From 21st-century war in Ukraine, to Prague acting as a Habsburg safe-haven from the Turks in the 17th century, Eastern Europe has continually represented a complex but critical region to the balance of global power. While the ‘global turn’ in history has focused attention on maritime encounters, the swathe of land, rivers and natural resources spanning Eastern Europe – acting as a borderland between the Holy Roman Empire, Muscovy and the Ottoman Empire – presents new insight into cultural, social, religious and political encounters. This module examines the connected cultures and histories across Eastern Europe through ten objects, such as the ‘Turkish’ carpet, a Bohemian agate cameo and a Transylvanian sword. While the focus of this module is on the historic lands of Bohemia, Hungary, Ukraine and Poland-Lithuania in 1400 to 1700, these histories are entangled in myth-making narratives that emerged in the 20th century while the region was part of the Communist Bloc. The object approach provides a new perspective on this region that collapses historical narratives and national myth-making. The module will specifically develop students’ skills in working with museum collections and visual and material evidence.
Seminar 32
1,000 words Source Analysis. Assessment Details: Students write a source analysis on one object. worth 30%.
2,000 words Essay . Assessment Details: Students answer a question using primary sources and the secondary literature on a topic. worth 70%.
Reassessment Method: Single Instrument
100% written assessment / essay (2,000 words)
On successfully completing the module, students will be able to:
1) Appraise the importance of Eastern Europe to global history in the early modern period.
2) Investigate key historiographical ideas and debates regarding the place of Eastern Europe in global history, and how to label the region.
3) Apply set techniques to critically analyse material sources to approach the history of Eastern Europe.
4) Individually and collectively debate, differentiate and explain the varied historical approaches to Eastern European history since the early modern period.
5) Effectively communicate information, ideas, and interpretations concerning scholarly debates using written, material and visual primary evidence.
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