Senior Seminar in European History
Revolutions and Change in early Modern Europe: The Search for “Truth”
This course will introduce the student to key issues in European history from about 1400 to 1800 which led Europeans on their quest for “truth.” Historians commonly refer to this period and place as “early modern Europe.” Early modern Europe served as a kind of crucible for modern life. In the post-medieval world Europeans began to challenge their world in all areas: social, political, religious, geographical and economic. We will study in detail topics such as the Renaissance, Reformation, and age of exploration, absolutism and constitutionalism, the Scientific Revolution, the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution to illustrate the monumental changes made by Europeans during this brief period. The student will also be instructed in the proper research, writing, and methodological techniques professional historians utilize in the preparation and presentation of a final research thesis. The major geographical focus will be on Western Europe (especially England, France, the Low Countries, and Germany) with some attention to the Mediterranean world and less emphasis on northern and Eastern Europe and Russia.