The overall educational aim of this module and its co-requisite is to provide students with a deep knowledge and critical understanding of the complexities of early modern urban communities.
Although only a small minority of early modern Europe¿s population lived in towns and cities, the city and citizens exercised an enormous influence on the political, social, economic and cultural developments of the period. Renaissance, Reformation, and popular political consciousness were all shaped by and in cities. By concentrating on attitudes, values, perceptions and images students will be compelled to think about historical method and the historiography of early modern towns and cities. Students will examine ways of living, modes of social interaction, the influence of the built environment, and the complex political and economic relationships that characterise urban power and social control. Particular attention will be paid to communal diversity (social as well as religious). The focus will be on Europe, including the British Isles, between 1450 and 1789, utilising a wide range of historical sources, including diaries, official and personal papers, memoirs, journals, letters, and images.