study of the Thirty Years’ War
• to form independent judgements based on the evidence acquired in the process of learning
• to identify key problems pertaining to the subject
• to assess and evaluate competing historical interpretations found in literature
• to formulate their conclusions in a competent and coherent fashion
c. Professional/practical skills:
• to be able to analyse primary sources critically
• to assess, categorise and synthesise information obtained from secondary sources
• to pinpoint and evaluate central arguments in those materials
• to demonstrate essential footnoting and bibliographical skills
• to use the electronic and library resources effectively
• to use IT to complete written assignments in line with the conventions adopted by the School
d. Transferable skills:
• to manage large, incomplete and disparate bodies of knowledge
• to take responsibility for their own learning
• to work as part of a team
• to allocate individual study time and meet deadlines efficiently
• to offer a clearly structured argument in their written work
• to communicate their thoughts in an articulate and concise manner orally and in writing
• to use IT and the appropriate Internet resources